The Joy of Membership Podcast

Have you ever heard the phrase “sacred cow”?  In a business context, a sacred cow refers to an idea, custom, or belief that an organization resists questioning or criticizing. Sometimes holding onto such ideas without questioning them can hold an organization back from being able to create change that is necessary to survival.

Today’s guest is Dr. Stephan Meyer who received his PhD last November for his research into sacred cows and organizations, but he’s actually been working on change-related projects in his career for more than 25 years. In a world now where every organization is trying to find a new path forward, it seemed like the perfect time for this conversation with Stephan. I hope you enjoy listening in.

Connect with Stephan:
https://twitter.com/Stephan_Meyer
https://stephanmeyer.com/

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INTERESTING IN DELIVERING *MAXIMUM* VALUE FOR YOUR MEMBERS?

Download a FREE Scorecard here and get ACTIONABLE insights in less than 10 minutes:  https://joyofmembership.com/scorecard

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ABOUT YOUR HOST

Yes, there is a “real” Joy in The Joy of Membership.

Founder & CEO Joy Duling has been working with leaders of associations, trade groups and nonprofits since 2005.

She has also walked the same journey, serving for nearly 10 years as the Executive Director of a membership-based nonprofit which she helped launch from scratch and led to annual revenues of more than $1M exclusively from membership contributions.

Joy has been widely recognized as a speaker, an online educator and a trusted advisor, twice winning the “Unsung Hero Award” from the National Association of Women Business Owners' Central Illinois Chapter. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's Degree in Social Work with Specialization in Policy, Planning and Administration. She has extensive experience in strategic planning, team facilitation, change management, and association operations.

But beyond industry experience and education…

Joy Duling is the calm voice you want to have in the room when you, your team, or your board is overwhelmed by ideas and options.

She's a trusted resource at the other end of an email or phone call who knows the answer, or can find the answer, when it's not clear what to do next in your approach.

She's a planner of systems and driver of progress that helps your organization achieve stretch goals.

She's a gifted facilitator of conversation, collaboration and constructive growth. 

And she's approachable and results-oriented,  which makes it easy to shake loose of the old and start fresh on the new.

My next guest and I had a good laugh after we closed out our interview because she was totally singing my tune and we hadn’t even practiced!  Anita Prather Harvell calls herself both an IT geek and an artist.  Her artistic resume is extensive… playing woodwinds and percussion in local pit orchestras, singing with a chorus, performing theatrically on stage, and, teaching marching band and color guard across the country. She’s even married to a musician spouse. A love for the arts is in her blood.

Today, Anita is President of the North Country Arts Council.  She is on the board of the local chamber of commerce and she works as an IT Specialist for Family Morale, Welfare, and Recreation on Fort  Drum.  She is also a website manager and does the social media and PR for a wide variety of nonprofit organizations.

For a few moments, she put all that on pause to talk with us about her work with the Arts Council.  Here’s our conversation...

Connect with NCAC:
nnyart.org

Facebook and Instagram: @North Country Arts Council
LinkedIn:  North Country Arts Council

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INTERESTING IN DELIVERING *MAXIMUM* VALUE FOR YOUR MEMBERS?

Download a FREE Scorecard here and get ACTIONABLE insights in less than 10 minutes:  https://joyofmembership.com/scorecard

****

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Yes, there is a “real” Joy in The Joy of Membership.

Founder & CEO Joy Duling has been working with leaders of associations, trade groups and nonprofits since 2005.

She has also walked the same journey, serving for nearly 10 years as the Executive Director of a membership-based nonprofit which she helped launch from scratch and led to annual revenues of more than $1M exclusively from membership contributions.

Joy has been widely recognized as a speaker, an online educator and a trusted advisor, twice winning the “Unsung Hero Award” from the National Association of Women Business Owners' Central Illinois Chapter. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's Degree in Social Work with Specialization in Policy, Planning and Administration. She has extensive experience in strategic planning, team facilitation, change management, and association operations.

But beyond industry experience and education…

Joy Duling is the calm voice you want to have in the room when you, your team, or your board is overwhelmed by ideas and options.

She's a trusted resource at the other end of an email or phone call who knows the answer, or can find the answer, when it's not clear what to do next in your approach.

She's a planner of systems and driver of progress that helps your organization achieve stretch goals.

She's a gifted facilitator of conversation, collaboration and constructive growth. 

And she's approachable and results-oriented,  which makes it easy to shake loose of the old and start fresh on the new.

I think it is fair to say that this week’s guest is the perfect example of an association leader whose work reflects a lifelong passion.  Evelyn Green grew up on a farm in Alabama.  Her family’s beef operation was in the largest beef-producing county for that state. Since 1982, she has been involved in the support and management of her family farm. She is married to a professor of Animal Sciences with a specialization in Beef Cattle Nutrition. She has served in every possible role for the Alabama Cattlewomen’s Association and today, she is President Elect for the American National Cattlewomen’s Association.

She - and really every person that I’ve interacted with at ANCW - are incredibly passionate about the work, so I invited her here today to talk about how ANCW is being helpful to members and bring value to their industry.

Connect with ANCW:
https://ancw.org/

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INTERESTING IN DELIVERING *MAXIMUM* VALUE FOR YOUR MEMBERS?

Download a FREE Scorecard here and get ACTIONABLE insights in less than 10 minutes:  https://joyofmembership.com/scorecard

****

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Yes, there is a “real” Joy in The Joy of Membership.

Founder & CEO Joy Duling has been working with leaders of associations, trade groups and nonprofits since 2005.

She has also walked the same journey, serving for nearly 10 years as the Executive Director of a membership-based nonprofit which she helped launch from scratch and led to annual revenues of more than $1M exclusively from membership contributions.

Joy has been widely recognized as a speaker, an online educator and a trusted advisor, twice winning the “Unsung Hero Award” from the National Association of Women Business Owners' Central Illinois Chapter. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's Degree in Social Work with Specialization in Policy, Planning and Administration. She has extensive experience in strategic planning, team facilitation, change management, and association operations.

But beyond industry experience and education…

Joy Duling is the calm voice you want to have in the room when you, your team, or your board is overwhelmed by ideas and options.

She's a trusted resource at the other end of an email or phone call who knows the answer, or can find the answer, when it's not clear what to do next in your approach.

She's a planner of systems and driver of progress that helps your organization achieve stretch goals.

She's a gifted facilitator of conversation, collaboration and constructive growth. 

And she's approachable and results-oriented,  which makes it easy to shake loose of the old and start fresh on the new.

This week, I’d like to introduce you to JJ Reynolds from Mediauthentic. JJ originally started working in the field of marketing as a videographer who would create marketing videos and other assets, but he quickly learned that organizations didn’t really know what to do with these things once they had them.

That led him to dig into measurement, which he says is really what’s necessary to answer the question, “Is this actually working?”  When you know what is and isn’t working (WITH REAL NUMBERS in front of you), it’s easier to take action in the right direction.

Today, that’s what JJ focuses on - using metrics to help organizations guide their growth and value delivery.

Connect with JJ:
https://www.mediauthentic.com/joy

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INTERESTING IN DELIVERING *MAXIMUM* VALUE FOR YOUR MEMBERS?
Download a FREE Scorecard here and get ACTIONABLE insights in less than 10 minutes:  https://joyofmembership.com/scorecard

****

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Yes, there is a “real” Joy in The Joy of Membership.

Founder & CEO Joy Duling has been working with leaders of associations, trade groups and nonprofits since 2005.

She has also walked the same journey, serving for nearly 10 years as the Executive Director of a membership-based nonprofit which she helped launch from scratch and led to annual revenues of more than $1M exclusively from membership contributions.

Joy has been widely recognized as a speaker, an online educator and a trusted advisor, twice winning the “Unsung Hero Award” from the National Association of Women Business Owners' Central Illinois Chapter. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's Degree in Social Work with Specialization in Policy, Planning and Administration. She has extensive experience in strategic planning, team facilitation, change management, and association operations.

But beyond industry experience and education…

Joy Duling is the calm voice you want to have in the room when you, your team, or your board is overwhelmed by ideas and options.

She's a trusted resource at the other end of an email or phone call who knows the answer, or can find the answer, when it's not clear what to do next in your approach.

She's a planner of systems and driver of progress that helps your organization achieve stretch goals.

She's a gifted facilitator of conversation, collaboration and constructive growth. 

And she's approachable and results-oriented,  which makes it easy to shake loose of the old and start fresh on the new.

Matt George and I live in the same town, but we hadn’t met until we recorded today’s interview. Oh sure… I had heard of Matt.  After all, he is the CEO of Children’s Home Association of Illinois.  I knew of the work that he did. I also knew that he had a book out for nonprofits.

But I did not fully realize how innovative Matt’s approach was until I started looking more closely.  

In fact, Kevin Harrington who is known as the “inventor of the infomercial” and was the original Shark on Shark Tank says Matt George’s new book “Nonprofit Game Plan” is a game changer and he called Matt the “nonprofit CEO of our time.”

So, obviously, I had to talk to Matt… and let you listen in on that conversation.

Connect with Children's Home Association:
https://www.chail.org/

Check Out (and Support!) the "No Tee Time Tourney", an innovative virtual golf outing:  https://www.chail.org/Getting-Involved/Event/no-tee-time-tourney

Use code:  Joy10 to get $10 off your event registration
(There is NO financial relationship between The Joy of Membership and The Children's Home or this event.)

Find Matt's Book, The Nonprofit Game Plan, on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Nonprofit-Game-Plan-Strategy-Success-ebook/dp/B083RQZP6W/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=matt+george&qid=1598531895&sr=8-1

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INTERESTING IN DELIVERING *MAXIMUM* VALUE FOR YOUR MEMBERS?
Download a FREE Scorecard here and get ACTIONABLE insights in less than 10 minutes:  https://joyofmembership.com/scorecard

****

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Yes, there is a “real” Joy in The Joy of Membership.

Founder & CEO Joy Duling has been working with leaders of associations, trade groups and nonprofits since 2005.

She has also walked the same journey, serving for nearly 10 years as the Executive Director of a membership-based nonprofit which she helped launch from scratch and led to annual revenues of more than $1M exclusively from membership contributions.

Joy has been widely recognized as a speaker, an online educator and a trusted advisor, twice winning the “Unsung Hero Award” from the National Association of Women Business Owners' Central Illinois Chapter. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's Degree in Social Work with Specialization in Policy, Planning and Administration. She has extensive experience in strategic planning, team facilitation, change management, and association operations.

But beyond industry experience and education…

Joy Duling is the calm voice you want to have in the room when you, your team, or your board is overwhelmed by ideas and options.

She's a trusted resource at the other end of an email or phone call who knows the answer, or can find the answer, when it's not clear what to do next in your approach.

She's a planner of systems and driver of progress that helps your organization achieve stretch goals.

She's a gifted facilitator of conversation, collaboration and constructive growth. 

And she's approachable and results-oriented,  which makes it easy to shake loose of the old and start fresh on the new.

One of my personal goals as I created this podcast format was to bring forward stories of value being created by mission-driven organizations covering a diverse array of topic areas, membership sizes and types, geographic location, and length of service.  As part of this podcast, you’ll hear from organizations that have been working toward their mission for decades, but you’ll also hear from some that are very new.

That’s the situation today. The GU272 Descendants Association is very new as a formal association, but their mission and the impact of their work?  …. Well, that spans generations. 

Join me for this conversation with Rochell Sanders Prater, the association’s Vice President of Membership.

Connect with GU272 Descendants Association:  
https://www.gu272.net/

****

INTERESTING IN DELIVERING *MAXIMUM* VALUE FOR YOUR MEMBERS?
Download a FREE Scorecard here and get ACTIONABLE insights in less than 10 minutes:  https://joyofmembership.com/scorecard

****

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Yes, there is a “real” Joy in The Joy of Membership.

Founder & CEO Joy Duling has been working with leaders of associations, trade groups and nonprofits since 2005.

She has also walked the same journey, serving for nearly 10 years as the Executive Director of a membership-based nonprofit which she helped launch from scratch and led to annual revenues of more than $1M exclusively from membership contributions.

Joy has been widely recognized as a speaker, an online educator and a trusted advisor, twice winning the “Unsung Hero Award” from the National Association of Women Business Owners' Central Illinois Chapter. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's Degree in Social Work with Specialization in Policy, Planning and Administration. She has extensive experience in strategic planning, team facilitation, change management, and association operations.

But beyond industry experience and education…

Joy Duling is the calm voice you want to have in the room when you, your team, or your board is overwhelmed by ideas and options.

She's a trusted resource at the other end of an email or phone call who knows the answer, or can find the answer, when it's not clear what to do next in your approach.

She's a planner of systems and driver of progress that helps your organization achieve stretch goals.

She's a gifted facilitator of conversation, collaboration and constructive growth. 

And she's approachable and results-oriented,  which makes it easy to shake loose of the old and start fresh on the new.

This week, Mary Conley Eggert shares her commitment to helping solve the world’s water crises… and there are actually many issues woven together that need urgent attention.  

As she looked at what SHE could do to be helpful, she realized that her natural inclinations to network and connect people could help her create a community where the right people could come together to find solutions more quickly.

So, that’s exactly what she did.

Connect with GlobalWaterWorks:  
Community:  gwwconnect.com
Twitter:  twitter.com/globalwaterwork
Email:  [email protected]

****

INTERESTING IN DELIVERING *MAXIMUM* VALUE FOR YOUR MEMBERS?
Download a FREE Scorecard here and get ACTIONABLE insights in less than 10 minutes:  https://joyofmembership.com/scorecard

****

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Yes, there is a “real” Joy in The Joy of Membership.

Founder & CEO Joy Duling has been working with leaders of associations, trade groups and nonprofits since 2005.

She has also walked the same journey, serving for nearly 10 years as the Executive Director of a membership-based nonprofit which she helped launch from scratch and led to annual revenues of more than $1M exclusively from membership contributions.

Joy has been widely recognized as a speaker, an online educator and a trusted advisor, twice winning the “Unsung Hero Award” from the National Association of Women Business Owners' Central Illinois Chapter. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's Degree in Social Work with Specialization in Policy, Planning and Administration. She has extensive experience in strategic planning, team facilitation, change management, and association operations.

But beyond industry experience and education…

Joy Duling is the calm voice you want to have in the room when you, your team, or your board is overwhelmed by ideas and options.

She's a trusted resource at the other end of an email or phone call who knows the answer, or can find the answer, when it's not clear what to do next in your approach.

She's a planner of systems and driver of progress that helps your organization achieve stretch goals.

She's a gifted facilitator of conversation, collaboration and constructive growth. 

And she's approachable and results-oriented,  which makes it easy to shake loose of the old and start fresh on the new.

My guest this week is Bruce Bro, President of the National Foundation for Danish America.  There are approximately 1.5 Million Americans who claim at least partial Danish heritage and call themselves “Danish Americans”.

NFDA is a nonprofit organization, formed in 2019 to help Danish American organizations network, coordinate, share and collaborate all in an effort to preserve and promote the Danish culture and heritage in America.

As the Foundation’s President, Bruce recently asked “how can we be helpful?” and he came up with a rather unusual answer.  That’s what he’s here today to talk about.

Connect with NFDA:  danishamerica.org

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INTERESTING IN DELIVERING *MAXIMUM* VALUE FOR YOUR MEMBERS?
Download a FREE Scorecard here and get ACTIONABLE insights in less than 10 minutes:  https://joyofmembership.com/scorecard

****

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Yes, there is a “real” Joy in The Joy of Membership.

Founder & CEO Joy Duling has been working with leaders of associations, trade groups and nonprofits since 2005.

She has also walked the same journey, serving for nearly 10 years as the Executive Director of a membership-based nonprofit which she helped launch from scratch and led to annual revenues of more than $1M exclusively from membership contributions.

Joy has been widely recognized as a speaker, an online educator and a trusted advisor, twice winning the “Unsung Hero Award” from the National Association of Women Business Owners' Central Illinois Chapter. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and a Master's Degree in Social Work with Specialization in Policy, Planning and Administration. She has extensive experience in strategic planning, team facilitation, change management, and association operations.

But beyond industry experience and education…

Joy Duling is the calm voice you want to have in the room when you, your team, or your board is overwhelmed by ideas and options.

She's a trusted resource at the other end of an email or phone call who knows the answer, or can find the answer, when it's not clear what to do next in your approach.

She's a planner of systems and driver of progress that helps your organization achieve stretch goals.

She's a gifted facilitator of conversation, collaboration and constructive growth. 

And she's approachable and results-oriented,  which makes it easy to shake loose of the old and start fresh on the new.

Most membership organizations -want- to be using best practices for membership growth and member care... but best practices are often easier said than done.

There are practical realities that get in the way… too little time, not enough staff, a board that doesn't "get it", or even chapter leaders that go rogue.

There’s no shortage of advice out there on best practices in membership. What WE need to talk about is how to actually make those things possible in the real world… how to be absolutely sure that growth practices are going to stick… how to make those things easier, more consistent, and even done automatically in many cases.

So that’s what we talk about here, not just WHAT to do to grow membership, but HOW to actually make it all possible.

If that sounds of interest, I'll be here most Tuesday mornings and I welcome you to join us.