Thought Leader Webinar Series

Thought Leader Webinar Series

The Thought Leader Webinar Series features some of the best association minds in the country in ninety-minute webinars. Held monthly and recorded when permitted, sessions have been hand-curated for Michigan’s association community, and each speaker selected for their knowledge and experience. 

You have access to lots of virtual content - think of Thought Leader webinars as a fine bourbon that has been crafted in small batches. Instead of being one of hundreds of people on a mass webinar, you’ll be with an intimate group of your peers, learning and exploring strategies for practical application in your organization. 

Scroll to the bottom of the page to see session recordings that are available for purchase. 

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Click Here to Register
Grow & Innovate in Good Times & in Bad
Every day we make thousands of decisions and many of our decisions can be made the usual way - through gut intuition. However, some decisions require more information. During a disruptive time, these decisions can have a more serious impact. Should I launch a new member recruitment campaign in light of the pandemic or wait a few months? Should we change our dues structure to allow adjacent audience segments to join or leave it alone? In many cases your colleagues will weigh in on the decision, sharing their intuition until the highest-paid person in the organization shares her/his opinion, which often carries. While intuition may be the key to brainstorming, you need data to filter the good ideas from the bad. 

Note: Session will not be recorded. 
Cover photo for session Click Here to Register
A Crash Course in Lateral Thinking
[for Associations]
Buckle up! This session is going to move fast as we take you on a mind-bending crash course in lateral thinking for associations. While lateral thinking puzzles can tickle our brains, applying the principles to our current circumstances can lead to breakthrough innovation, reveal hidden opportunities, and offer solutions that only seem obvious after the fact. View the session introduction video here.

Note: Session will be recorded.
Effective Change Leadership During a Marathon of UncertaintyClick Here to Register

Effective Change Leadership During a Marathon of Uncertainty
The 2020s were already going to be the biggest decade of transformation associations have ever seen and leaders have ever had to gear up for... Then came 2020. Year one took uncertainty to a higher decibel than we could ever have imagined. Change leadership is no longer the buzzword - it’s transformational leadership with fortitude from staff, board and members. It calls for a different perspective, different habits, and jettisoning casual language to the curbside. Here we go… We're in year two of the 2020s. Are you ready?

Note: Session will be recorded.

Session Recordings

Cover Photo for Sunsetting Programs
Cover Photo for Prosperity & Adversity: A Decade of Data & Insights
Cover Photo for 6 Ways to Grow Your Association During a Global Pandemic


The Case for Sunsetting Programs

Rhea M. Steele, CAE, Chief of Staff
School Nutrition Association

We all have those programs; you know the ones. They aren’t providing member value anymore and are impeding the development of new products better suited to meet member needs. As you address questions of long-term sustainability, meeting member needs, and environmental disruption, it’s more important than ever to use a practical rubric to identify and jettison those programs. In this webinar, we’ll explore two different decision-making frameworks for sunsetting old programs and making room for new, high-value products and services. 

1.5 CAE credits 


Prosperity & Adversity: A Decade of Data & Insights

Shelley Sanner, CAE, Senior Vice President
McKinley Advisors

For the past six months, you've likely kept your head down and your attention focused on what you've needed to do to survive. You've probably had little time to reflect on what was happening outside of your own organization or what the broader historical context of this current crisis might be. In this webinar, we'll share 10 years of data that will help you compare your organization to others in the sector, learn from the Great Recession, understand the trends that are impacting associations now and into 2021, and learn the practices that help make an association more resilient and impactful.

1.5 CAE Credits


6 Ways to Grow Your Association During a Global Pandemic

Christine Saunders, CM, President
Halmyre

During sudden shocks to our economic system and times wrought with uncertainty, it can seem counterintuitive to be talking about growth. However, if associations are going to be poised for recovery, association leaders need to look beyond defensive measures to focus on growth. Re-tuning and reconsidering value propositions, and taking immediate steps to strengthen and deepen their toolkit for engaging their members, is crucial to survival. This is a practical, hands-on webinar that will have actionable takeaways for association leaders, as well as marketing and membership engagement leaders.

1.5 CAE Credits

Cover Photo for EDIT
Cover Photo for Creating Amazing Journeys


EDITing Your Association
(Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Team)

Renell Weathers, Community Engagement Director 
Laura Ross, Communications Director
Michigan League for Public Policy

Help your association cement a stronger and more intentional approach to embracing racial equity and inclusion. Creating a focus on equity is hard work, but it will strengthen your association's effectiveness, your organizational culture, and the ability to achieve your mission. In this webinar, we will discuss the importance of equity work, present a model your association can use, and provide tools to help your association on its journey.

1.5 CAE credits 


How to Create Intentional & Amazing Online Member Journeys

Joanna Pineda, CEO & Chief Troublemaker
Matrix Group

Many organizations are struggling because members say they can't find the information they need on their associations' websites, or they find it difficult to accomplish tasks. So what do associations do? They issue RFPs for a website redesign. But, these redesigns often cover ONLY the website and NOT AMS functions like registering for a meeting, or becoming a member, or engaging with the association.

And yet, when polled for their most important journeys, associations list journeys that involve BOTH website and AMS. The most important member journeys of many associations often move across systems, through the website to AMS, or AMS to web, or website to community.

In this session, featuring examples and case studies, attendees will learn how to identify their most important journeys; how to map these journeys as members traverse their digital properties; how to work with their vendors to make these journeys better without investing in costly custom development; and easy things you can do to make these journeys better, including design hacks and link strategies.

1.5 CAE Credits