THE CHALLENGE When Laurie Lourie came on board as Executive Vice President of the York Builders Association, she brought 22 years of association experience and a keen eye for continuous improvement. She knew that a dues-based organization had to have cost-efficient systems in place in order to provide members with valuable programs and services. Laurie identified costly inefficiencies at the association, including separate systems for managing programs, accounting, and member data. With limited staff, outsourcing technical support would prove to […]

The GrowthZone team wishes everyone a productive American Associations Day! In virtually every business sector and industry, across the country, state to state, associations mobilize millions to turn change into progress one step at a time. The Power of A implements programs and impacts policies to support this progress. ASAE created the Power of A to serve as the association industry’s brand – not ASAE’s. The Power of A is a platform for all associations to educate audiences such as […]

Sometimes it’s better to be losing. A study by Jonah Berger of 18,000 NBA games shows that teams losing by a point at halftime were actually more likely to win than teams ahead by one point. Statistically, LeBron James is 8% better when his team is down late in the game. Why? Because being behind can be motivating. Teams, and people, work harder when they’re losing by a little. The father of Human Performance Technology, Thomas Gilbert, believed that “it […]

To avoid losing focus and diminishing productivity, build more rest and renewal into your daily routine. Here are seven easy-to-implement tips for improving productivity and focus: 1. Turn off your email Ignore your email for one hour and see how much more productive you become. 2. Shift from high gear to low gear – and back to high Try the Pomodoro technique. Here’s how it works: grab a timer and set it for 25 minutes. Ready? Now go work. Once […]

If you’re like many people, you keep hearing about AI (artificial intelligence) but have no idea what it really means. It’s okay to stop pretending. Take a couple of minutes to learn about AI. What is AI? Artificial intelligence (AI) is an area of computer science that emphasizes the creation of intelligent machines that work and react like humans. Some of the activities computers with artificial intelligence are designed for include: Speech recognition Learning Planning Problem-solving Learn about digital member […]

Whether you’re addressing the board of directors, calling members, or emailing colleagues, it’s important to convey your message professionally. You already know the obvious no-nos words – swear words. Here are eight more words and phrases you may not have realized diminish your credibility and dilute your message. “To be honest” or “Honestly” Is the rest of what you’re saying untrue? “Always” or “Never” There is no such thing as absolutes. “Just” or “Kind of” or “Hopefully” It weakens your […]