Associations

Focusing on the Local by Joining the NCC-AIIM Executive Committee

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Hanging out at AIIM Nats night w/ (left to right) Mark Mandel, AIIM Vice-Chair Mark Patrick, and dedicated AIIM staffer Theresa ResekI’ve talked a little bit here about the need to improve the local communities for information management. It is an area that ARMA does better than other groups in the industry but their focus and members can be intimidating for those who aren’t records managers. AIIM chapters are a decent alternative but there are a lot of challenges.

For the past couple of years, I’ve been chatting offline with some chapter leaders from both associations, brainstorming ideas, and trying to think of ways to improve the local community. Some of these discussions became more focused when Kevin Parker became the president of the local AIIM chapter, NCC-AIIM. During one of these discussions I agreed to join the chapter’s executive committee.

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Pointing AIIM in the Right Direction

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Jack's compass from Pirates in the CaribbeanThere are a lot of posts flying around about what information professionals need from an association. My discussion on too many associations seems to have struck a nerve and gotten people thinking. Before I dive into details regarding AIIM, I want to share these posts.

I’m not going to reference the posts moving forward but know that they have, to varying degrees, influenced this post. That said, I had a lot of thoughts on this topic already rattling around in my head. Many of the thoughts below have been shared with other previously as well to test them out.

There are two ways I can share my thoughts. I could rant and rave about everything AIIM is specifically doing wrong. It would get a lot of hits, generate a lot of discussion, and upset the very people who need to read this.

Or…

I can simply dive into what AIIM needs to do going forward. The past is written. The present is malleable. The future is fluid. It is the future that I wish to influence by helping form the present.

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Too Many Associations

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A Pie from "Too Many Cooks" spoofWe are currently dealing with a glut of associations in the information industry. In the past couple of years with the addition of:

When you take into account the long history of AIIM and ARMA in this industry, it is clear that the community at-large feels it has needs not currently being met by the existing associations. CM Pros failed after failing to determine what value they could offer, at what cost, and how they could be distinct from AIIM and ARMA.

What does the entry of these new players mean?

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John Mancini Entering a New Phase at AIIM

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John Mancini speaking at an AIIM conferenceJohn Mancini is stepping aside as the President of AIIM to take on a new role at AIIM. That role is going to be part of offering a set of advisory services that are fairly tightly linked to the information industry and the digital disruption that AIIM has been talking about recently.

All I have to say is Good for John!

Actually, I might have a little more to say.

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Professional Associations Need to Go Local

Triceratop SkeletonThere are a lot of different professional associations out there seeking to provide value to their members. Some do so by helping to lobby for regulations and laws that will benefit their membership. Others provide certifications or have peer-reviewed academic journals that serve as gateways to the industry.

Then there are professional associations like AIIM, ARMA, and ASAE whose primary purpose is helping industry professionals be effective through education. This education takes place in the form of training, publications, seminars, and webinars. There may be a certification but it is rarely required for advancement in the industry.

The problem is that there is fresh competition from for-profit communities and ad-hoc local groups who use Meetup to find members and organize. Information on how to succeed in any industry is readily available on the Internet. Traditional associations are no longer the sole-source for networking and information.

How can associations compete when people no longer need a middle-man? They have to go local and make things personal.

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A Farewell to AIIM

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Today is my last day at AIIM. After today I shall cease being their Chief Information Officer (CIO) and return to the ranks of the Professional Member. As I leave, I want to make sure that I share a few important things.

An Education

Boy, did I learn things. I learned a lot about:

  • The Association Business. It is a business and it has many unique aspects compared to other businesses with whom I have ever worked. Many of the unique aspects will help me look at problems in other organizations with a fresh viewpoint.
  • Association Management Systems (AMS). While hand-in-hand with the former, I learned that implementing an AMS as a system isn’t that different from any other business system. Translation: It takes planning, communication, and work. I also learned why they are important pieces of software and not simply a domain-specific CRM system.
  • Marketing. I thought I knew a reasonable amount about Marketing when I started at AIIM. I spent every day after that learning how much I didn’t know as I learned more and more.

That isn’t counting all the new technology tidbits and personal interaction skills I picked-up along the way. It was an intense time.

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AUDC13: netFORUM Enterprise Roadmap

I’m happy and sad about this session. I LOVE having the Roadmap session starting a conference off on the right foot. On the other hand, not a big fan of a conference starting on a Sunday. Blows a whole weekend and there are some people to whom taking Sunday as a day of rest/worship is still important.

The speakers are Don Prodehl (VP Research & Development) Darryl Hopkins (Director R&D/ Product Manager), and Craig Dellorso (Chief Customer Officer).

Notes:

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Deeper Into Associations, Pie at AUDC

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This week, or at least for half of the week, I am at the Avectra User and Developer Conference (AUDC) in Orlando this year. Avectra is the platform that AIIM chose as our core Association Management Software (AMS) platform. As the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of AIIM, I pretty much need to make Avectra my priority. Everything works off of it.

I have no idea how I’ll share my experience between twitter and here at the Word. This is my first time so I’m not sure how the muse will possess me. Regardless of the outcome, I wanted to let everyone understand what I’m doing.

In case I decide to publish raw notes, I wanted to share this disclaimer for those that are unfamiliar with my style. Enjoy.

All information in this post was gathered from the presenters and presentation. It does not reflect my opinion unless clearly indicated (Italics in parenthesis). Any errors are most likely from my misunderstanding a statement or imperfectly recording the information. Updates to correct information are reflected in red, but will not be otherwise indicated.

All statements about the future of Avectra products and strategy are subject to change at any time due to a large variety of factors.

AIIM, Associations, and My Career

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2012-08-13 20.13.51I recently renewed my paid membership in AIIM, the Global Association for Information Professionals, for whom I am also the Chief Information Officer. I have been a member of AIIM in some form going back to 2003. To the right is my 2003 welcome letter from John Mancini that I stumbled upon just the other day.

I’ve also been a member of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) since 1998. This is a Computer Science based association. I interacted with them back in college but joined them years later because I liked their programs and I had the money to join.

The reason I bring this up is because Lane Severson asked me an important question when I tweeted that I had re-upped my AIIM membership. His question, You gonna expense that?

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You are Marketing, not Sales

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I was trying to catch-up on some of my reading the other day when I came across this article from ASEA (American Society of Association Executives) talking about how We’re All in Sales Now. The article covers the changing roles of the Association staffer and how everyone is now a sales person.

Except we’re not.

We are all marketing. This may seem like a subtle difference, but it is a critical one that needs to be made. The end-game and objectives are different. They need to be measured differently.

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