Member Engagement: It's NOW or NEVER

I've been sitting in sessions at the ASAE Great Ideas Conference, and I'm amazed at some of the things I've witnessed that display how some associations are disconnected in key ways to growing their association.  Here are two examples:

In one session, association executives wanted to talk about how to get their members to see their "perceived value", yet when asked if they wanted to expand and talk about non-dues revenue generation, only 4 hands went up in a room of 80+ people.  That was a missed opportunity.

Then the comment was made early in a session that the new, younger generation is not a set of "joiners", yet later in the session, it was noted by someone that the coming generation is one of the most passionate and cause related generations in history.   This could be a missed opportunity.

Hear this next comment:   In order to maximize member engagement and association loyalty, you MUST get past perceived value and begin generating "ACTUAL VALUE."  Actual value comes from benefits that go PAST your membership dues; this means in large part, creating non-dues revenue programs. 

When looking at member engagement, it is critical you understand which one of these three categories your members fall in to:

Informational

These are members who tap into your association for your newsletter, magazine, journals, online resources, etc.  They aren't active or buying anything.  They just value your information.  The danger of this group is that most information is now available for free through the internet, therefore, there is no real dependance on your association.

Transactional

This group are members who spend money to purchase some type of resource from your association.  This could be classes, projects, technical data, etc.  This is a great level of engagement.  However, the downside of this group is, many items and services that associations provide can now be purchased or found outside the association.

Emotional

This group is the most committed because they have taken an emotional step through attending meetings or volunteering within the association.  Through this emotional step, they create bonds with other members that take their engagement to a personal level, which ties them closely to the mission of the association.  This is the strongest engagement you can have in an association.  The emotional member wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves, they want it to be exciting, and they want to be a part of an organization that will empower them to do so.

It is also vital in your engagement strategy that you:

• Understand which members are in each of these three categories
• You ensure that you have great value in each to attract members
• Your systems and marketing make it member friendly to move from informational to transactional, and from transactional to emotional

Engagement means members reach out to the association in some fashion to connect with it for some benefit.  When looking at benefits, there are 3-types that associations can have:

1. Ones that members can access for free outside the association,
2. Ones the association is going to do if they are a member or not (government relations is an example),
3. Ones that the association can do together more effectively than members can do themselves.

If you want to maximize your member engagement, it is vital that you focus on option 3.  These benefits are the "golden handcuffs" that engage members and increase loyalty, because they can't get these anywhere else as effectively as the association is providing it to them.  Some of these you charge for, some you don't.  To discover these, you must have a good grasp of:

1. Your member's daily problems
2. The threats to your industry and members
3. How your member's business and/or daily functions operate, better than they do

For those of you looking for a measuring stick of how successful using the above strategies for developing your engagement strategy can be, it has lead to a 28% increase in our per member revenue and an 865% growth in our association's net worth over the last 7 years.

Knowing what category you member's level of engagement is, and putting focus on things you can do more effectively, that your members can do individually, will have an immediate impact on maximizing your value proposition to your members, and turn you from marketing "perceived value" to providing "actual value."

Finding Clear Skies in the Fog of the Future

You know, it's a funny thing about associations...I often wonder how association executives can tell the story of their association with "passion" when they don't even participate as an association executive in ASAE or state SAE.   Yet they wonder why people in the association they lead aren't members.  Execs don't attend an annual conference, yet wonder why their members don't attend theirs, and most of all, association executives don't participate in industry-wide benchmarking studies, and wonder why they struggle to get participation in their own.

I believe participation as association executives in things like membership, meetings and benchmarking, in the world of associations, is sort of like "paying it forward."  It's walking the walk, meaning what you say, and "believing" what you say about the power of associations.

With that said, I want to put focus on an area that I feel associations are losing out on.  It's a benefit that associations of the future should put a lot of time and effort in developing.  Associations that succeed in the future will be associations that "do things for their members that members cannot do themselves effectively."

One of the most powerful benefits that no member can do themselves effectively is industry wide benchmarking.  It is costly for any one company in both time and money to organize, coordinate and fund the benchmarking effort.  Hence, it is the perfect set of golden handcuffs for an association to wrap around their members.

No matter what industry, benchmarking provides unbelievable inside intel about what is going on within any set of member companies and the industry.  With the economy and business climate being in such a fog, no one feels great about hiring new people, making capital investments or just feeling good about the daily direction of where you are headed.

It is a powerful source when you can open up a set of industry data to see where trends have been and where they are headed.  Especially given that trends have been developed from "actual data."   Our association does monthly sales trends, as well as, quarterly operational cost studies.  It's all online, secure, confidential and easy for members to input data and download real time reports.

We believe benchmarking clears the fog of the future that provides clarity of where the industry is headed, where areas of growth are, and what areas of your business need improving.  You can't know that just looking within your own company.

Every business has 5 to 10 major numbers that can tell you how that business is doing.  I want to challenge association executives reading this to do two things:

1. Set up a benchmarking task force in your association, and have them try and nail down the 5 to 10 meaningful numbers that could tell you everything about the direction of the business in your industry.  These can be related to sales figures, sales calls, or any operational cost items.  Then survey your members to see how many would participate if they could receive a quarterly report of their figures compared to the industry and local region.
2. TAKE TIME to participate in one of the most powerful association benchmarking studies in the U.S.  This study is put out by Marketing General with incredible data to provide to your staff, association leadership, as well as, any membership committee.  It shares intel on membership recruitment, communication strategies, and non-dues revenue structure.  Marketing General brings to associations nearly 35 years of testing, market research and data analysis of member behavior and membership marketing.  Simply put... they deliver the intel you need to know to grow your association.

I performed the survey for our association and it only took 15 minutes.   Our association will reap huge returns from the data I will get back from this comparative report... you can to if you invest the 15 minutes.

CLICK HERE to participate in their study.  DEADLINE IS:  Tuesday, Feb. 19.  Don't Delay!

If you are serious about growing your association, you need to look into benchmarking for your association members and take the Marketing General Survey.  Your members and board leadership will thank you.

If you have any questions on benchmarking, feel free to contact me at tom@tommorrison.biz.

How to Have the Golden Hand Cuffs on Association Members

For years, back in the 50's through the 90's, individuals and organizations were members of associations to "just belong."  It was a must.  Nowhere else could you access new products, information, key industry data and a vast network of people to help you succeed in your industry.

Associations had a built-in set of "golden handcuffs" for value because the internet did not exist as it does today.   They were the only real place to access new product launches, information and networks of people.

Then a life changing event happened for associations, in the 1990's, AOL and Google became the information highway for everyone.  Now everything was different...information was at the fingertips of anyone who had a computer.   Over the last 20+ years, the internet has taken over an area that was once so vital to associations..."Information and Data".

The 800 hot-line to the association offices is no longer needed to get critical updates on legislation and industry news.  With a couple of key strokes and Google, you can have over a billion pages at your fingertips to filter through.

Hold on!  Did I just say a BILLION?  Yes, and sometimes more...  Now why would someone possibly waste half a day, if not possibly an entire day, sorting through what is right, wrong or even legitimate? BECAUSE IT'S FREE!  That is a major problem for associations.  Information is now free and at everyone's finger tips.  The question now arises as to, "If information is so available and free, then why are associations concentrating on that for member value?"

In order to understand the answer to this question, you need to understand the types of benefits and their relationship to member value.  Here are the three types of benefits any association can offer:

1. Those things your members can get for free without you (adds zero value to the association)
2. Those things you are going to do whether I'm a member or not (adds some value to the association)
3. Those things you do for your members they can't do themselves effectively (maximizes association value)

You see, any association that has most of its efforts going into #1 & #2 are typically struggling to find a connection with their members...especially the younger generation.  Things like an informative newsletter, government relations, insurance programs, etc. aren't adding any value because these are areas that were once a "lock" for associations, but are no longer.

However, associations that put 100% of their focus on identifying #3, DOING THINGS FOR YOUR MEMBERS THAT THEY CAN'T DO THEMSELVES EFFECTIVELY, will rule the day in the future!  This takes a little effort to understand your members' businesses better than they do...it calls for surveying your members to understand what they feel their biggest problems and challenges are...it requires you to LISTEN to them, and then ACT on what they say.

Remember, in the world of associations, innovation isn't developing the next big mobile app or device.  It's simply creating solutions that solve your member's problems and challenges.  If you do that, they will trust you, know that you care for them, and you will have great relevance in the life of their business.

I take my own association for example:  Seven years ago we chose to put all of our focus on #3 above, and we began listening to our members with the intent of restructuring our strategic plan to reflect what they said were their areas of challenge.  We came away with the following areas of focus:

1. 24/7 Online Training
2. Effective Face to Face Networking Conferences
3. High Energy Leadership Training Relevant to the Younger Generation
4. Financial Benchmarking and Forecasting
5. Online Member Matching for Networking
6. Tools to Help Members Reduce Findings in Their Accreditation Audits

You see, our members could decide to do any one of these for themselves, but it would cost them tens of thousands of dollars to do it, and it would take them away from running their business everyday.  These 7-things aren't just a Google search and look-up...it goes way beyond that!

Since our Association put its focus on these 6 areas in 2006, the Association has grown over 18% in annual dues revenue, 28% in per member revenue, and 840% in net worth...with the largest economic downturn in our history.

Do we have a set of "golden handcuffs"?  YES, because the 6 areas noted above are crucial to the success of any company within our industry, and they can't get it anywhere else, nor can they do it themselves effectively.

When an association gets back to the basics of why they exist:

1) Organize themselves
2) Coordinate their efforts
3) Leverage the costs over many
4) Build trust as a group
5) Do things together they can't do themselves effectively

...they will begin to see member value, engagement, and loyalty start to grow to levels they never thought possible.

No matter what the size of your your association, if you want to maximize member value, engagement and loyalty, check out my half-day Association Innovation Think Tank by CLICKING HERE.

It is helping association boards/staff find their way to higher levels of excellence for their members and industry.

DOTS....Will You Be Collecting or Connecting

As I write this blog, our Association is ending another record year in revenue and net assets for 2012, further strengthening us to do some dynamic things for our members without charging extra dues.  Our incredible run over the last 7 years has not been by luck, but by a systematic and strategic set of innovative measures to maximize membership value.

Whether it's your association staff, volunteers, leaders, or just your members, we push a massive amount of content and information through all those channels.  The options available to us are unlimited in pushing out content including:  social media, conferences, print newsletters, e-news, videos, and blogs...you name it, it's out there.

This year the big question you need to answer is:  Are we allowing people to just "collect the dots" or are we helping them "CONNECT the dots" in our association?

You see, there is a difference.  If you are simply pushing out information, creating benefit programs, or writing down everything the speaker says at a conference and not connecting that information,  program, or idea to an action step to improve your members, career, or business, you are simply "collecting dots".  When you only "collect dots", you only have dues paying members and higher cancellation rates.

However, when you "CONNECT the dots" of information, programs, and ideas to specific struggles your members have everyday, you then CONNECT them to your association in an emotional way that leads them to be not just dues paying members, but BELIEVERS.

I'll give you a quick example.  I sit in conferences and watch people write down everything a speaker says without any regard as to what they are saying, and what it means to their association.  They are simply "collecting the dots" that will never move into action.  But then there are the people like us, who don't write anything down the speaker says until they say something that is an idea that can transform how we do something in our association...that is what we write down...and that is what we come back and execute.

You see, if you had the choice of your staff sitting in a classroom and writing 8-pages of legal pad notes of information, or having them skip the afternoon sessions and hang at the pool with 3 top association executives, where they learned 2 incredible ideas for your association, which would you prefer?

Most of you reading this would struggle with that because you say you don't pay your people to go to the pool at a conference.  You pay them to go to class, yet you passed on the "CONNECTION of dots" at the pool and went for simply "collecting dots" in a classroom.

Now don't get me wrong, I believe there is good work done in the classroom.  My point is, we have to think differently about our actions and truly ask ourselves as we make decisions on programs, communications, etc., is this going to "collect the dots" or "connect the dots" with our leaders, members, and staff?

Another example is when I was having dinner with a member and two of his key managers.  As we talked about the standards and audits that they have to live by, it became very apparent there was a service that our association could provide, that would be life changing for their business, and could help them to improve their process and save thousands of dollars in future audits.  That is a dot that CONNECTS them emotionally to our association and will bring us new members as well.  

Remember, you are better off having just 4 programs that "CONNECT the dots" for your members, than 35 programs that fill up a benefit page and just "collect the dots".

MEMBER VALUE is driven by the quality of impact of programs, not by the number of them.

I wrote a series of blogs in 2012 that can be of great help to you in working through this.  I would encourage you to forward all 8 of these to all of your staff and make them mandatory reading:

1. How To Be a Real Change Agent in Your Association 
2. Go BIG, Go BOLD, Go NOW
3. Why the Traditional Association Model is Stronger Than Ever
4. WOW... This Membership Thing Really Works
5. Connecting the Next Generation to Your Association... Its Not As Hard As You Think
6. Why Are You Here and Do You Know Your Vital Signs
7. Why Boards Need to Innovate
8. 5-Stages of Building Believers in Your Association

If your association is struggling to get your board or your staff to make the changes you need to make  to "CONNECT the dots", maximize member engagement, see new non-dues revenue for your organization, and build member loyalty, consider my half-day Association Innovation Think Tank.  It will put your association on the right track to "connecting the dots".

Those who are battling the strong winds, the ones who are most successful, are the ones who simply adjust their sail and change direction.

How to Make a Video in Your Hotel Room Your Members Will Rave Over

WOW!  I know the first thing you probably thought of is, "Where the heck is he going with this blog post?"  Video...hotel rooms...how does that all connect in with my members?  Well let me tell you, there is nothing more powerful at your final night dinner than lowering the lights and combining the meeting mission, overall message, and pulsating music, to engage your members emotions with scenes of the entire conference they just attended.

Hear me out on this...  Video does for an association, what Steven Jobs did for Apple.  It portrays a brand that makes you more than just a product someone buys.  It makes you something people love and "WANT" to be a part of.   It builds trust, shows your members you care, and displays your passion.  You can't do that with text in any format, as well as you can video.

When I took over as CEO in November 2008, I replaced a CEO that had been here for 31 years.  He was an icon with alot of friends in the industry.  Typically the new CEO has real challenges following someone of that magnitude.  I needed a way to speak to the membership, which covered 40 states and Canada, in a way that they could begin to trust in me, see how much I care, and the passion and energy that I have for them.  Video was the answer, and it worked!  I've walked into member companies, without ever meeting the owner, and you would think we had known each other for years, because he was so familiar with me through our monthly videos.

Video empowers associations to communicate in ways they never thought possible, and for next to nothing, if you do it right.  The following are a few things we do with video (click on them to see examples):

Meeting documentaries
Promoting your industry
Bi-weekly news casts to share the latest excitement surrounding our association
Meeting promotional videos
Meeting highlight videos
Member testimonies
Introduction of a new program
Promoting our supplier's/sponsors to the industry

Everything we do as an association, has a video element to it to drive the emotion of our members to want to be a part of something big and exciting.   Some of the videos are produced by a professional team we outsource to, many videos are produced by me on planes, hotel rooms, or at the office.

Many think that producing videos takes a lot of staff time and a huge budget.  I'm here to tell you that it can take neither.  The following is all you need to begin to take advantage of all that video offers an association:

- HD video camera with a lavalier mic plug in:  $300
- Lavalier mic and extension for cord:  $15
- Tip-pod for camera:  $15
- Mac computer with iMovie software:  $1,300 (if you don't already have one in office)
- Portable video lighting:  $150

Basically, for about $480, if you already have a Mac computer, or $1,800 if you need one, you have a full blown portable video studio in your pocket to interview members, do news updates, take video highlights of meetings, and push it out to members through your website and e-communications.

Bottom line, if you are not pushing out some type of video to your members it's like feeding them food that has no taste.  Take the time to purchase the above supplies, and engage a video intern from your local college, or someone on your staff to help you produce some amazing videos.

It's easier and less expensive than you think, and the reward of member excitement, loyalty, and engagement is priceless.

Leveraging Year End Sales Bonuses for Great Meeting Deals

This past week I was talking with a few of my many hotel friends, asking them how business was going and if they were going to finish strong at year end.  I was amazed at how many indicated they had numerous associations who were on hold or waiting until after the holidays are over to move to the next step or make a final decision on their meeting destination.

If you are in a waiting mode with your meetings right now, you are missing out on one of the most prime opportunities of the year to squeeze the "best deal" out of almost any hotel location.

Why?  Because it's year end!  Hotel's General Managers are working hard to make year end revenue goals, and the sales rep you are working with, most likely gets a bonus in some fashion on how many contracts or rooms they book each year.  They need those year end contracts to meet bonus in many instances.

In 2009, when the economy tanked, we went into overdrive on contracting meetings all the way through 2013.  Our members have raved about the deals that we negotiated for them.  The key is:  we saw the opportunity and seized the moment to take advantage of a very soft economy.  That still exists today for a little while longer, hence we are about to complete contracts for our meetings through 2017 with some very good value around the country.

If your #1 goal is to deliver member value, you are missing the boat by not leveraging the hotel and sales rep's motivation to close contracts by year end.  If there is a time the hotel will say "YES" to the things you need to maximize attendance, the last month of the year is it!  And guess what...when they say yes to the things you really need, that creates member value by making your meeting more exciting or more affordable for members to attend.

Here are a few things that I feel have worked well for MTI in getting some amazing deals and partnerships with hotels:

Use a Third Party for Site Selection and Contract Negotiations
With so many venues available, I feel it's a must for meeting planners to use a third party, or the local CVB to assist in finding the right venue and negotiate the contract with the final choice.  First, it doesn't cost the association a dime to use those services.  Secondly, if you use the right one, they provide you an easy-to-read spreadsheet for you to quickly make a short list for site visits.  Third, you leverage the amount of business they have on the books with hotels as well.  Think about it, if a hotel upsets one association meeting planner, they may lose one 400 room night event...upset a third party and you could lose thousands of room nights from the many clients they represent.

Pick the Hotel You Want and Tell Them It's Their's to Lose

I know many meeting planners who don't get everything they want because they spend so much time playing all the hotels against one another.  This is a huge waste of time in my opinion.  My experience has been, when you look the hotel rep in the eye and say, "We have analyzed all the sites and proposals, and this is YOURS TO LOSE", all of the sudden the hotel rep gets real serious and they really work hard to meet your rate and concession requirements.  Making that statement says, "we want you to be our partner and we need these certain items to help us maximize attendance and revenue to your hotel."

Know the F & B Spending and Value of Your Ancillary Member Spending
This is a biggie for any association.  Hotels want associations to come who bring not just room rate revenue, but spa, bar, food, and group activity revenue.  Share with them your need to work on a rate that helps you maximize your attendance; that will maximize their food & beverage and ancillary attendee spending.  The more numbers you can put to that, so you can let them know the other types of revenue your group will bring to the hotel, the better rates you can command.

The Key to Getting is Knowing What You Can Live Without
In the art of negotiations, everyone wants to feel like they gained something, or didn't give away their best hand.   As a meeting planner, you can't ask and expect everything.  You need to be a profitable piece of business for any hotel, or you won't get the first class service you want for your members.  When looking at your list of concessions and the rate you are trying to obtain, make sure to know which items you are able to let go of and what is the top end rate you can afford to have for your members.  If you are able to let the hotel win on some items, they are more inclined to work with you in other areas, and give you a much better rate.

For me, the goal is to get from the hotel the best set of rate and concessions that help us put the best team on the field to win the game of "maximizing attendance."  Sometimes that looks different from venue to venue, but knowing your various meeting revenue streams to the hotel, and how your meeting flow impacts your member's spending habits, can go a long way to getting everything you need to create  the maximum member value at your meetings.

5-Stages to Building Believers in Your Association

Every month, we as association executives, strive to build a value proposition and brand that make our association a priority in our member's daily course of business or personal development life.  When the dues renewal hits their desk, it is one of the top priorities to be paid.  In a bad economy, it's the one bill that doesn't get dropped.

Those are called BELIEVERS!  Everyone else is just members.  So do you have BELIEVERS or just members?

BELIEVERS are part of a revolution.  Members are part of an association.  So is your association part of a revolution of change or just an association providing services.

BELIEVERS believe they have a competitive advantage by being a member.  Members just belong.

Creating BELIEVERS in your association is about building a relationship with a member long before they are ever a member.  It's no different than dating towards marriage, making sales calls to convert a huge customer, or getting a big donor for a foundation.  Those don't happen without the following 5 key elements taking place first.   Creating BELIEVERS in your association is no different.

My question is, "how many of your association action steps with meetings and communications fall into the first 4-blocks before someone is a member and the first year after they are a member?" 

 

 The five key steps to building BELIEVERS are as follows:

TRUST BUILDING

People want to know they can trust you in all your efforts and activities...especially when they are giving you money.  A lot of associations suffer because their members don't really trust their activities...especially the "good old boy network" syndrome.  Trust is built when the association's actions match up with their words, and those actions and words are deemed highly valuable assets to their development or success.

DEVELOP CARE

After trust comes Developing Care.  Do your actions at events and your communications say, "We really care about your needs and want to help?"  Or does it say, "We want you to buy this membership so we can stop our retention falling off the cliff?"  Developing CARE comes more from asking questions about what a member needs and wants for their development and success, than shoving what the association can do for them down their throat until they join.
   

ESTABLISHING RELEVANCE

This is one most associations struggle with.  This is all about your value proposition.  Your relevance is the center of creating your revolution.  It's critical your association leadership establish "what you can do for your members that they cannot do for themselves, and that are really meaningful to them."  Once you do this and move forward with action steps to make them happen, you gain immediate relevance to your industry.

PERSONAL GROWTH

This is the area when people are on the verge of joining or have joined.  From here, they are tapping into your information, meetings, financial data, programs and services, and experiencing the personal or profitable growth that comes from being a member of your association.

REAL CHANGE 

This is where members make the change to BELIEVERS.  They see a tremendous difference in themselves personally or in their business by being a member of your association.  Your association now becomes a priority for them...they get involved.  They want to do more to be a part of the association REVOLUTION. 

My question is simple, "if you put the above diagram up on the wall and stuck a pin in for all your actions in the categories they belong, where would they be?"  For most associations, they would all be near REAL CHANGE.  Most associations don't care about you until you become a member.  With that attitude, all you get are members with a low retention rate.  You are stuck needing to generate more new members than you lose so your membership trend doesn't move south.  

ACTION ITEM:  Put the above diagram up on a board and put a pin in the block you feel your events and communications belong in.  Be honest.  Don't put them in places to make you look good...put them where they belong.  If you have very few in the first 3 blocks, you need to reshape your member recruitment and member engagement plan.

Building members is about a financial transaction.  Building BELIEVERS is about a relationship that you can trust us, we care about you, and we are relevant to your cause.  Tap into your BELIEVERS today, and build your industry REVOLUTION!

PARTY: To Refresh, Revive, Energize

We are now on the final "P" in the Power of "P" series.  This "P", in some sense, is the most powerful "P" of all because it is the one you actually engage in, that brings out the "real you"...he one that drives your inner soul to refresh your spirit in life.  It's the PARTY in all of us.

Let me ask you something.  What do you think of when you hear someone say.... "That guy/girl knows how to Party?"  I'm always amazed when the word "Party" is used in the same sentence with someone's name, people associate that person as being a crazy drinker, out until 4 a.m., or takes things past the extreme.

I want to change your thinking on the word PARTY.

You see, to me, being someone who knows how to really "Party in life"means you know how to live life within your world that engages your inner most soul, refreshes your spirit, energizes your emotions, and strengthens your body.

For some, Partying is sitting on a beach reading a good book.  Others, it's hiking through the mountains taking in the awesomeness of creation.  For others, like me, it is dancing to amazing music deep into the night.  I love the energy and exercise of dancing.  It's an activity that makes me feel incredible both emotionally and physically, especially when I'm out with my closest friends.

If you have been told your entire life that it's a sign of growing up to leave the excitement of your youth, and go out and living life, then I would encourage you to turn away from that thinking.  Embrace the concept that you can "Party Like a Rock Star" in life and also be great at what you do...as well as be responsible.

Life is about a blend and balance.  To feel the ultimate joy in life, it's imperative you have a blend and balance of fun, excitement, social networking, and responsible purpose.

ACTION STEP:  Think about what engages your soul and do it as often as you can.  As I always say during our conferences.... LETS PARTY!!!!

PURSUE: What Stops You?

My last eight posts have outlined the keys to defining your PURPOSE, discovering your PASSION, deciding your PRINCIPLES, setting your PRIORITIES, surrounding yourself with good PEOPLE, putting together a PLAN, getting over your PAST and being in good PHYSICAL shape to achieve all that you want to achieve in life.

The 9th "P" focuses on taking the steps to PURSUE all that you have prepared and planned for.  So many people get everything in order and for some reason do not PURSUE their dreams.  For many it's because they don't have all the "Ps" in alignment, they fear failure; many even fear success, or they have been told they will never amount to anything so why pursue success.  

The key to PURSUING is making the "decision" to PURSUE.  That's it.  If you have worked through all the P's noted in my posts and feel good about them all, then the only decision to make is to take the first step towards your dream.  Don't let anyone tell you that you can't make it.  Don't let distractions or time wasters keep you from achieving your dream...eliminate them, GO FOR YOUR DREAMS, and execute your life plan you have built!

Remember why people tell you can't achieve things...they don't believe in themselves or their dreams, so the way they make themselves feel good is to make everyone around them feel less worthy or incapable of achieving their dreams.  This ensures that they aren't left behind by their friends who ARE chasing their dreams.

SHORT TERM ACTION STEP:  Each Sunday afternoon, sit down and write down the steps you need to take in the next week to continue the PURSUIT towards your PURPOSE and dreams you have established for your life.

LONG TERM ACTION STEP:  Open up your day-timer and write in the action steps that you know you need to take in 30 days, 90 days, and 6-months out to PURSUE your PURPOSE and achieve your dreams.  By doing this, these are in your plan and can't get lost.  

Remember, the difference between an average life and a great life, is simply the courage and willingness to PURSUE.

Seize the moment today!  Get your "Ps" in alignment and make the decision to PURSUE your dreams. Don't let people, your past, or circumstances stand in your way.  Make today, the start of the rest of your life!

PHYSICAL Self: Do I Have What it Takes to Achieve Greatness

Wow... this is one of the Power of "P's" that will hit home with a lot of people.  When I do my live session on the Power of "P" and ask everyone to discuss which one of the 10 P's do you struggle with the most, outside of their PAST, their PHYSICAL well-being is always one of the top two.

Lets face it... if you aren't 100% physically, you can't give 100% of yourself as a leader of any group of people or organization.   How we feel physically affects so much of our emotions and decision making.  When you are not healthy physically, it leads to a higher number of poor decisions and mood swings.   Knowing that, it makes sense for you to do everything you can to take good care of yourself.

Everyday, people depend on you to be at your best so you can function at the highest levels of success.  Your association members, your staff, your family, and groups you volunteer for, need you to be on your game so you can be there when needed.

The crazy thing with being healthy is so much is in our control:

• We can get more sleep
• We can work out
• We can watch what we eat
• We can watch what we drink
• We can get our annual physical
• We can take the medication the doctor prescribes for any illnesses

There are a lot of health issues that are out of our control and there isn't much we can do when they occur.  My goal today is to encourage everyone in the areas we have great control over.

Most healthcare costs are driven by a number of conditions that we can have influence on including:

• Obesity
• Heart Conditions
• High Blood Pressure & High Cholesterol
• Liver Issues

The following chart was taken from Men's Health Network to illustrate controllable risk factors and their relationship to chronic diseases.  Take a look:

As you can see from the top line, poor decisions about your health greatly enhance the opportunities for you to have poor health, which will eventually work its way into your job performance.

I want to encourage everyone reading this blog to take charge of your physical and emotional health today.  Take the steps to ensure you are healthy.  See a professional if you have to.  When you are healthy, you feel great, which leads to building confidence and better job performance.

Just because you are not on a professional sports team, doesn't mean you don't have to be in shape.  The rigors of leading an organization, at any level, can be demanding both physically and mentally.  It's critical you have an effective training plan that includes:

• Periodic reading on leadership and management to keep your mind healthy with new ideas
• Some type of physical activity; training 3 to 4 times a week
• A balanced diet
• Networking with friends to keep your social mind fresh
• Take a look at other habits or decisions you make that can lead to poor health and seek advice on them

A recent study showed 37% of America is considered obese, and by 2030, 50% of America will be obese.  For many, they can take control of their bodies and not be one of those statistics.

There is nothing wrong with, "work hard, play hard."  The question is..."are you being responsible in your playing hard, or are you working out hard so you can play hard without diminishing your health?"  Put a plan together today on how you will begin to take better care of yourself so those who depend on you, can count on you, because they know you care enough about yourself to take care of yourself.

If You Don't PLAN, You Don't Maximize Success

One of the most important of the 10 "P's" is the process of PLANNING.  Planning is what gives your association, or life, the sense of organization.  It allows you to work through each facet that can impact you, and prepare for it.  Remember, you need to quit planning for a future you cannot predict, and start planning for the future you WANT!  It's a totally different mindset when you pursue what you want.  Most people wonder around lost in disbelief because they can't predict the future, and forget they actually have control of many things that can help them achieve their purpose.

The key to any plan is to have it written down someplace.  If it's written down, you can be held accountable to it.  A plan without accountability is no plan at all.

When looking at your plan over time, you need to see three things:

1) Where did I want to be,
2) Where am I, and
3) A plan of attack to make up the difference quickly if there is a gap.

The problem with any planning in life or business, is many do not write them down, leaving them to wing it.  A year later, they are wondering why they are still in the same place spinning their wheels.

The key is to make a plan, write it down, and ask the three questions above throughout the plan.

Your plan should be specific enough to keep you on course towards your purpose, but agile and flexible enough to take on new opportunities that may allow you to reach your purpose quicker, or in a way you never thought possible.

There are lots of different planning styles and programs...I frankly think they over-complicate the process.  You spend 8-hours analyzing what you could have found out in about 3-hours.  After years of going through many different planning styles, I've boiled it down to a few simple steps.  I use this in both my personal life, as well as, our association planning.  Here are the steps:

Step One:  Identify Your Threats to Achieving Your Purpose

On your journey of achieving your purpose, various obstacles are going to get in the way.  They may be the economy, an ineffective boss, divorce, or a competitor.   Regardless of what they are, you need to identify what those threats are, and then determine whether they are controllable or uncontrollable.  If they are uncontrollable, write down what you should do as a contingency if it were to occur.  If it is controllable, this is where you want to put your real effort.  I have found in my life, most people are so worried about what they can't control, they forget to be 100% effective and focused in what they can control.

Step 2:  Identify the Resources You Have At Your Disposal to Achieve Your Purpose

These are the tools you will use to overcome the obstacles in step 1, and take advantage of opportunities that come your way.   Resources may be your job, your network of people,  or training you are involved in.  After you have a full list of resources, brainstorm what resources you need to acquire to be more effective at achieving your mission for life, or your association.  Once you have this full list, you have all the tools you need to be successful.

Step 3:  Ask Yourself Three Questions:

1. What am I doing now that I should be doing differently?
2. What I am not doing that I should be doing?
3. What am I doing that I should stop doing because it's done?

After deciding what your purpose in life or business is, performing these three simple steps helps to keep you on track with minor adjustments, as opposed to waking up one day and having to create radical change because you let yourself go adrift.

I want to make one final point on planning in the area of life...this is soooo important.  I think everyone should have a plan in the areas of physical health, emotional development, spiritual growth, and financial accumulation.  I want to end on the financial accumulation issue because it is a biggie.  Many people think the illustrious notion of retirement, "just happens."  They spend their entire life having fun, and then wake up at 60 with the reality that they don't have enough saved to quit working, or have the option to enjoy life.  I want you to take a close look at the following chart.  It represents the four stages of life.  Stage one is childhood through college.  Stage two is mid 20's and early marriage.  Stage three is your mid 30's though retirement.  Stage four is actual retirement.  You spend your entire life pushing the ball of savings up the hill hoping to get to the final stage and retire.  The data at the social security office tells us that of all adults who reach 25 years of age, 69% of those people will have their ball roll all the way back down the hill at age 65, and have to depend on others for one or more of housing, healthcare, transportation, and food.

 

I want to highly highly encourage everyone reading this post to take the time to sit down NOW and access your financial risk plan.  Things that cause the ball to roll backwards include divorce, daughter's weddings, unexpected disability/death, taxes, job change, being fired, etc.  These are all "threats" to your idea of retirement in the future.  The earlier you put a plan in place, the less expensive it is to cover the risk and do something about it.  If you want to have a $50,000 a year income at 65, you need at least $1,000,000 in the bank.  Are you on target to have a million in savings at age 65.  If not, get serious now about a plan.

Don't let another day go by without putting some thought into where you are, where you want to be, and a plan to make up the gap if one exists.   When you are in the second half of your life, you will very happy you did.

Your PAST... The Obstacle to Ultimate Success

This week, the focus of "The Power of P" is on you looking at your PAST.

Lets face it, many people know their PURPOSE and PASSIONS, have their PRIORITIES in order, have solid PRINCIPLES and are surrounded with great PEOPLE, and still never achieve their maximum potential because of one thing.  Their PAST.

In today's world, there is a lot of hurt and pain in individuals.  That pain leads to fear, low self-esteem, lack of confidence, hesitation, and an unwillingness to take risk.  All of these are huge obstacles in people achieving their maximum potential in life. 

Most of that pain is related to your PAST.

Many people have pain from divorce, abuse, bad relationships with their father, mother, boyfriends, girlfriends, or just life experiences.  Too many give "subconscious" control of their emotions over to those who have hurt them in their life.  Because of that hurt, they never move forward and achieve all the potential and excitement they desire for their life. 

You need to eliminate the negativity of your past.  You need to eliminate time-wasters from your life.  You need to know you were put here for a PURPOSE and a PEOPLE to serve.  Don't let your past and negative people drown your dreams.  Eliminate them and pursue your dreams with all your might.

In order for you to experience a life of freedom and to maximize your potential, you must let your past go.  You must turn from looking backward, so you can put focus on the future.  When it comes to experiencing the fun, excitement, opportunities, and freedom that life has to offer, your past is like a huge bag of rocks weighing you down.

Letting your past go, means dealing with your unfinished business.  Unfinished business means facing your past.  This means having the "discussion" with whoever was involved to reconcile the issue and   most importantly, "FORGIVING" whoever wronged you.

Forgiveness is the most important part of this process.  Remember, forgiveness is not about letting someone off the hook.  It's about unstrapping the bag of rocks on your back with all the pain and letting it go.  Let your past be a set of lessons for a brighter future.  Not a set of obstacles that break you down and keep you from your future.  To forgive, you don't even have to talk to the person, you can simply write a letter, an email, or just in your mind, have that conversation with yourself and forgive the other person.

From there...you walk forward in FREEDOM with a renewed feeling of joy, excitement, and optimism.

If you have a desire to experience the ultimate life, do whatever it takes to wipe away the pain of the past.   Let today start the rest of YOUR LIFE.  Your future awaits you!

PEOPLE...You Are Who You Surround Yourself With

This week we will focus on the 5th "P"... PEOPLE.

Now that you have defined your PURPOSE, discovered your PASSION, decided your PRINCIPLES, and set your PRIORITIES, it is a must that you surround yourself with great people to pull life and business off successfully.

I've learned throughout my entire life that there are few vital things to remember when you look at the PEOPLE part of your life.

• You never "ARRIVE" and know everything (we all need people)
• You CANNOT do "life" alone
• You ARE the PEOPLE you surround yourself with
• Choose them WISELY

People are a MUST in life.  It's too busy, chaotic, and tough to try and do it alone.  To be successful, you need to master the art of networking and grow a group of people around you who know your heart, soul, and mind, and can give you incredible advice on big issues.

Networking is perpetual, so NEVER STOP networking.  You never know when someone can help you years down the road.

Let's side bar to being a master networker...there are some keys in growing your power network around you.  Here are a few:

• It is a MUST Life Skill
• It is all about the CONNECTION
• Focus on finding INTEREST GROUPS you want to grow in
• Get connected to at least two MENTORS
• KNOW yourself and; others  (be a master of the 4-personality types)
• LISTEN more than you speak
• GIVE more than you receive
• Give WITHOUT expectation
• Always have BUSINESS CARDS on hand
• Be VIRAL (Online)
• Be CURIOUS
• Remember NAMES
• Not everyone will LIKE YOU (that's okay)
• Minimize or eliminate TIME-WASTERS

The key to people is to find people who challenge you to grow, are not afraid to tell you what you need to hear, ask the hard questions, are there when you need them, and most importantly, encourage you in your life journey.

When choosing to surround yourself with the right people, choose people of character.  Character is defined as someone whose beliefs and behaviors are in direct alignment.  They say what they mean and mean what they say. 

Choose people who are better than you are.  Think about it...if you want to improve your golf game, you don't ask someone who shoots 10-strokes worse than you, how to improve.  ...you ask someone who is shooting 10-strokes better than you.  The same holds true in business and in life.

The greatest leaders, business owners, and successful people in life, surround themselves with a TEAM of people who will help them achieve their goals.  Start looking at your Linkedin, Facebook, and Outlook contacts.  Are the people in your network, both online and offline, the people who can help you reach your goals in life?  If not, it doesn't mean you need to alienate those from your life, but it tells you that you need to expand your networking to meet some new people who will help you achieve success.

Step out of your comfort zone.  Look at your PURPOSE, PASSIONS, PRINCIPLES, and PRIORITIES, and start assembling the network of PEOPLE that can help you achieve excellence, excitement, and success.

Do it TODAY and make today the START OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!