We make association leaders think.
Will you join us?
How are things going in your chapter?
Do you have a surplus of volunteers?
Do you have a strong pool of future leaders?
Do you have new members eager to join your chapter?
If you answered “No” to any of these questions, the Lazy Leader Transforms America – One Volunteer at a Time! tour is calling your [...]
September 11th, 2009 | Cynthia D'Amour | Comments | Continued
Again.
This weekend I finally saw the new Star Trek movie.
James had been begging for a while.
He loved it and I thought I would too.
I was skeptical.
Basically Star Trek got a new life.
It was the same Star Trek.
And it wasn’t.
Much more than just a remake.
More like a new chapter.
New actors in classic roles.
Guiding principles honored.
And ability [...]
At ASAE09
How do you meet the needs of many at a single party?
By many, I mean thousands.
Of different generations.
And multiple likes.
Often, the farewell party at ASAE has been pretty much one-size fits all.
Appetizers galore.
A band popular in the 1970s.
In a big concert venue.
Toronto had some similar elements.
A variety of finger food.
RBTO – a tired [...]
At ASAE09
It was a special event at a cool location.
Open to anyone.
Hosted by myself and Sharon Kneebone.
(We do this at every ASAE annual meeting.)
This year – Karaoke!
Sharon is an amazing singer.
Let’s just call me enthusiastic.
Plus it’s a ton of fun.
We decided to hold it opening night.
After the formal reception.
To give people a chance to reconnect.
And find [...]
August 20th, 2009 | Cynthia D'Amour | Comments | Continued
Missed the mark.
Got a creative conference promotion.
The hook: How to get your boss’s approval to attend.
Why did they send this to me? I am the boss.
Still decided to check it out.
First mistake: I have no idea what their conference is about.
They used a code name.
Didn’t spell it out.
Looks like it’s something to do with marketing.
“What [...]
August 13th, 2009 | Cynthia D'Amour | Comments | Continued
Prove me wrong.
A volunteer shared his experience with me.
This is a true story.
Names have been changed to protect the innocent.
(And the clueless.)
For two years Donald volunteered on a chapter committee.
He worked hard.
Brought fresh ideas.
Was committed to the team.
Donald’s chapter used an antiquated volunteer assignment process.
Members have to apply to be allowed to help the chapter.
Volunteering [...]
Is so passe!
Growing up, men mowed yards on Saturday or Sunday night.
The weekend was for yard work.
My dad mowed Saturday morning to free the weekend.
Many mowed Sunday night.
Fast forward to walking Monday night.
I saw three people mowing their yards.
Within one block.
All looked around early 30s.
Personally, I don’t care when people mow.
I’ve got a pretty fluid [...]
August 5th, 2009 | Cynthia D'Amour | Comments | Continued
Seriously.
A wedding party dances down the aisle.
Maybe 200 guests see it live.
Over 10 million people watch the video on YouTube.
(If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s here.)
The video made me smile.
It looked like they were having fun.
The energy was infectious.
I wished I was there.
Pondering recent chapter events I’ve attended…
Few had interesting visual elements.
No great surpluses of [...]
Who knew?
Lately I immersed myself in exploring the potential of social media.
Supporting chapters.
Fueling a movement
Building community.
Started seeing lots of similarities to my latest book.
The Lazy Leader’s Guide to Outrageous Results.
Transforms do-it-all martyr leaders.
Into Lazy Leaders who involve many.
Social media strategies and Lazy Leaders both:
Let go of control.
Let others get personal with content.
Encourage the party.
The former competitive [...]
July 17th, 2009 | Cynthia D'Amour | Comments | Continued
Look at me!
What do you do on a beautiful summer afternoon?
We attended the Michigan Elvisfest.
Never gone before.
Was 10 miles from our house.
It was non-stop Elvis songs performed by impersonators on the main stage.
Everywhere we turned we saw more Elvises. (Elvi?)
Did you know you there are 100s of ways to wear Elvis clothes?
And all [...]
Makes my life easier!
Today the mailman brought me another story to share.
This time the culprit is a newsletter.
From a program I was involved in a few years ago.
And have not heard from since.
The newsletter itself is not bad.
A single, double-sided piece of paper.
It’s a quick read.
And includes coupons.
However, I have no idea what it talks [...]
July 7th, 2009 | Cynthia D'Amour | Comments | Continued
Say what?
I received a gold-plated pin nested in a blue-velvet jewelry box in today’s mail.
For my volunteer efforts.
Recognizing my “many hours of dedicated service.”
Helping out so many people.
Sounds nice – so what’s my problem?
I have no idea why I got the pin.
It’s a major organization in Ann Arbor.
Thanking me for TWO YEARS of service!
I may have helped [...]
July 6th, 2009 | Cynthia D'Amour | Comments | Continued
It’s too soon.
Yesterday I got a 2010 calendar in the mail.
A giveaway from a nonprofit.
To make me feel indebted.
So I would send a donation.
But here’s the thing…
It’s barely half way through the year.
I’m not past fireworks yet.
Definitely not thinking 2010 details.
Plus let’s talk about the calendar…
Sure the photos are pretty.
But I don’t use a [...]
No one saw me – again.
Just tried to participate in another chat on Twitter.
No luck.
No matter what I tried.
I was barred from playing somehow.
I did reach out for help.
@JeffHurt gave me some advice.
Alerted others.
And at least made me feel noticed.
That said, I missed out AGAIN.
It was an interesting discussion.
I made some great comments.
Which no one saw!
I don’t have [...]
June 23rd, 2009 | Cynthia D'Amour | Comments | Continued
And no one cared.
An interesting conversation took place on Twitter.
Twitter is an online community.
You communicate 140 characters at a time.
You can follow conversations by using # in front of key words.
I tried to join the conversation.
Used the correct #code.
Saw my tweets (messages) post.
But did not get engaged in the conversation by others.
I know there had [...]
June 17th, 2009 | Cynthia D'Amour | Comments | Continued
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