I'm putting this post under the tag "wisdom" and perhaps as you read it, you'll see why.

Lynn Morton wrote a great piece "Dare to Suck". The title comes from her Freshman acting class's teacher who told the students to "push yourself as an artist" or prepare to deliver "sub-par, restricted and uninspired" efforts.  Lynn makes the point so eloquently.

Steve Tobak talked about failure too in his post "5 Classic Dumb Executive Moves". Here people are fessing up on mistakes made.

And in the words of Marlene Dietrich, "I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognizably wiser than oneself." Thanks Lynn and Steve!

@Marc_Meyer maybe social media is dating and community is living together...

This quip caught my eye in Rachel Happe’s recap of #socialmedia chat over on her post Fast & Furious—Twitter Chat. The topic was "The Difference between social media and community". She notes that this conversation is happening all around. She’s right. I was on a conference call whose topic was very much related. The call brought together a lively group of volunteers who are in the process of developing a more flexible, intuitive road map for communities in their association. We were grappling with the questions: when is a robust listserv group a community? When is a community an organization? When do we need structure?

In our conversation, one of the volunteers described how he and 6 others started what is essentially an online space for talking about off-topic listserv discussions. This new space has the feeling of being a community of peers who talk through issues and trends that have an impact but aren’t truly on topic over at their assembly listservs. Today's call focused on the fact that the group is active and engaged so they must be ready to be something more. To which I respond – why should they? Why is success measured on traditional model of the association component (be it special interest group, chapter, community of practice, section …)?

If community is living together, does that have to lead to marriage? When we have in our mindset that every group is moving towards a formal structure, then its no wonder we have a failure rate for these groups akin to the divorce rate. (No I’m not going to launch into a treatise on marriage!) What if instead we expected few to formalize? If we had a system that allowed community to emerge, expand and contract – both in terms of people and the “work” – as needed, and sunset whenever. Measurement would be not on the communities, but on the engagement score for individual members. Would this create a platform for a more vibrant membership?

Consider the positive outcomes … like no more legacy SIGs or chapters, less bureaucracy, reduced volunteer recruitment angst. Interesting vision; it is possible?

ASAE & The Center is beta-testing a brand new collaborative space - okay in lay-speak a private social media platform. As a member of a section council and volunteer I was invited into the new playground. Once inside I found the Volunteer Town Square! What a cool name for a space to find short-term volunteer jobs and to meet. 

If you want to know more, be sure to check out the launch at ASAE 09 in Toronto (and of course over the airwaves too). But meanwhile, just think of how cool it would be for your volunteers to have a virtual town square to gather in ... hmmm ...

PS I'd be remiss in not acknowledging some of the creative minds behind the whole new playground including Maddie Grant, Lindy Dreyer, Reggie Henry, Priya Viswanathanand Jen Miller and team at SusQTech.

Tammy Erickson's posting Stuck in the Middle: How Generation X can survive the Boomer-GenY Love Fest appears to be about succession in the business world. But put on your volunteer manager hat and reread it. The dynamic she describes is happening in our volunteer workforce too. Our greatest challenge in the next 5 years is to help these generations work together to achieve the mission of our non-profits.

Here's an important nuance of volunteering vs. paid work: Our volunteers don't have the same motivations as they do in the workplace to "work it out." They are more likely to get up and leave if they aren't welcomed at the table. That's in part behind why associations haven't been able to draw in the GenY crowd in big waves. But on the other end, Boomers are indicating increasingly they want off the volunteer "leadership" treadmill. This last fact is supported by The Decision To Volunteer research which found that older members are less likely to volunteer in the future. We have to take action if we want to get the best volunteers. I'll offer a few ideas for action ... tell me what you think.

• Examine our volunteer pathway ... are their places where volunteers can move sideways? are there multiple entry points to volunteering? are ad-hoc roles visible, adequately resourced (think training!) and celebrated?
• Examine how we coach volunteers through the path. Do we help them assess their skills and performance? Do we guide them into roles that will best suit them and challenge them?
• Can we create active mentoring? As Tammy suggests, leveraging the Boomer-GenY relationship will not only provide a path for GenY into the organization, but also open up a critical role and pathway for Boomers. To make this work we need to celebrate our mentors.
• Actively train volunteers on communication and group dynamics skills so they can draw all generations to the table?
• Define and act on a diversity policy for our volunteer program.

The GenX squeeze has become a popular blog topic (here's another one worth reading from Jeff Cobb, who I'd like to thank along with Lisa Junker for pointing out Tammy's post). I'd encourage reading with your volunteer manager hat on. And, while you're reading, here's another from Tammy: Why Leaders Should Practice Pull Management.

Go Jamie, Go Jamie ... I thought I add my "rant" to Jamie Notter's rant about succession planning and what it isn't.

I personally embrace his definition:

Succession planning is really just ongoing leadership adaptation. How do we need to change the capacity within our systems to shape the future, given the demographic make up of our system?

Jamie was reacting to Bob Filipczak's post on GenXers from his Managing the Generations Blog. I didn't find it as horrendous as Jamie (but then I'm a boomer not an Xer), but I did find it frustrating because it preached following the status quo. Essentially Bob advises his generation to put job tenure and learning the office politics game as priorities to ascend to management. The problem with that advice is that it's based on an old business model. And for at least this boomer, I don't want staff (or volunteers) blindly playing the game.

The one comment on which I agree with Bob is there is very real opportunity for GenXers (and all enlightened individuals) to shape how companies do business in a way we haven't seen recently. Which leads me to the point: no matter how you define the generations or choose to manage them in your association,  the real message is in understanding that succession planning - for staff or volunteers - isn't having warm bodies sitting in the wings until a seat opens, its a dynamic process that embraces innovation and assumes change is happening around us.

The conversation on the ASAE & The Center's component relations listserv has turned to the issue of leadership again. It started with a conversation point about why all chapters within an organization should or shouldn't charge the same chapter dues amount. We eventually talked about weak vs. strong chapters noting it is tied to weak vs. strong leaders.

Cynthia D'Amour summed it up nicely with "It's sort like asking people to pay the same for fresh fruit and spoiled fruit."

Meanwhile over at FastCompany blog, Cliff Kuang reported on a study of birds' social patterns that teaches a valuable lesson about how a small number of revolutionaries can challenge an established order. (Thanks to SmartBrief on Leadership for pointing this out!)

So what do these two conversations have in common? Chapters can too frequently become small fiefdoms that suffer from  poor but unrelenting volunteer leaders. We struggle with how to overcome the situation. Meanwhile scientists offer us a model for how a small band of "revolutionaries" can overthrow the establishment. Sounds like a road map for rebuilding chapters. Could we build revolutionaries within failing chapters?

If so, we don't have to worry about differences in dues.

What made the Buzz2009 experience special?
If you were in the room ...

@MissLynn13 Btw #buzz2009 attendees got free samples of the new Starbucks instant coffee. w00t! I like feeling special & exclusive. ;)

And now the big Kindle giveaway...only for someone in the room. #buzz2009 & @elcaliente Thank you #Buzz2009 for the Kindle DX. I'm trying to figure it out. Any suggestions?

@SBoSM And off to happy hours where your name tag gets you drinks. #buzz2009

If you weren’t ...

Your Virtual Seat at Buzz2009
Bonus Video Post to NCE Social Media blog
#BUZZ2009 on Twitter

For all, the story aha's, insights, advice like:

Aha’s ...

@MissLynn13 The less often you tweet, the more you should try to utilize hashtags to be found in searches. #buzz2009

@Jeffhurt @BeforeShot Yeah, wthashtag.com is gr8 4 printing a transcript of chats, conferences, events, etc that use a hashtag & #buzz2009 was cool 2

Insights ...

@guykawasaki If you try using Tweetchat during #buzz2009 you won't have to refresh the screen. Great tool for monitoring!

@ewengel  closing thoughts: living case study on SocialFish blog, room full of assoc peeps (not socmed peeps), community is key to WOM #buzz2009

@JeffHurt I like to call it b4, during & after event. use conference content to extend community experience for all members. #buzz2009

@LocalManagers  #Buzz2009 tip: iMacs saved Apple by creating buzz about their colors; not comp stats. Is there buzz when budget #s mean parks, schools...?

Advice ...

@MissLynn13 I think the SocialFish are really great about giving people fun things to talk about. <3 the nametags for #buzz2009

@MissLynn13 "Make people feel exclusive & they will talk" - Making people feel exclusive w/o excluding can be an issue for Associations. #buzz2009

@ewengel  idea one: add "Tell a friend" capabilities everywhere #buzz2009 (you need to read her whole series!)

@thorpus too many choices paralyzes people - advice from @guykawasaki was to reduce choices

@deirdrereid: Associations - be the social media coach for your members. #buzz2009

Great recaps beginning to come in on all fronts ...

Gas Pedal Live From SmartBrief’s panel
Jeff Hurt’s Buzz 2009 Hive Waggle Dance For Meeting Planners: The Living Conference

So, the stories behind the conference how are they ending?

Well, it’s safe to say – they aren’t! Remember the Never Ending Story from your childhood? But let’s watch and find out …

Thursday, July 9 is the day. It's the day when we get to see if you can create an event, fill a room, get great reviews and make money without tapping any traditional marketing channels. Given the SOLD OUT sign on the registration page, I'm guessing it's a day where we in the association and meeting planning world will find out the answer is yes.

I'm talking about Buzz2009 (see my first post What's the Buzz?) the event of the year for association execs to explore social media. The content is jam-packed and the buzz has been strong so it's probably a slam dunk.

But there's a story behind the buzz that can also be a valuable case study and lesson in marketing - especially for association execs with limited budgets and a mandate to engage younger generations. The story has a chapter too on how we can connect social media and face-to-face. And there's a story behind the story that is a case study and valuable lesson for associations who aren't thinking outside the proverbial box.

Story 1: This event was powered by buzz! Lindy Dreyer and Maddie Grant have cranked every social media tool into high gear. They actually have given us all the roap map (check out their Social Fish Food and subscribe today!). We'll see how it all unfolds tomorrow (follow #buzz09).

Story 2: Two individuals meet in an association, start hanging together and then create an event, hold it basically outside the association. And, here's the kicker, engage many of the association pals in the process. Hmmm ...

PS - they aren't the only ones - think Scott Oser and Kevin Whorton's College of Association Marketing (next session July 16).

I'm traveling so will miss a seat in the room but thanks to Maddie and Lindy's commitment to community I'll have a ring side seat - and report back on the story behind the buzziest event.

Being an active member of an association can be one of the best ways to inspire good luck.

Here’s the evidence.

I’m a dancer (among other things!) but a few years ago had no dance mentor, no dance group, having lost my dance program. As I searched the net for options and resources, I stumbled upon a dance association. I joined. I went to a national dance festival. I met a fabulous lady, then another and soon we formed a group. I now have a wonderfully talented mentor, dance group and dance concerts.

I’m a business owner but a few years ago I was an out-of-work association professional testing new waters. As my husband/partner and I began to put together our business plan, I joined the local chamber of commerce. I volunteered for a project. I attended the breakfast. I met a fabulous lady, who introduced me to the past-president of a local association looking for a management company. Our first management client was signed.

I’m a teacher who has enjoyed many classroom opportunities but wanted to explore teaching an on-line course and wanted to sharpen my skills all around. As a member of ASAE’s component relations section council, I was tapped for the development team to create the Principles of Component Relations online course and then to teach two of the weeks. I’ve also been a frequent workshop leader for ASAE.

In each case, networking within my member association led me to the right people, the right place, the right opportunity. My association membership produced good luck.

I hadn’t seen this connection clearly until I got to #8 on Rob Thompson’s post “10 Ways To Generate Luck.”

8. Network … That person on the far side of the room may be a surprisingly good fit to assist in your next project. But you have to speak to them first to find out. Network like you mean it, too. People will pick up on your genuine interest, and opportunities will come more freely.

So, I’m thinking that my next membership campaign invitation will begin with something like “Your membership in [association] will generate good luck.”

Do you have any evidence of good luck from your membership?