Articles by Plexus Authors

Plexus Consulting Group

Recent Articles 2005

Association Trends
December 2005

Exponential Growth
Take a look at the graph above. It’s known as the “exponential curve” and is usually used to illustrate uncontrolled population growth, the effect of compound interest on life long savings, or to hype skyrocketing prices of things like gasoline or Medicare costs. [More]

Association Trends
December 2005

The Threat to Trust
How much personal information do Assns collect from their members? How well do they safeguard it from prying eyes and accidental loss? As Assns seek ways to increase the value proposition as a way of either retaining, or increasing membership, the pressure to use data mining technologies will increase. That increase in data collection, storage and analysis will bring with it an unwanted guest; a significant threat to the trust that members have placed in the hands of their Assns. [More]

Association Trends
September 2005

Leading the way in a flattened world
Two books that go a long way to explaining our world, how we got to where we are, as well as the factors that will determine where we are going, are Guns, Germs and Steel (1999) by Jared Diamond and The World is Flat (2005) by Thomas Friedman. Readable and well-researched, the two works complement each other: Diamond shows how the forces of geology, climate and natural resources shaped the way civilizations emerged in history, while Friedman portrays the modern world as it has become through technology, trade and the dominance of free market economic principles. Both sketch a world and future where the traditional work of nonprofit organizations - especially standards setting, education and training, and networking - is and will be key.[More]

Association Trends
September 2005

From mere greetings, to great meetings
I know assn executives are busy, especially at the start of a conference, but they do themselves a disservice when they don’t carefully observe what they create. Basic premise: Assns exist for no other reason than for members to associate.[More]

Association Trends
June 2005

Honest appraisals
Employee appraisals are like trips to the dentist, most people would rather avoid them if they could! But, like the dentist visit, the more you postpone it the more you are likely to make eventual problems worse. If employee appraisals are difficult even in large organizations where there are dedicated human resources staff, how much more so in small organizations where a close working environment can make such discussions even more uncomfortable. The answer is that you should not have to say anything critical at all, if you employ a collaborative approach to performance evaluation. [More]

Association Trends
May 2005

The Flattening of the Association World
We know the world has become a smaller, perhaps even a miniscule place. When we speak of globalization, we seem to understand that it means organizations can compete and are forced to compete with competition from all over the world.The concept of globalization tells us that our competitors can come from anywhere. Even if we decide not to go international, they can and will enter your market space. But globalization isn’t the end of the trend; it’s just the launching pad for a new, curious and furiously paced tomorrow. [More]

Association Trends
April 2005

Time for Associations to Ride Into the 'Sunset"
As its name implies, a sunset provision meant that funding authorization carried with it the requirement that the funded program was to terminate or shut down automatically after a specified period of time. Any attempt to apply for new funding would bring with it the obligation to prove why the original funded project failed to achiev its objectives or, in the case of projects that had been successful, to identify and justify what futher accomplishments were needed. [More]

Association Trends
March 2005

Linking Strategy and Execution
Every year some of the association community’s most innovative strategies and plans in which untold hours of volunteer and staff time have been invested lie unused and likely even unread on some shelf collecting dust. [More]

Association Trends
March 2005

Dancing the Temporal Tango
It is a mistake for any assn to assume that their declining membership problems are unique. It is a different type of mistake to assume that just because the problem is endemic, that innovative solutions are impossible. [More]

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