Association Leadership - July/August 2008 - (Page 38)

ideas Great ideas Educational meeting ideas Do you have a limited budget, but hate to serve only beverages in the afternoon? The Texas Municipal League solved this by serving a mediumto-heavy lunch, followed by dessert several hours later. Negotiate to have the dessert served around 2 p.m. When folks have a medium-to-heavy lunch, they don’t mind the dessert a bit later. If your budget is lean, don’t serve bottled water. Typically, bottled water is $2-3 a bottle. Instead have the hotel provide a water station. Give out awards o for failure Who do we appreciate? Some years ago, Texas Library Association began sponsoring an annual staff appreciation luncheon. At the event, they recognize any longevity awards for the year. For example, at ﬁve years, TLA offers a $100 cash bonus and three days sabbatical with pay. At 10 years, there is a $150 cash bonus, a marble plaque and one week of sabbatical with pay. Continuing at ﬁve-year intervals, they just celebrated their ﬁrst 25th award with a $750 cash bonus, four weeks of sabbatical with pay and a celebratory recognition/gift at the annual conference. S om e Somet Sometimes we learn from ome et our mi ou mis our mistakes, and if we can mis laugh ab laugh abo them, even better. aug about Why no recognize the best Wh not Why no ideas i d ea a ideas and the worst and have some fun in your have have ofﬁce? Pass n Passing Passing notes note notes tes Eve Ever mployee houl Ever y employee should Every employee should ery yee uld keep a “feel good” folder. keep “feel ood” older. keep “feel good” folder. feel fe der. Keep all those recognition Keep ll those ecognit on Keep all those recognition ho niti notes from employers and note from mployers nd notes fr m employers and ote es plo ers oye members. hen feel n members. When feeling members. When feeling rs frazzled, put that out for a few minutes for an instant pick-me-up! Pr Pro Protect y your organizational orga organ ar arc archives Wh t ans What plans What plans do you have in place for protecting vital in place for ace or records? Keep a copy of records? records? Ke information o site as well as informat information off in a protected ﬁre-proof n pro ro ﬁle. Essential nutrients The Texas Library Association’s staff members are given a “conference survival bag” with juices, salty items and lots of chocolate! Board governance Do you want to ensure new board members don’t ﬂounder? Create a board orientation notebook, and have the ﬁrst board meeting be one with old and new members coming together. It makes the transition a lot smoother. Sean had a great idea: “One Week Job” creator Sean Aiken spent a week with TSAE and learned there is dventure a whole world of associations – and good BBQ. He realized every job he had held in his 52-week adventure was represented by a professional or trade association! Sean’s next adventure is writing a book for Random ut House to be published in spring 2009, and we envision him doing some professional speaking about his experience. Check out his Web site: www.oneweekjob.com. 38 Association LEADERSHIP | July/August 2008 http://www.oneweekjob.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Association Leadership - July/August 2008

Association Leadership - July/August 2008 Contents Chairman’s Column Homepage 60-Second Solutions Cover Feature: Association Lessons Learned Perspectives Association Case Study TSAE Annual Conference CEO Strategies New Members Community Spotlight Government Relations: Resources Technology: Web Site Redesign Global Summit Photo Page Great Ideas Beaumont New Mexico Index to Advertisers Advertiser.com The Lighter Side of Associations

Association Leadership - July/August 2008

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