A 3-Module Online Course for Strategy-Focused Association Executives

Qualifies For Up To 3 CAE Credits

Presented in bite-sized segments, The Innovation Imperative takes a deep dive into the strategies working for associations today. Join host Mary Byers, CAE, as she explores thought-provoking concepts designed to help you keep your association’s edge.

This three-module course features video interviews, valuable resource downloads, case studies, and quizzes. You’ll also gain key insights from what Mary has learned as she’s connected with associations around the world. 

Modules include:

• Questionology™: Harnessing Advanced Inquiry to Drive Strategy
• Experiment: Permission to Win When Nothing is Certain
• Leap: Strategies to Accelerate Progress and Make Big Gains

The Innovation Imperative is designed for convenient consumption and is offered as a self-paced course, accessible anytime, anywhere.

This online course is intended for anyone interested in innovation including Executive Directors and C-Suite Executives. This course is eligible for 3 CAE credit hours.

Questionology™: Harnessing Advanced Inquiry to Drive Strategy

Challenging assumptions and asking the right questions are two ways to drive business success. In this module you’ll learn:

• The new questions associations need to ask and how the answers can change your trajectory
• How small tweaks can create big gains
• How to create a questioning culture
• Why both confirming and disconfirming matter
• What to keep in mind when asking hard questions

Experiment: Permission to Win When Nothing is Certain

Glenn Allen, co-founder of OpenTable, says “Breakthroughs in business don’t follow set formulas. We must continually explore options, test and modify our assumptions based on results and feedback. Then, we can adapt to what we experience and learn.” 

Rigorous experimentation allows an association to lead and adapt consistently while still meeting the day-to-day demands of the organization. In this module you’ll learn:

• How to set up experiments
• Why new programs don’t always need (and shouldn’t have) a splashy rollout
• How to use project teams for simultaneous exploration
• Promoting experimentation so volunteer leaders come to expect it
• How pricing and packing experiments are essential to your future
• How an experiment can lead to a signature program

Leap: Strategies to Accelerate Progress and Make Big Gains

What should you do when you are being outpaced by change? Or when your member market has changed significantly (and your association hasn’t)? Or when your very existence is threatened? In this module you’ll learn:

• How one of the largest engineering societies in the world used four leaps to survive “The Great Recession”
• How to harness a 90-day sprint to create move-ahead gains
• How tackling a member challenge head-on created a leap for one agriculture association
• The value of data in leapfrogging
• How taking one step creates momentum

Full Price: $149.00

A 3-Module Online Course for Strategy-Focused Association Executives

Qualifies For Up To 4 CAE Credits

You inspire your colleagues and volunteer leaders but who’s inspiring you? Momentum Online Learning Course is designed not only to inspire you, but to share proven, adaptable strategies for creating momentum in your work for your association.

Presented in bite-sized segments, Momentum takes a deep dive into the strategies working for associations today. Join host Mary Byers, CAE, as she explores thought-provoking concepts designed to help you keep your association’s edge.

This three module course features video interviews, valuable resource downloads, case studies, and quizzes. You’ll also gain key insights from what Mary has learned as she’s connected with associations around the world. The modules are followed by a LIVE Capstone Event during which Mary will share bonus strategies and answer questions.

Modules include:

• Questionology™: Harnessing Advanced Inquiry to Drive Strategy
• Experiment: Permission to Win When Nothing is Certain
• Leap: Strategies to Accelerate Progress and Make Big Gains

PREVIEW - Momentum e-Learning Course: Strategy Starters for Today's Association Professional from Mary Byers.

Momentum is designed for convenient consumption and is offered as a self-paced course, accessible anytime, anywhere.

This online course is intended for senior leaders of membership organizations including Executive Directors and C-Suite Executives. This course is eligible or 3 CAE credit hours. A fourth CAE credit is available for attending the LIVE Capstone event.

Questionology™: Harnessing Advanced Inquiry to Drive Strategy

Challenging assumptions and asking the right questions are two ways to drive business success. In this module you’ll learn:

• The new questions associations need to ask and how the answers can change your trajectory
• How small tweaks can create big gains
• How to create a questioning culture
• Why both confirming and disconfirming matter
• What to keep in mind when asking hard questions

Experiment: Permission to Win When Nothing is Certain

Glenn Allen, co-founder of OpenTable, says “Breakthroughs in business don’t follow set formulas. We must continually explore options, test and modify our assumptions based on results and feedback. Then, we can adapt to what we experience and learn.” 

Rigorous experimentation allows an association to lead and adapt consistently while still meeting the day-to-day demands of the organization. In this module you’ll learn:

• How to set up experiments
• Why new programs don’t always need (and shouldn’t have) a splashy rollout
• How to use project teams for simultaneous exploration
• Promoting experimentation so volunteer leaders come to expect it
• How pricing and packing experiments are essential to your future
• How an experiment can lead to a signature program

Leap: Strategies to Accelerate Progress and Make Big Gains

What should you do when you are being outpaced by change? Or when your member market has changed significantly (and your association hasn’t)? Or when your very existence is threatened? In this module you’ll learn:

• How one of the largest engineering societies in the world used four leaps to survive “The Great Recession”
• How to harness a 90-day sprint to create move-ahead gains
• How tackling a member challenge head-on created a leap for one agriculture association
• The value of data in leapfrogging
• How taking one step creates momentum

Live Capstone Webcast: February 12, 2018 - 2:00pm ET (60 mins)

Join Mary live online for bonus strategy starters to jump-start your thinking on behalf of your association. Includes a live chat with fellow “Momentum” students. You’ll learn about adaptive thinking, see a new membership pricing strategy, revisit the power of pilot programs and more. Plus, Mary will take your questions live!  

The Price for this e-Course is $325.00.

Slow and steady may win the race but working with leverage increases return on investment for an association and its members. Join CommPartners and Mary Byers, CAE, for a look at how to maximize your organizational influence during this livestream event for association professionals. 

You'll learn:

• How leverage changes the game
• The value of momentum in changing membership from nice-to-have to must-have
• Momentum-building habits
• Powerful strategy starters for you and your team

CommPartners hosts live, online programs which brings communities together and fosters active engagement. The company also manages virtual conferences and captures and produces session content. Additionally, the company provides custom learning experiences designed to maximize engagement and monetize content through its cloud-based Elevate Learning Suite.

Based on their book, Road to Relevance: 5 Strategies for Competitive Associations, and their work with over 1,400 organizations, best selling authors Harrison Coerver and Mary Byers, CAE provide an introduction and overview designed to help you take the conversation about relevance to the next level. You will learn about associations that have successfully adopted the strategies, gain insight into how to do the same for yours, and get valuable handouts and worksheets designed to aid you on your journey.

There are five interlocking strategies on the Road to Relevance. Understanding all five—and how they work together—is essential for today's association staff and volunteer leaders. The concepts are simple, yet powerful, and help create a sustainable, efficient, and relevant association. Though each module provides a stand-alone look at one of the five strategies, together they present a road map for staff and volunteers, allowing you to operate more effectively in a highly competitive environment.

By viewing the series, you'll:

• Gain insight regarding competition and how it's changing the future of associations

• Understand the role of “profit" in a not-for-profit environment

• Learn how business strategies have positively affected other associations

• Identify strategies designed to help increase your association's value proposition

• Hear from two of the leading thought leaders in association management

• Receive complimentary access to the capstone webcast at the end of these five modules

The Road to Relevance series has been carefully designed to accommodate your busy schedule. Each strategy is covered in a 60-minute program to be watched at your convenience. Each module may be viewed a total of three times at no additional charge so that you can share with staff and your volunteer leaders.

Based on their book, Road to Relevance: 5 Strategies for Competitive Associations, and their work with over 1,400 organizations, best selling authors Harrison Coerver and Mary Byers, CAE provide an introduction and overview designed to help you take the conversation about relevance to the next level.

Strategy #1 Build on Strengths

What are your strengths? You need to understand them in order to build on them. This in-depth session takes a look at possible strengths, helps you identify yours and explores how knowing them will lead to focus and clarity in your future financial and human resource decision making. You'll get a list of questions to help you discover your strengths as well as a matrix to help you match your strengths with opportunity.

Based on their book, Road to Relevance: 5 Strategies for Competitive Associations, and their work with over 1,400 organizations, best selling authors Harrison Coerver and Mary Byers, CAE provide information designed to help you take the conversation about relevance to the next level.

Strategy #2: Concentrate Resources

Focus is the act of channeling an organization's energy and activity on a central point. Focus doesn't just happen. It takes analysis and judgment. It takes discipline. And once you have it, losing focus is easy. This in-depth session will help you identify where competition is coming from today and why it's important to concentrate resources as a result. It will help begin to think about where your association should be concentrating its resources and how to go about doing it. This session includes a Competitive Analysis Matrix for your use with your association.

Based on their book, Road to Relevance: 5 Strategies for Competitive Associations, and their work with over 1,400 organizations, best selling authors Harrison Coerver and Mary Byers, CAE provide information designed to help you take the conversation about relevance to the next level.

Strategy #3: Integrating Programs & Services

Few associations have a cohesive, well-thought out mix of programs and services that are purposefully integrated and that complement and reinforce each other. Scarce is the association with a menu of products and services that takes advantage of synergy. But lack of synergy means more difficulty in marketing programs and services and less traction when it comes to being the “go to" resource in your industry or profession. This session will help you understand “fit," recognize the value of suites of services, and get ideas regarding what to do with programs that don't fit. This session includes a handout designed to help you figure out “fit" for your programs and services and to identify the “orphans" that don't fit.

Based on their book, Road to Relevance: 5 Strategies for Competitive Associations, and their work with over 1,400 organizations, best selling authors Harrison Coerver and Mary Byers, CAE provide information designed to help you take the conversation about relevance to the next level.

Strategy #4 Aligning People & Processes Efficiently

To be competitive, an association cannot afford to be inefficient. It cannot misuse or squander resources in ways that don't add value. Like elite athletes, associations are going to have to be in top shape and perform with maximum efficiency to ensure success and relevancy in the future. How can you do this? Learn about “value stream mapping" and how it leads to increases in productivity and efficiency and possible cost-savings for your association. Hear case studies of associations that have increased their turn-around time for members and saved as much at $250,000 as a result of process alignment.

Based on their book, Road to Relevance: 5 Strategies for Competitive Associations, and their work with over 1,400 organizations, best selling authors Harrison Coerver and Mary Byers, CAE provide information designed to help you take the conversation about relevance to the next level.

Strategy #5: Purposeful Abandonment

The average association creates value by adding things rather than creating valuable things. Has this been your operating philosophy in the past? If so, this session will teach you a methodical process of identifying what should stay—and what should be eliminated from your portfolio of services. You'll learn how to get buy-in from leadership, how to decide what to eliminate and how to create a compelling vision for staff and leaders in order to make the process easier.