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Greatness Magnified

How to Handle Grief: Leveraging Recognition to Survive Loss

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Using recognition, even in times of our greatest grief, can provide comfort and touch people lives.

My Auntie Sue had not even reached her 60th birthday when she passed away from cancer. She was an incredible person, full of life, positive, happy, had many friends; we couldn’t believe her life was cut short. A year after she passed, my family gathered for a celebration of life. We knew we wanted to remember her, but we didn’t want it to feel forced or awkward. So, we took a leaf out of Auntie Sue’s book and we made it fun.

We used F.R.O.G. Forever Recognize Others’ Greatness™ to honour my Auntie Sue.

We took a frog charm with a pink ribbon for breast cancer. Whoever was holding the charm shared a memory, a funny story, an attribute or gift she had, or a story of how she had touched their life.

By the time it got to her husband (my uncle), he was choked up. “I wish that we had done this when she was alive.” One of my kids looked at him and said, “Well, why don’t we that for each other now?”

Out of the mouth of babes, right?

So that’s exactly what we did. We had a bit of an awkward moment of trying to guess each other’s favourite colours (turns out we don’t know that about each other!) Then, we took turns being recognized. Each member of the family passed around our charm, again sharing a funny memory, story or what they most admired in us. They honoured our greatness. And by it being sparked by commemorating Auntie Sue and because she would have loved to be a part of that, it honoured her too.

Now, some of us felt more comfortable receiving public compliments than others (I for one, surprise, surprise had no problem!) However, we did it for her. And each one of us experienced that endorphin rush when you experience positive things. Who would have expected to feel better leaving a Celebration of Life than when you came in?

A few weeks later, I received a text from my cousin. She shared how much the day meant to her and her dad. And, she attached a picture. It was a shadow box containing four FROG charms – my aunt’s, my uncle’s, hers and her fiance’s. Today that is proudly displayed in my uncle’s front hall and it’s one of the first things you see. It’s apparently a common source of inquiry, and how lovely to retell the story of the day we all recognized Sue’s greatness together.

How can you honour your family’s greatness? How can you bring recognition into your family gatherings? How can it comfort you during a loss? How do you already do these things? Will you share your strategies and ideas below?

If you felt that this was powerful for you, or you know somebody who is looking for an idea about how to celebrate somebody that they’ve lost, why don’t you share the video or post with them? A problem shared is a problem halved, isn’t that what they say?

Sending you warmth, support, and comfort if you’re going through a difficult time. Recognizing your greatness in how well you’re handling it.

But I’m Exhausted: How to Recognize Yourself and Others’ Even in Overload

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An interview with special guest, Christine Laperriere, owner/founding partner of Leader In Motion and Executive Director of Women of Influence Advancement Centre. Christine is passionate about Women’s Advancement and helping them learn how to stay happy despite being so busy.  Learn more about the mindset and strategies needed to get through it all.

Sarah:

Today, I’m pleased to introduce you to my amazing colleague Christine Laperriere, the head of Leader In Motion. We were going to talk about something that we’re so passionate about- women’s advancement and the lack of recognition – but here’s the thing; we’re both showing up at 4:30 in the afternoon at the end of the week exhausted and we’re exhausted! Instead, we’re going to have a real conversation here about what it’s like when you are fatigued and the lack of recognition that comes when that happens.

Christine:

We can definitely have a talk about that because that is top of my mind right now. Doing all this work with the Women of Influence Advancement Centre is a big part of my day job. I coach women through their careers to help them move into promotions. It’s amazing because here I am; I’ve got a screaming toddler and an eight-month-old baby who’s teething right now. Basically, I’m juggling it all. Sometimes the idea of advancement in the first place is just exhausting.

Sarah:

It’s fleeting moments when we consider: why would anyone want to advance?

Christine:

True, When you are thinking, you have more than I can possibly handle. Please, I don’t need anymore! I see this a lot when I’m coaching women. I see them struggle with being exhausted and under these incredible demands and feeling like they don’t want any additional responsibility. They don’t want any additional leadership. I just got off the phone earlier this morning when a coaching client went from an individual contributor to over the last year and a half she was given a team of 10 and then another team of 10 and then another team of six.

Meanwhile, she’s a busy mom at home raising children. She just said, “All I need to do is get as much done as I possibly can in a day so that I can get home and be a mom,” which is another important job for me. Sometimes I think to myself, “How do we do this? How do we do this all?”

Sarah:

I too see with coaching clients that they internalize this: if I can’t get it all done I’m a bad contributor or I’m a bad mom or terrible spouse. It’s amazing how many of us look around and think others must have it figured out. Not only is it rarely true, but it also robs us of the opportunity to recognize our greatness, what we are doing well and what we are doing right.

Christine:

It’s definitely a matter of understanding how to manage the standard that you’re going to hold yourself to when you’re juggling more than one thing. I think one of the things that I was talking to her about was how, before I had kids, it was easy to find four extra hours. Not that my life outside of work wasn’t very important, but there were other things that I could try to delay, move or reschedule. Unfortunately, I can’t reschedule a teething eight-month-old! I don’t get the luxury of coming home from work and finding four additional hours while I’m juggling a teething eight-month-old. It’s interesting how the idea of balance, like the standard that we set on ourselves, it has to be modified for the number of demands that we’re carrying. The bar that I used to jump in my career was much higher. Today, it’s got to be a little bit lower so that I can manage it all. I need to be pretty good at a lot of things versus awesome at everything. I’ll raise the bar again next week when his teeth are here.

Sarah:

Maybe we realize the expectations don’t have to be that high anyway. Maybe we actually have much higher standards than we need to. Because one of the things that I’ve learned through the work you do in supporting women’s advancement and the research is that what holds women back is that we put our heads down, keep working harder, and expect our blood, sweat, and tears will eventually pay off. Not advancing? We do more. Then the bar is higher, not just for ourselves, but others have a higher bar for us too. We expect it’s going to get us noticed, but that’s not what happens, is it?

Christine:

Right. To bring it all together, I’m finishing a book called “Too Busy To Be Happy.” Ironic. Maybe you’ll understand why I feel like I’m an expert on this topic being too busy to be happy, but at the end of the day it’s juggling all of it and let’s say the bar that we put on ourselves, I still come back to, can you answer the question, “Are you happy?”

When we set expectations and standards that are so out of reach and then we start on that treadmill and we’re running, running, running, we end up losing sight of actually just being happy. I’ve made it a passion of mine to figure out how to be busy and happy. Somewhere along the line, the idea of this work-life balance thing came along and it made me feel like I needed to have a life on the top of a mountain and meditate for nine hours a day in order to be happy.

I felt like I was conflicted because I really love my busy life, but there are just moments where I no longer am happy. For me, it’s just trying to find out how do we be busy and happy. Not feeling quite so exhausted all the time.

Sarah:

It’s so important to be both busy, and not feel guilty about that, and happy. When we aren’t, we often aren’t living our greatness and not recognizing ourselves. What are some of your best tips for people to be able to recognize themselves even when they feel like they’re busy and perhaps not getting it all done? How can they still recognize themselves?

Christine:

I think it’s going to sound really simple, but the prioritization of the things is important. When you look at the amount of energy we’re trying to expel on so many different priorities at the same time, the first thing I end up doing when I’m talking to somebody is coming back to, what are the most important things? Such as, “Okay. I need to be an awesome mom and deliver fantastic results at work, but are those are the only two things or do you also want health, friendships, and other things? What are the things most important to prioritize?

If you have a sick parent, over delivering just isn’t in the cards, right? It’s about survival. Understanding what are those two or three most important things that have to get done right now. It’s funny. You can take a look at your day where you’re spending your time and see how well aligned you’re spending your energy and time with the two or three things that are most important. To me, it’s the fastest way.

One of the things I do all the time is I’ll say, “Open up your calendar. Where have you been for the last week or so? Let’s take a look at where you’ve been spending your time.” It’s almost instantly an “ah ha” moment for people when they’re feeling too busy to be happy.

Sarah:

I just want to take a moment to acknowledge, Christine, that in your busy day, you still valued and prioritized our relationship and our conversation.

Christine:

One of the things I’ll say on that note, it’s so funny because I’m very particular about where I spend time and energy. But if a relationship is bringing good energy and it actually raises my energy level versus depletes my energy level, I prioritize it. That relationship goes way up in my importance of things to do. I think that’s been one of the biggest things that actually helps me manage my stress levels. Our relationship is energizing for me. It made the top of my list when I did have a free moment to do a VLOG. Thank you so much for being a part of it. And thanks for the great work you’re doing helping people leverage recognition in themselves and at work.

Sarah:

If you want to learn more about Christine and her website is www.leaderinmotion.com. And we’ll be sure to keep you updated on Christine’s new book that’s coming out in early 2019! Christine, I hope you’ll come back for another interview!

Christine:

You’ve got it!

10 Tips to Start a Facebook Movement: Grow a Fabulous Facebook Group FAST

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One of the best compliments I ever received is that my brand matches what people hear and see me do. There is authentic alignment. One of those places I work hard to add value is on social media. Well, it’s not too hard…recognizing greatness all around you is easy when it’s…everywhere!

Do you have a clear message of value you’re putting out through social media? If you did, what might it do for your career, business or relationships? What might it do for you?

When you can do an even better job

 I began to notice in the Spring a lot of people sharing they were having a difficult time. Divorce, strained relationships with their teens, the loss of someone they loved, self-doubt. Posts, DM, coffee conversations, folks approaching me after a keynote. I thought surely there was something I could do. Surely there was a way to help contribute a glimmer of hope and recognize the greatness all around us.

It occurred to me that there’s an opportunity with Facebook. What if we could pull individuals together for some positivity-based conversation on a daily basis? What if we could recognize what was working versus just talk about what wasn’t or comparing ourselves as not good enough. From this idea, the group, Great Happy People was born.

There were, of course, many skeptics who wondered the benefit of yet another Facebook group. There were others who asked me why I’d waste my time with something that couldn’t make me money (we have a strict no selling policy on the site). Funny why we always have to justify our gut instincts with a logical reason, isn’t it….

Just Serve

Thought leader, Gary Vee professes, “Serve, serve, serve first.” It’s short-sighted of us to think that there isn’t benefit if we’re from a service-based mentality, but perhaps more importantly, I wasn’t doing this to make a sale. These individuals were reaching out to me for advice and to perhaps to just unload.

How do we build a community of support? If I am going through a difficult time, ultimately that’s what I’d want somebody to do for me, and so we acted. How did we create this incredible community?

Today there are over 3,000 individuals who share hope, positivity, and encouragement on a daily basis. We share things that make us laugh, feel lighter, and make us grab the box of Kleenex. We share what people may need at the most difficult times of their lives (without it being therapy, of course). People who have never met providing timely, sincere support and encouragement to perfect strangers. It’s, in a word, inspirational.

So how can you create that kind of service through a Facebook Group? Here are 10 things that I believe are the successes and what has worked for this community of Great Happy People.

10 Tips for Starting a Facebook Movement Fast & Fabulously

1. Come up with a relatable name

Identify a name that people can resonate with. “Hey, that’s me!”

2.Rules

It’s essential folks know what is okay and not okay. Things like: No bullying, no solicitation, and sales, etc. May seem obvious but you’d be surprised. Recently, I’ve added no political persuasion, and no religion, even if it’s positive because we don’t want anyone to feel isolated from this group. This was from direct feedback from folks feedback.

3.Invite your raving fans first

I invited 20 people through an invitation-based system that I knew either wanted, needed, or could really benefit from this group. Next, I encouraged them to invite other people to be part of our great, happy family. Rinse and repeat.

4. Encourage personal sharing

The next thing we did was encouraged people to share pictures and a description of what made them a Great Happy Person to allow them to feel a sense of belonging. People shared the most wonderful pictures, which got people connecting and getting to know each other!

5.Provide a warm welcome

Almost every day (it depends on how many new folks join…and what my day looks like!), we welcome all the new members and encourage them to introduce themselves with pictures if they choose to! We’ve started adding a fun GIF or picture to the welcome message to keep it interesting for those in the group too. I love seeing existing members welcome our newest joiners!

6.Encourage participation

Encourage and nurture by taking the responsibility of reinforcing and supporting what people contribute. Daily we have at least a dozen posts of folks sharing videos, articles, live videos, and pictures. It’s their group, it keeps the momentum alive, and it keeps people motivated knowing they are the Great Happy Person the group is named after! Occasionally the posts break the rules, so I just delete it and sometimes have to block a member.

7. Keep on inviting

When it comes to Facebook groups, do you just add people or invite them to join? If you choose to add them, ideally you’ll check with them first to be sure this is something they would like to be included in. Sometimes I know them or what they stand for and I just add them (most are appreciative, and a handful don’t like it so I ask forgiveness). The beauty is, people won’t know that this is available to them unless you help them find and understand what it’s all about.

8. Encourage posting and provide updates

Regularly share posts from the Group on your own wall and encourage people to do the same. The benefit of this public group is that anyone can share posts that they’re inspired by, which means that all of the people that follow them that see that particular post, they may choose to click over and join that group. Provide updates on the growth of the community because who doesn’t want to be part of something trending and gaining momentum? Offer a prize to the person who can predict the size of the group by a certain date and time. I offered a book that I had recommended and I shared a lot of quotes from, directly related to the topic of that group, called the Little Book of Like: The Danish Book of Happiness and not a self-promotion book.

9. What’s the core goal?

Understand what your core goal is for the group; just one. My number one goal is to have as many happy people from around the world recognize their greatness and the greatness of others on a daily basis, which is why so many of the strategies I’ve shared with you are about encouraging growth and sharing. You may have a different goal of your group, or of the groups that you belong to, but know what it is because it directly impacts how you interact with your community.

10.Celebrate

When we reached the goal of a thousand people, we celebrated. People responded and so thrilled to be part of that. Celebration within the group, the support you have created and ask the questions, “Why do you keep coming back? What do you get out of it?”

11.Bonus Tip: Ask for help

When I was about to go on vacation and our group had grown to over 1500 folks, I knew I needed help. I didn’t want to leave the FB group unchecked and unsupported or to lose momentum while I was away, nor did I want to take time away from my husband on vacation by checking the group every time we had wifi. So, I asked the top posters if anyone wanted to be a second admin. An amazing woman Yvonne Nasri stepped up and loves up our community with as much care and kindness as I do. So grateful to her.

Give and Get Back Too…

You will be surprised at the things people share. Things that bring tears to my eyes. How they needed it more than ever before. That they’re going through a difficult time. How it helps them to get focused at the beginning of their day. How it inspires their family. That they share it with a teenager. There are so many different reasons why people are part of the group, but every one of them is beautiful, inspiring, and delicious, and that keeps me going.

The most surprising thing is how much I get back every day by seeing the conversations in the Group. You can have an intention to serve but get back so much too.

What I know is paying off immediately is a good feeling that I have, that hit of endorphins and oxytocin when I see people doing good for each other and that I’ve been a part of creating. If you want to join our Great Happy People community, you are welcome to our positive movement. It is truly a wonderful, grounding and inspiring place to hang out.

 

Rejecting Perfection: Why Being Perfectly Imperfect Elevates Your Greatness

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If you were to pull up to my home right now, you would not experience what they call in real estate, “curb appeal.”

We have some major renos in progress. As we build the future home of Greatness Magnified (a converted barn), the rest of our property looks disastrous. On top of that, there’s road maintenance, our neighbours are fixing their septic system, and piles of topsoil, lumber, and scaffolding decorate the property.

Not the best first impression. Nor would you suspect a place you’d want to bring clients.

But this would feed into the belief that things need to be perfect to be professional. What if, by still having meetings at my home and hosting retreats here, it was a visual reminder that life isn’t perfect, just like our work-in-progress renovations? What if it were a reminder that life and business are perfectly imperfect, but we need to just keep going?

Progress is better than perfection.

Perfection trips us up all the time. We don’t want to make a mistake. We want to ensure we’ve got everything right. We need to look our best. However, it’s not reality, is it? We’re all completely and perfectly imperfect.

What if we decided that all the work and extra effort of trying to get it 110% every time just wasn’t worth it? What if we looked at the toll it was having on our kids, partners, staff? What if it was actually making us less accessible and relatable as people and professionals?

Imagine the possibilities if we embraced our imperfections. Imagine what it would be like if our standards weren’t so high? Imagine how free we would feel if we don’t get caught up in our negative inner critic that says louder, meaner and untrue things than we’d ever to say to somebody else. What if we didn’t hesitate to pursue what we were most passionate, proud, and motivated about?

What if we were able to decide that we didn’t need to be perfect? We just needed to be great. And we already are…great.

Can we agree that you’re not perfect and neither is anyone else? Can we agree that any evidence you see about perfect lives, bodies, faces on social media is not the full story? Can we agree that it doesn’t actually matter that much anyway?

In other words, don’t look for evidence of perfection that isn’t there.

Using the metaphor of our renos, here are three tips I’ve learned about how to chip away at perfection.

  1. Give credit to “good enough”

There’s beauty all around us. See the beauty in whatever surrounds you. Instead of looking at my imperfect work-in-progress property, I can look across the street at the beautiful vineyards (even though they’re not mine). Appreciating what is present and not attending to what doesn’t matter helps with perfectionism.

  1. Look for what is working

Sure, most of our property needs a lot of work, but I can also look at the gardens across the front of our house that, with my mom, we lovingly planted. I can remember the joy we spent together. I can remember the feeling of a hard day’s work with pleasantly sore muscles. I can remember the care we spent picking each plant. I can even remember a rather comical discussion the nursery owner overheard about the right roses to plant to match the “lipstick red” shade of door my husband picked out.

  1. Look past imperfections that don’t matter

Our front door has scratches on it. We have a piece of tape that’s stubbornly stuck on from a long-forgotten note. Spiders love to form nests around our light fixtures (we understand a by-product of living on the water). But do any of these things matter? Not really. I no longer feel I need to apologize for these things or try to clean them before every client visit. It’s exhausting, and I don’t think they really notice anyway. They’re here to see me and do business, not evaluate my place of business. When we look for the things that aren’t perfect then we see them. But instead, if we look at everything else around it we will see beauty. I don’t know about you but I would rather live my life looking at what is working and the beauty that exists, the extraordinary in the ordinary, than to spend so much of my time and energy looking at the few things that don’t quite measure up.

Who’s to say they don’t measure up? Maybe they’re actually somebody else’s version of pretty darn good, or maybe even amazing.

How is perfectionism robbing you of your time, focus, attention, patience, compassion? How is it creating tension in relationships with staff, co-workers, suppliers, partners? How is perfection stopping you from trying new things, taking a risk, following your passion, getting something completed? And is it worth it?

Three Ways to Create a Healthy Workplace Ecosystem

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A number of years ago we were looking for a cottage. We met a great realtor who was excited to be able to help us find our first leisure property. Every time he’d get out of the car, he would do a very interesting but strange thing; he would go right down to the water, take a look around, and within 30 seconds say either, “You can’t buy this place” or “Let’s go inside for a look around.”

We made the assumption that he was rather obsessed with the waterfront. After about the third day of us looking, we said, “Out of curiosity, why do we have to base our judgement on the waterfront?” He shared, “It’s not actually the water. I’m looking to see if there’s any frogs in it because you see, frogs have such sensitive, delicate skin that they can’t survive in an unhealthy body of water and ecosystem.”

What he was explaining to us was that the evidence of frogs was more accurate than any water testing and health records; he could tell, simply by the habitat, if it was hospitable or not.

The same applies to any work environment. People make an impression about your workplace within a minute of setting foot in it. When it comes to clients, new staff, potential partners, they’re looking for how healthy your workplace is, and if they want to do business with you (or if they have no choice, if they can expect a good experience or a less pleasant one). You may be so immersed in it that you can’t tell. You may also feel powerless to change it if it’s not as healthy as it could be. In this blog, we’ll show you what you can do about it, no matter what role you have on the team.

Here are a couple of things you can think about to ensure your team has a healthy ecosystem. Perhaps you’re reading this blog because you’re in a position of deciding if you want to remain in that ecosystem or not. All the more reason to see what can be done about it before you jump ship.

Signs of a healthy ecosystem (anyone can initiate):

1.Celebrate each other

As much as we think people have thick skin, everybody needs to feel acknowledged, appreciated and valued (rather than just told what is needed, how to improve and what to do differently). On the surface, someone may seem tough as nails. But within all of us is the need to do meaningful work and feel valued for it. This is at every level – coaching clients in the c-suite to business owners to folks just starting their career – they share their deepest regrets, their pains, their frustrations, plans they’re not sure about, not feeling valued – and it impacts their energy and productivity. We need to celebrate each other – in small and large ways – on an ongoing basis. When people are working so hard, they need to feel that their greatness (their talents, passions and virtues) are being cultivated, appreciated, tapped into, utilized and valued.

Do you celebrate and value your staff, peers, boss, partners?

2.Ensure every voice is heard

When you listen to an environment with a lot of frogs, they croak in the night. My son loved to catch pollywogs when he was younger, bringing them home to my parent’s pond and watching them grow. Perhaps to my mother’s chagrin, as they would be so loud, croaking all night long, keeping her awake. But you knew they were there!

Do you know what your talent has to say? Do you hear lots of ideas? Do you hear people chatting with each other, interacting on a social level, getting to know each other as people? Are they connecting, sharing and contributing their best ideas to important projects, pitches, clients and problems? Or is there silence? In a meeting, around the office, meeting with you, if you hear little to nothing, that’s a good indicator that there’s some toxicity present such as mistrust, disengagement, or inter-team tension. This can’t be ignored.

Do you ensure every voice is heard?

3.Growth

When a healthy ecosystem exists in nature, the population of its inhabitants grows. Do you have people who want to come and work with your team? Is there a lineup of people waiting to get in, and therefore, do you have a stack of resumes waiting for the first vacancy? Are people inquiring about your organization to become your client, partner or next hire?

There’s a number of organizations I’ve worked with, that never have to post a job advertisement because as soon as somebody leaves, through natural attrition, they are the best recruiters for that team, that organization, and know who to recommend. Do you have people who want to grow and be part of that team, and are the people who are already there, growing and nurturing as well? Or are they stale and stagnant and there is just no appreciation or acknowledgement for the importance of growth within the team?

I hope this has given you a perspective on the importance of focusing on healthy team ecosystems. If you feel that this is valuable, subscribe to my YouTube channel so that you can continue to get your dose of Greatness Magnified, for your work, family and for your life.

How to Keep Members: Tips for Associations, Foundation and Member-Based Organizations

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I have the good fortune of working for many associations as a professional speaker, and one common concern that comes up in conversations is: do you have any suggestions of how we can retain our loyal members?

Executive Directors know their members often belong to many associations. Furthermore, some employers are cutting back on covering the membership fees so it’s cutting into professionals’ pocketbooks. And there is only so much discretionary time one can spend networking, learning and reviewing professional standards anyway.

The opportunity is that associations can use these challenges to review how they’re keeping their membership experience vibrant. How can associations foster a sense of connection and community? How can they show appreciation and publicize members’ achievements, leadership, and contributions in their organizations and in the field at large?

Here are a few suggestions that will help you retain existing members and welcome new ones.

How are you adding value?

What do your members most value by belonging to your association? And do you continually offer the top three most value-added programs and supports?

For example, if members need professional development from your association, how are you showing that you respect people’s time, professionalism and high standards by offering exceptional programming? All too often I see associations cobbling together a program with no budget, sometimes with little lead time. Remember, your members pay to belong, so they’ll expect you’ve invested in high-quality educators and speakers. Given they have lots of opportunities to develop (inside their own organization, with other associations, at privately purchased events) are you ensuring your offerings are standing above the rest?

The bottom line is that by being really clear on what your mandate and how value is aligned to what your members most need from you enables you to focus your time and resources on only the most important investments. Just like in our personal lives, if you try to be everything to everybody, it’s going to be really hard with your limited resources to fill that gap.

What are the most important things that you need to do to contribute value to your members?

Share the love.

I’m sure that you have a social media plan. Maybe you’ve got a newsletter or a printed magazine. Whatever your method of communicating and engaging with your community, how are you using it as an opportunity to spotlight the ways you’re adding value to members, how members are better off as a result, and other perks of membership that may be less utilized or understood? Find ways to recognize and share success stories in social media. Even if it’s not you, with your limited resources, creating stories about members. You can start the conversation and encourage the members to share their own successes or those of other members. Not only does it benefit members from hearing about the successes of those they may have never met (shared pride in their profession) it also helps to reinforce the value of your field to those considering a career or affiliation with you.

Do you have recognition activities at your convention? Do you recognize chapters? Do you show the love of your volunteer members of the association? Hopefully, you have multiple ways for people to be recognized and they feel that one day they will be acknowledged. Encourage peers to submit stories for them to be able to share best practices. How can you help them have a vehicle to share it?

Align your Mandate

Do you conduct a membership survey on at least an annual basis, preferably with some interviews of a representative sample of members as part of your process? And do you take what you’ve learned to inform your annual operational plans? Regular feedback ensures your focus remains aligned with what members most need and value in that annual cycle; their needs today could be very different from what they were three years ago.

One final comment. I want to take a pause to say thank you for the work that you do. With your limited resources, stretched capacity, competing priorities, and limited staff (if any) you keep your association going and growing. Let’s keep the love going! Show the love to your fellow EDs and volunteers by sharing this with a huge, “thank-you for what you do,” comment attached.

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