Established in 1944, the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing (NIGP) is a Virginia-based organization that ranks as the largest association specifically dedicated to government procurement. On the surface, one might think that such a seemingly button-down group would not be the type to take chances. But NIGP is taking a big risk and Director Marketing Brent Maas is one of the driving forces behind this ambitious initiative.
Watching last week’s Rock Center with Brian Williams’ segment “The Daily Show goes to the dogs” I had to smile. If you visit McKinley’s office, one of the first things you will notice is Jodie’s Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Aidan, asleep on the job. Jodie will tell you that Aidan’s presence in our office epitomizes McKinley’s culture. He can be found watching the front door when his mom is visiting a client. Aidan helped Jodie interview me more than two years ago. He appeared as the last slide in her recent presentation on the topic of organizational culture at ASAE’s Great Ideas, Is Your Culture Eating Your Strategy for Breakfast?
Obviously there is more to McKinley’s culture besides Aidan, but his presence in our office is a nice reminder to take a break in the middle of a stressful day.
In the hallways and around meeting tables, I’ve heard a lot of colleagues admit that Great Ideas is fast becoming their “go to” ASAE conference. Overwhelmed by the size of the Annual Conference or just wanting to have a more intimate and creative meeting, many association professionals are choosing Great Ideas as their exclusive education and networking event. I can appreciate this shift in thinking; Great Ideas has always been one of my favorite conferences, and 2012 was no exception.
This year, I had a chance to present on the very idea of community – in this case, the frequent topic of online community. As Amanda Adolph, former Vice President at the Association of Governing Boards (AGB) and a long-time McKinley client described it, “building a social networking community is easy; creating a community can be challenging.” Amanda and I shared the story of how AGB created an online networking community that grew 20% in one month and talked about the three pivotal events that led to the community’s rapid expansion and success. You can see more by reading through our slides. Or please be in touch if you’d like to talk more about the AGB community.
