Thousands of association professionals, leaders and industry partners attended the 2022 ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition in Nashville this month to share knowledge, resources, stories and connections. The speakers and the energy at ASAE Annual harnessed the potential of the moment, and the Twittersphere was abuzz with inspiration from the conference!
Here are a few of our tweet takeaways from ASAE Annual 2022:
This year’s theme was “disruption equals opportunity.” Our 2022 Association Viewpoint report revealed that this year, association leaders are optimistic about the future, and this conference embodied the feeling that despite setbacks and immense change, the association community is ready to embrace a bright future and innovate.
In the opening keynote “Nurturing Crazy Ideas,” Safi Bahcall, cofounder and former CEO of Synta Pharmaceuticals and author of the book Loonshots, revealed why innovation fails and how to nurture loonshots (an idea that was initially given little or no funding).
He emphasized the importance of running experiments and analyzing data to find out what members really want and need. At McKinley, we wholeheartedly endorse conducting market research as a proven method to inform product innovation, strategic planning and more.
Continuing on the theme of innovation, keynote speaker Marcus Whitney, author and co-founder and partner of Jumpstart Health Investors, spoke about how failure is necessary for innovation. What does your organization do to make sure the fear of failure doesn’t hold them back?
An overarching theme of the conference was the significance of DEI in associations. Our friend Lakisha A. Woods, CAE, Chief Executive Officer at the American Institute of Architects, gave a powerful presentation about the importance of diversity in the workforce and in C-suite roles. We were fortunate to have her speak to our staff this year about leadership, DEI and the role associations play in society.
The ASAE Annual Meeting was a remarkable opportunity to create a community and connect with leaders within the association sphere. It is vital that we provide personal growth opportunities for young professionals to create lifelong skills that will contribute to transformational change for associations and society.
This year’s ASAE Annual Meeting highlighted significant opportunities for growth and collaboration within the association sector. Whether you were in Nashville or following along on Twitter with #ASAE22, what were your key takeaways? Connect with us to discuss what’s next for your organization, and to develop the strategies to get you there!
