As I was thinking about what to write for this week’s column, I chanced upon a short article entitled “People Forget” from “Our Daily Bread,” a 365-day devotional booklet I read first thing in the morning. It tells the story of a churchgoer who curiously asked the priest why he repeats his sermon from time… Read More Out of sight, out of mind: A no-no for associations

To say the Philippines is a basketball-crazy nation is an understatement. In terms of scale, it is safe to assume there is at least one basketball court (playing area) in each of the over 42,000 barangays (villages) in the country, not including those in every nook and corner of not-so-busy streets and alleys, as well… Read More Associations and Basketball

An avocado is a fruit with a hard inner core and a soft layer around it. Thus, an “avocado leader” can refer to one with innate business skills and a humane approach to managing people. In the webinar, “Are You a Future-ready Leader?” by Australia-based futurist Gihan Perera, I learned the essential traits of an… Read More The Avocado Leader: From Crisis to Growth

Associations are not in the events business but in the community-building and communications business. This means that associations have to take a step back and reimagine the way they are building their communities and what the long-term member engagement strategy could look like. Digital is not a threat, but a massive opportunity for associations to… Read More Associations in the Community Business

Like the legendary phoenix, associations have begun to gradually rise from the ashes of the pandemic—from holding purely remote and virtual communication that kept the members at bay, to cautiously holding blended and in-person events. The question to ask in the context of communication is, “What communication approaches do associations need at this time?” This… Read More The phoenix and associations: communication and public relations

A year after the founding of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE) in November 2013, it has embarked on an ambitious plan to develop its own credentialing program to advance association governance and management for associations and other member-serving organizations in the country. Designed and developed by association professionals here and benchmarked… Read More Developing an association credentialing program

Associations do public good but not many of these good deeds are known to the public. In my talks to associations in my capacity as founder and volunteer CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives (PCAAE), I always tell my audience, “Doing good is one thing but communicating this good to the… Read More Press Release Do’s & Don’ts for Associations

Membership engagement sits right in the middle of the US-based Marketing General, Inc.’s five-stage membership lifecycle framework which consists of awareness, recruitment, engagement, retention and reinstatement. Being in the middle of the lifecycle is auspicious as membership engagement determines success for the association if done well and failure if neglected. In my March 16, 2017… Read More Association membership engagement plan

The most common question that a prospective association member asks is: “What value do I get from being a member?” From the perspective of the association, it is about planning, developing, organizing, and communicating its value proposition. Since value proposition is a key component of an association’s business model, the Philippine Council of Associations and… Read More Writing value propositions that sell

As a kid growing up, I have always been fascinated with anything futuristic: aliens, spaceships, galaxies, universe and the like. While these things still attract me to this day, the “futurist” in me has ventured into other topics such as trends, scenarios and foresights, to enrich my professional life. So when I received the video… Read More Traits of a future director