Many in the education market are still in love with open source systems, such as Moodle. However, they often do not realize — until it is too late, that "free" isn't really free because customization has to constantly exist, support, among other things. That is why there is an uptick in the number of commercial systems available in the education sector. With that comes trends.
Microsoft has fixed 23 vulnerabilities in its software products, including several considered critical, the company recently said in its monthly security patch report.
Many of the most effective executives, leaders and business owners are very careful with their time. This includes the appointments they set or take, the meetings they have, organizations to which they belong and the activities they fill their day with. Look at your appointment calendar from last week. In every day there were probably only two hours of high productivity. Use the following steps to make the most of them.
For generations bullies have terrorized their victims at school, in the locker room and on the playground. The victims of such bullying often feel afraid, out of control and even stupid. They respond by drawing as little attention to themselves as possible and hoping it doesn't happen again. Not surprisingly, this same reaction occurs when the CEO or other senior leaders subject people to bullying at work.
Keeping connections fresh is entirely about giving. You are giving someone attention, and you are not asking for anything. It is a pleasant contact for them. And it makes a huge difference.
Can't make it to McCormick Place on Tuesday, June 19? Participate virtually in the Annual Meeting. Gain access to all three general sessions, including interactive participation in audience polling. In addition, gain access to all Annual Meeting conference recordings for 90 days following the event. Register now.
User experience is becoming an extension of the customer experience model — and, undoubtedly, experience matters. Companies that will stay ahead of the curve are those that are constantly refining their content, adapting to an always-changing technology landscape, and asking their customers what they want and how they want it delivered. So, how does the user experience on your website measure up?
The percentage of college-educated young adults is larger in the Boston area than anywhere else in America. Nearly two-fifths of the 18- to 34-year-olds in the Boston market — 39.2 percent, to be precise — hold bachelor's degrees, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. That's two full percentage points ahead of any other major metropolitan area.
Many organizations who eagerly pay big bucks to exhibit at industry trade shows often end up disappointed when it comes down to calculating the return on investment. However, organizations can minimize their investment or maximize their exposure through some simple marketing and partnership techniques that will help them get the most bang for their buck.
Tablets will become most users' primary computing device within the next four years, Forrester Research analyst Frank Gillett believes. Gillett's prediction focuses on how central tablets will figure in many settings, including the workplace, where tablets are useful for sharing and working in groups. "There's no barrier of a vertical screen, no distracting keyboard clatter and it just feels natural to pass over a tablet, like a piece of paper, compared to spinning around a laptop," Gillett wrote in his blog.
Attend Strategic Marketing Management on May 3-4 to learn how to use member analysis tools and strategic pricing structures. University of Chicago Professor of Marketing Sanjay Dhar will show you how create a strategic marketing planning process for your association. Watch this video to hear what previous program attendees had to say, then register to attend the third program in this Business of Association series.
Geoffrey James writes, "In the decade or so that I've been writing about sales and marketing, I've interviewed hundreds of entrepreneurs inside small and medium-sized companies. I've also watched to see which companies grow, and which companies falter and fail. After a while, it's impossible not to see a pattern of what works and what doesn't — particularly when it comes to sales and marketing. Here are seven marketing mistakes that I see cropping up over and over again."
Most people never master the many intricacies of dining etiquette — which fork to use first, in which direction to pass dishes — but the stakes aren't especially high in that venue. Email etiquette, on the other hand, is a critically important skill to master. Email like a bumpkin and you are likely to alienate your partners, clients, co-workers...possibly even your boss.
See how your annual meeting stacks up by size, type or location to market leaders by registering now for a free webinar. You will learn how InSight, a new benchmarking resource, will help you 1) save time, 2) evaluate real time data and make strategic decisions, and 3) get customized, confidential analytical reports ready to be used for presentations at committee and board meetings.
If you want to lead and influence others, you must reveal your intentions. People won't believe you will do the right thing unless they're convinced you genuinely want to do it. That requires more conscious effort than most bosses understand. We all more or less assume that others will see our positive motives or at least give us the benefit of the doubt. But it often doesn't work that way.
A new report finds that less than half of surveyed organizations are adept at analyzing workforce data that can positively affect their bottom line. So, what is HR's role in getting their organizations to embrace and utilize these metrics?
In IT, failure is not an option. Not surprisingly, organizations have made it a high priority to develop and implement reliable business continuity plans to ensure that IT services are always available to internal users and outside customers.
What are the key social media tools that PR professionals need to go from bumbling amateur to results-driven superstar? The following are 12 digital tools to check out.
Employees can use their different strengths to help each other survive. The canine characters in RUFF show how to leverage diversity by using their unique strengths to contribute to a successful outcome.
Every workplace is required by federal law to employ at least one individual who is spectacularly irritating, it seems. Whether you're a decorator or a litigator, there's someone around to tax your nerves and, through bullying or back-stabbing or micromanaging, drain your will to live. The following article will tell you how you can do battle with these soul-sucking types before they drain you dry.
Silence is not golden. To really know what's going on, you need people around you to say what's on their minds — even if it's not what you want to hear.
Join us, the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau and the hospitality industry for HUG Chicago, a volunteer program dedicated to the beautification and protection of Chicago's structural assets. Registration is free and you'll get a commemorative T-shirt and hat, lunch and beverages, and a private concert that evening.
Women are earning, spending, and influencing spending at a greater rate than ever before — and they account for $7 trillion in consumer and business spending in the United States. But 91 percent of women say that advertisers don't understand them. Recognizing the power and influence of women must be a top priority for marketers if they are going to tap into the market's full potential. The following are 30 surprising stats to help marketers get a handle on this misunderstood demographic.
Ellen Keiley writes, "The first time I heard the term "working a room," I thought there must be more to attending events than just showing up and simply interacting with others. Perhaps there is an actual science to "working a room." The fact is some people are more comfortable than others in social settings, and some people are so good at networking that they actually do have it down to a science."
The new book, "The End of Diversity as We Know It", is billed as a how-to manual for business and nonprofits interested in shifting the way people think about diversity, according it its author Martin Davidson. In his research, Davidson found that despite all of the efforts for increasing diversity in the workplace, real change was not happening.
As an organization you have many different channels to deal with: Web, social, mobile Web, your store, call centers and search. Mobile has the ability to greatly affect all these channels because it is everywhere and will continue to be so for a long, long time.
Even though many employees are unhappy, most are not looking for a new job — which means there could be an increase of presenteeism in the workplace. HR leaders need to be proactively identifying the employees they want to retain, and create reasons for them to want to stay.
It's been nearly 20 years since there were significant changes to financial reporting standards for nonprofit organizations. But change is on the horizon after the Financial Accounting Standards Board announced a new standard-setting project and a research project intended to improve financial reporting.
Mobile devices will soon be driving cloud computing — and vice versa. Here's why: It's very sensible to use a private cloud for security, management and other aspects of mobile applications. But getting there will require planning and investment by IT.
Held from Monday, June 18 through Friday, June 22, Association Week 2012 includes GenNext Meets GenNow, Annual Meeting, All-Star Day, Honors Gala and a Community Service Event. Registration is now open for all five events, including our Annual Meeting, held on Tuesday, June 19, at McCormick Place in Chicago. Register and join us in celebrating Chicagoland associations during these essential Association Week events!
Something significant has changed in our global culture over the past couple of years. Blame it on global economic pressures, general restlessness, or the new hyper-connectivity that enables people to instantly organize around causes and hot topics. It's probably some combination of all of these factors, but the net result is that we are now dealing with a populace that is more socially engaged, more aware of what's going on in the world and hungrier to get involved and be heard on various issues.
At your next trade show, you'll likely be competing with numerous organizations for the attention of a finite pool of attendees. Take into account, too, that those attendees have likely predetermined which booths they'll visit. The task of capturing (and keeping) their attention, therefore, is downright daunting. The solution may lie with mobile.
The financial crisis has prompted CFOs to assume primary responsibility for risk management, and most believe they're on top of it. But their list of worries is long.
Come March 30 every active Facebook fan page will be flipped over to the new design called The Timeline. Plenty of posts have been written about all the new features, but there may be a few that are ripe for marketers. The obligatory debate rages on about whether or not this format is good or bad for companies; smart marketers are discovering some tweak that need to be made in order to get the most from the new design.
Amid increasing pressure in areas such as time to market, global competition, and fickle customers, IT organizations must throw out the old rulebook. That sounds like a hoot — except that a new rulebook to replace it doesn't exist, so IT teams are learning as new cloud, mobile, analytics, social and collaboration technologies evolve quickly.
Don't you love that employee who goes above and beyond? She takes responsibility, shows initiative and really owns her projects, processes and problems. Somewhere along the line, she learned that good things happen when you are accountable. But it's largely up to you, her boss, to be sure she doesn't have a change of heart.
Because of its complexity, purchasing or upgrading to a new AMS is not an easy task. To learn how to navigate this process, attend AMS Demo Day on Wednesday, March 28, to get your questions answered. See demos from leading AMS companies. Bring a colleague (member or nonmember) for just $25.
Participants in online programs are increasingly less willing to passively listen. It's becoming essential that online learning opportunities, like face-to-face opportunities, include audience interaction. Session leaders need to engage their audiences by understanding and using the selected platform's collaboration tools.
Some companies are taking steps to avoid employee burnout by making sure their workers don't continue to work from home after leaving the office, with one company going so far as to put email in "blackout mode" during non-work hours. Focusing on a better work/life balance isn't all altruistic, however. It's also necessary to keep employees productive, experts say.
In hiring for a top leadership position, you can make costly errors by either incorrectly diagnosing the situation, letting red herrings or other so-called rules get in the way of choosing the right person, or failing to set and follow a rigorous disciplined process. The following is a look at the six top pitfalls to recognize and avoid.
Surging demand in organizations for new mobile, social and advanced analytics technologies is adding to IT's already full plate of traditional enterprise system work. The yin-yang of the economic climate doesn't help. Tech budgets are up somewhat and companies seem more amendable to adding staff, but workers skilled in the new technologies are scarce.
When we think of diversity, most of us first think of race, ethnicity, gender and age. But diversity is not about focusing on how we differ, it is about "embracing one another's uniqueness." Leaders who recognize and celebrate the uniqueness of their people help their teams perform better. Harnessing the richness of diversity can lead to better problem-solving and decision-making and increased creativity and innovation.
Whether you are continuing your education in your 20s or 50s, it can be a worthwhile endeavor. Most agree that that it takes an incredible amount of time and effort. However, that's just temporary, and the benefits outweigh the negatives. In the end, continuing education is rewarding and game changing in a positive way.
There's a longstanding rule of thumb in not-for-profit finance that an organization should have three months of cash on hand to get through unforeseen shortfalls in revenue or to weather an unforeseen crisis. Rules and best practices like this are great, but this one is routinely questioned, and sometimes ignored, by organizations of all sizes.
Leaked documents show Facebook making a radical departure from traditional online display advertising into a world where ads are conversations and brands automatically tell you which of your friends are already on their side.
Many social media experts insist that a two-way conversation between marketers and consumers is the whole point of social, and anything less than that is a reflection of outdated, broadcast-style thinking. But the reality is that many people follow and "friend" brands simply because they want to hear from those brands, not necessarily talk back.
Marketers creating campaigns centered on hashtags need to be cautious. Hashtags can easily turn into flashing targets that scream, "Hijack this brand!" Fortunately, there's a way to avoid these types of situations. The followng are nine ways to prevent your brand from winding up in a story about social media mishaps.
No matter what industry you're in, your company can't survive without technology. And these days, even non-technical employees know that technology goes way beyond desktop computers and networks. From smartphones and tablet computers to mobile apps and cloud-based technology, there's a plethora of technological advancements to not only keep track of, but also to profit from.
Cloud computing has gone from being a promising technology to a reality that brings a unique set of challenges along with benefits. To fully leverage the disruptive potential of cloud without getting trapped in a web of integration complexity, CIOs and their IT organizations need to focus on what it means to rethink their business as a collection of services.
Nonverbal signals can literally make or break a leader's impact. Many leaders are nonverbally illiterate — completely out of touch with the effect their body language has on others and unaware of the clear nonverbal signals that are being sent by clients and colleagues in every business encounter. The human brain is hard-wired to read and respond to these signals, but most leaders don't know that the process is taking place and are unequipped, therefore, to use it to their advantage.
Social media is about creating engagement. One way a consumer can become engaged is by telling a compelling story. And then it is not just about the content; it is about how you tell it, and how you leverage the content. The following is a concise checklist of 10 key elements to help you tell your story so you can build and thrive on engagement.
Most business presentations are as boring as watching paint dry...in slow motion. If you want to persuade your audience to make a decision, you need to make it interesting — which means that you must tell a story.
Nonprofit board members do not need to be finance experts, but should be aware of what they can do to maintain a financially viable organization. On the latest episode of Nonprofit Spark on WebTalkRadio, John Langan, managing partner of the nonprofit group at CliftonLarsonAllen, discussed what he wished every board member knew about nonprofit finances.
If you need to implement, upgrade or replace your existing Content Management Software, register now for CMS Demo Day held on Tuesday, Feb. 28. This event features demos from leading industry vendors. Receive tips for your RFP and vendor selection, get a CMS checklist, have selection and implementation questions answered, and discover what your association needs in a CMS partner.
Even CFOs who are bona fide strategic partners may still fumble when talking finance to the rest of the company. To effectively collaborate with the executive team, the board and other departments on key financial decisions, they should tell the story behind the numbers, not just interpret them.
As marketing and technology converge, organizations that are set up for success will be those where the CMO and CIO work closely to mitigate risk, manage data responsibly and ensure effective deployment of content.
The U.S. economy, which is showing subtle signs of improvement, in 2012 once again will have a major impact on HR's ability to address hiring, employee engagement, compensation and other key workplace issues, business and legal experts told Bloomberg BNA. At first glance, it might seem that the HR profession is facing challenges identical to those it confronted last year, but there are key differences, employment analysts said.
Upgrades, system migration, support headaches — IT folks are probably dreading the next major Windows rollout. Yet Windows 8, which is scheduled to move to the beta stage in late February and will likely launch in the fall, does offer several compelling new features for both IT and end users.
The events sector is diverse: Its activities range from business meetings, conferences and exhibitions to sports and cultural festivals — all of which have impacts on the economy, environment and society. These impacts need to be considered, measured and shared in order to improve the sustainability performance of the events industry.
A small business can get overwhelmed trying to figure out which social networks or new types of communication should be added to their communication toolbox. First it was Facebook. Then Twitter. Now, things like Foursquare, Instagram and Pinterest are all the rage. And, that's exactly why small businesses can't ignore mobile opportunities.
So, digital books. As innovative as they are form-wise and otherwise, it's striking, business-wise, how tightly they cling to tradition. Whether pre-Gutenberg or post-Bezos, books have been sold pretty much the same way: per unit, object by object, X books for X bucks. Now, cloud storage is paving the way for books to be sold not by title, but by time.
Working with an insufferable colleague can negatively affect your attitude and performance. Instead of focusing on the work you have to do together, you may end up wasting time and energy trying to keep your emotions in check and attempting to manage the person's behavior. Fortunately, with the right tactics, you can still have a productive working relationship with someone you can't stand.
Have an employee horror story and need expert advice? You're not alone. On Feb. 7, share your worst dilemmas and get the information you need to protect your organization. Our expert HR lawyer and HR professional will share best practices and do's and don'ts to help you overcome obstacles. Register now for Managing Employee Challenges from Application to Termination.
Self-service procurement. Self-service business intelligence. Self-service recovery. User provisioning in private clouds. It's a wondrous world for end users today as IT departments roll out tools that hand them the reins to the data and services they desire, whether it's instant access to their employee benefits accounts or a deep dive into corporate data stacks that were once off-limits. But all this user empowerment raises a question: Are users up to their new role?
Is the space in which you work working for you? When you're there do you feel energized and ready to excel? Is it a comfortable and pleasant place to be? If not, you can use research from a little-known branch of psychology to improve it.
We can see already that this is the year when the innovations from recent years become the game-changers that marketers have been waiting for, no matter which channel you rely on to communicate. The marketing landscape will evolve in five significant ways this year, and not because marketers are leaping onto the newest bandwagon.
Register now to join your colleagues and industry leaders for this Jan. 24 session. Receive five changes to revolutionize your organization. Examine key areas such as technology framework, committee operations, member markets and more — where the traditional approach that organizations have taken in the past needs to be altered. For a preview of what you'll learn, watch this video — a presentation from Harrison Coerver, co-author of Race for Relevance, at Holiday Showcase — and fast forward to (0:34).
Trade shows are notorious for the amount of waste they generate, from the countless promotional items and food samples, to the mountains of pamphlets doled out to attendees. For exhibitors, putting your best green foot forward not only reduces your environmental impact, but also conveys a positive image to customers and prospects, and may even save you money.
All leaders have their own unique talents, which they will use in different ways to bring out the best in themselves and others. The following are five ways to discover your own strongest qualities and put them to work in business and in life.
While no one knows what 2012 has up its sleeve, based on my own post-executive experience working with leaders across industries over the last eight years, no one doubts it's time for a positive "pivot." My hope is that will include a new sense of executive responsibility when it comes to humanism, collectivism and capitalism with care for ethics and fairness.
Diversity in the workplace is vital for the creation of a robust and vibrant enterprise. According to Stephen Butler, co-chairman of the Business-Higher Education Forum's Diversity Initiative Task Force: "Diversity is an invaluable competitive asset that America cannot afford to ignore." Several strategies can be employed to leverage workplace diversity to take advantage of market potential.
Only a few years ago, cloud computing didn't exist. Or rather, it existed by a dozen other names — such as virtualization, managed hosting or simply the Internet. Today, it's the must-have feature of every product or service, from mobile phones to cameras to TVs. Nobody knows this better than enterprise IT professionals, who have to deal with a rising tide of hyperbole and insatiable consumer expectations even as their budgets shrink and the role of technology in business grows. What nobody disputes, however, is that on-demand IT is here to stay.
Organizations invest billions annually on a success curriculum known as "leadership development," which ends up leaving so much on the table. Training and development programs almost universally focus factory-like on inputs and outputs — absorb curriculum, check a box; learn a skill, advance a rung; submit to assessment, fix a problem. Likewise, they leave too many people behind with an elite selection process that fast-tracks "hi-pos" and essentially discards the rest.
Let us help you connect personally and grow professionally this year. First, view our new 2012 educational events calendar and register to attend an event. Then, if you know an outstanding leader, colleague or volunteer, nominate them for an Association Forum 2012 award or encourage them to apply for an Association Workforce Diversity Scholarship by Friday, Jan. 13. We look forward to serving you this year!
Time flies. The year of 2011 is in our rearview mirrors, and it's time to look back at the last 12 months and make plans for 2012. The email marketing environment shifts especially swiftly, so let's take a look at some of the key trends that dominated the game in 2011 and that will surely continue to reign this year.
Social media is changing communications, in ways that are both good and bad — but always interesting. Technology journalism is not so different from that other brand of technical communication in the sense that both aim to make complicated information clear.
