5 Lessons to My Younger Self

FastCompany recently featured an article by Jane Porter that was all about what the founder of ModCloth would tell her younger self. I got to thinking about my own history and what I would tell my younger self, if I had the chance. For now, I know of no time machines that will allow me to go back and change things. But when the time does come for the chance to go back, here are the five things that will be at the top of my list to teach myself.

1. Risk sounding stupid for clarity.

There are so many times when I kicked myself for not asking more questions - and the truth is, the primary reason I failed to ask was the fear of sounding stupid. I would tell myself to give up on trying to be "cool" and just take a chance on asking the questions I want to ask. The risk of sounding stupid is not worth dealing with a lack of clarity later on and ultimately, I'm a lot cooler if I know what the f#$k is going on rather than trying to figure it out on my own. Ask more questions.

2. Invest in sleep.

I used to think all I needed for sleep was a solid four hours and I would be fine. This was a ridiculous notion. I've actually increased my productivity and happiness with my life by giving myself a longer time to sleep at night. I'm not claiming that I get eight hours every night, but I do try to make sure I get at least six. I've found that with more rest, I am sharper and quicker on my feet in the mornings during my most productive hours...and I need less caffeine to be "on" for meetings. Now, if only Aptify had nap rooms like the Huffington Post!

3. Read every night.

And I don't mean business books. I was feeling burned out with reading only business books and focusing too much on that aspect of my life. I have to find outside sources to foster growth in my life. Reading books, especially fiction, seems to help. The books provide me with inspiration and sometimes help me to add a little variety to my vocabulary.

4. Know your why.

There were so many days that I spent not having a clear sense of why I was doing what I was doing for work. What a waste of time! I would tell my younger self to dedicate some focused thought to figuring out why I was doing what I was doing and what it meant to me and how it reflected my personal brand. There are so many questions that knowing your why can answer - like the projects to get involved in and the projects to run away from. And that is just the beginning.

5. Be your own best friend.

Talk to yourself kindly. Cut yourself some slack. What would you say to your best friend if they were having the same troubles/questions/issues? Do yourself a favor and be your own best friend. It will help you to be there for others on a more authentic level.

Advice for the Emerging Association Professional

After spending 12 years working in the association world, I am no longer considered an “emerging association professional”.  I could throw in a joke about this just meaning I’m getting old, but instead I wear it as a badge of honor! People from all walks of association life offer lunch or coffee, looking  to me for advice on how to successfully maneuver the mysterious and well-acronymed ocean that is the association industry!  Naturally, I look forward to any excuse for good conversation with a new acquaintance and these requests are both flattering and equally informative for me.

What follows serves as my general advice on how to best engage as an emerging association professional … coffee not included….

Rule #1: Take Charge of Your Own Professional Development

To advance in any profession, you must remain the perpetual student. Your education doesn’t end after university. Many organizations offer some kind of professional development stipend to help foster personal and professional growth. Know what kind of professional development support you have, but don’t stop there! Many conferences offer scholarships for people who might otherwise be unable to attend. You may also offer to volunteer or blog about the event in exchange for registration.

Whatever you do, please join your industry’s association. It should come as no surprise that the association world has its very own Association -- the American Society for Association Executives (ASAE). The experience you gain from meeting a large number of people serving memberships similar to yours is immensely valuable. Helpful tips on membership retention, member value, price of engagement, and so much more from across the spectrum of the association world are waiting for you to reap from others in your field.

Participating in your industry’s association may also provide you the opportunity to speak at future events and conferences. Becoming an adept public speaker can help you professionally in countless ways as well as making you infinitely more employable in the future.

Through continued learning you may even wish to pursue becoming a Certified Association Executive (CAE).   You’ll need to spend some time in the industry first. However, if you think you might go that direction, it’s never too soon to start learning about CAE requirements and areas of study you will want to research ahead of time.

Rule #2: Don’t Undervalue Your Role Because of Your Paycheck

Being an “emerging” anything usually means your paycheck isn’t what you’d like it to be. As an emerging association professional, this can be disheartening to say the least. As you are learning about your membership, caring for it, and bemoaning the antiquated ways your association operates (“You mean you still receive dues via fax?”), it can be frustrating to see the reflection of your labor in your humble paycheck.  Remember: everyone “starts” somewhere, and it’s not where you start, but where you finish that counts!

I remember spending long hours in the office in the beginning; always one of the last to leave. True, there was much I needed to learn, but I also felt a charged sense of urgency. Surely no one saw things the way I did – otherwise there would be more change!  Frustration was an everyday event that sometimes felt would never end.  But still that energy grew, much like I’m sure it’s growing within you today.

 Use that energy. Learn as much as possible.  Be aggressive!

Ask more questions than you feel comfortable. There are oftentimes internal politics at play that make seemingly obvious answers impossible to play out. Find another way. Do not, under any circumstances, believe that the size of your paycheck determines your worth to the office. Your paycheck will grow as you garner more experience. But always be prepared to show why you are ready for more responsibility, learning opportunities, and (eventually) money.

Rule #3: Participate In Associations as a Volunteer

There is no better teacher than experience. Volunteering as a council member or in any role, really, is one of the best ways you can begin to understand your members.  Initially serving on ASAE’s Component Relations Section Council was an extremely “meta” experience for me . I was used to putting together the schedule for my association’s councils, not serving as a council member. However, once I served as a council member, I began to better understand what a council member looks for from the association.

In the meantime, you will still learn what it is to be a member of an association. How much marketing impacts you, how well your milestones are tracked, what it’s like to deal with customer service; all of this will become research fodder for you in your work as an emerging association professional.

Rule #4: Expand Your Network

Proactively work at building relationships and expanding your circle professionally, so that you are constantly learning from those people around you. In addition to all of the networking benefits you will receive in the form of job offers, brainstorming, and reputation building; you will also cultivate your conversation skills and improve on your experiential knowledge.

You should start working to build your reputation early on by meeting as many people as possible and sharing with them your projects and stories….the types of things that will help leave a lasting impression of you. As time goes on, you will find that your reputation will carry more weight than your resume.  Don’t expect this to happen over-night,  but it will happen.

Your association is not the only place to connect. I am particularly fond of other ways to network, like Association Chat, for example. Association Chat, originally created by industry leader Jeff De Cagna and hosted by yours truly, KiKi L’Italien (@kikilitalien), is a weekly chat on Twitter that hosts discussions about the topics of the day for associations. The chat uses the hashtag #AssnChat and happens every Tuesday at 2 pm EST.

The final tip I’ll leave you with today:  Find a mentor!  Find two…find twenty! Mentors are worth their weight in gold because they can provide perspective in tough situations, as often they have been through similar struggles. Mentors can also help guide you to new opportunities you might have never otherwise known existed.  They’ve walked the walk, and talked the talk.  Lean on them whenever possible.

In the comments, please share your own advice, or ask questions if you like. I will answer as quickly as I read them and I am sure readers will appreciate the thought.

Do New Processes Make You Uncomfortable?

It wasn't my idea, but the romance of it captured me. He had painted the picture for me: the snow softly falling in the warmth of the sun as we clutch hot chocolate in our hands watching his favorite hockey team play outdoors in an ice rink created in Yankee Stadium...fans cheering...hockey being played the way it was meant to be played before technology intervened...in the elements.

Me: Freezing. Him: In bliss.

Reality nipped at my fingertips and toes as the game started. We had arrived in New York ready for the NHL Stadium Series experience and I quickly realized that I needed more than a small cup of hot chocolate, more like a tub of it, in which I could immerse myself in order to avoid freezing to death in the below freezing temperatures.

I watched as ice crystals formed in the soda we'd purchased. My many layers were nothing compared to the biting cold and the falling snow that stuck to my clothes. My body temperature was dropping below comfort, but I forced myself to smile as I rocked back and forth trying to feel my feet.

How many times have you found yourself in a similar situation in your association? You looked forward to a new process or project, romanticizing the experience in your mind and then dealing with the discomfort as reality hit, gritting your teeth through it all because you were sure you'd be better off for it.

What could you have done to better prepare for this discomfort?

1. Effectively planned to provide for your comfort better - maybe allowed for more time in a project or planned for more help
2. Talked to more people who had done the same thing before - perhaps they could prepare you for things to watch out for or provide you with helpful tips
3. Had more realistic expectations - you might not be so uncomfortable if you had a realistic idea of what to expect

I survived my frigid excursion and made happy memories in the process, but I could have made things infinitely more comfortable for myself if I'd done a better job planning ahead. What are your tips for preparing for a new process or project?

My System for Getting Sh*t Done

As many articles tout the Pomodoro Technique and GTD, my own habits for increasing productivity and breaking through procrastination are downright crude. I have come to recognize that in the world of productivity tools, my ideas might seem dysfunctional, but at least they are all mine. I present to you:
KiKi's System for Getting Sh*t Done.

Part 1: The Ramen Noodle Method
Ramen noodles are embarrassingly good. At least, I think so. Cheap. Unhealthy. And good.
I can afford better than ramen, but sometimes, on a really hard day, I long for the taste of them. When it's lunchtime and nothing else is around, I'll pop into the little sundries market downstairs and buy a cup of ramen. It's a guilty pleasure...like reading tabloid headlines in the checkout line in the grocery store.

There's just enough nostalgia connected to ramen for me that when I eat it I instinctively release a reflective sigh exhaling the memories of my college days working late editing the school newspaper. The ramen gives me fortitude on an otherwise unremarkable day. Its message is this: You will get through this. The little noodles are surges of power to help you rocket through your day. Just look at them and you might be reminded of your brain's synapses firing off new pathways for learning.

By the time I finish a cup of ramen noodles, I am comforted and convinced I can finish the task at hand.

Do your noodles talk to you? Maybe they should. The Ramen Noodle Method might be the way to make it to the end of that project. Then again, you might need to take a different approach. Something that gives you wings...

Part 2: The Red Bull Exercise
If ramen offers fortitude for day, Red Bull provides power for the evening. Red Bull tastes bad. Even with vodka. But I still drink it. Especially with vodka. It's relatively expensive, as soft drinks go, but people keep buying more and more of it and there is one big reason why.

Red Bull offers one primary benefit: Energy. Its promise is this: If you drink it, you will stay awake...at least for a while...to work, party, or do whatever it is you need to do before you finally go to sleep. Its a little less dangerous than making a deal with the devil, but not by much. A little Red Bull goes a long way.

By the end of a can of Red Bull, I feel like I've white-knuckled my way through driving in a snowstorm...and survived.

Part 3: Cry. Pray. Cry Some More.
That Eat Pray Love book only got part of the answer. Crying is not only therapeutic, but I'm convinced it helps when you regularly clear out the tear ducts. The exact process is still under review, but it goes something like this:

1. Wait until last minute to face the fact that you have to do something
2. Cry in frustration
3. Pray to a higher power that you be delivered from the situation
4. Cry when you realize you'll still have to do it
5. Actually sit down and start working on the thing you must get done

What are your methods for finishing your tasks? What gets you through a tough day or helps you push past procrastination to finish that project? Share your real methods for getting stuff done here!

The Price of Honesty

Honesty can be really expensive. At least it seems like it. Because if I were to tell you a list of truths, you might make decisions about me that were not necessarily pleasant. For example:

I hate exercise.
I'm bored with green juice and the entire juicing craze.
I like wine - probably a little too much.
I'm productive from 7:30 am until about noon, and then the wheels fall off.
I love writing. I hate writing. Then I love writing again.
I procrastinate by reading articles about procrastination.

However, honesty can be misleading. Just like some people lie by leaving out part of the information, sometimes honesty leaves out pertinent information that can color this "truth."

I hate exercise. But I love dancing.
I'm bored with green juice and the entire juicing craze. Though I drank green juice this very morning.
I like wine - probably a little too much. I can't help but prefer to have a glass or two with dinner.
I'm productive from 7:30 am until about noon, and then the wheels fall off. I try to make myself more productive by using the last part of the day for calls and emails.
I love writing. I hate writing. Then I love writing again. At least I'm passionate about it.!
I procrastinate by reading articles about procrastination. Who doesn't?

I've been grappling with the question of transparency and authenticity lately. Advice for business from people I know varies wildly from, "always tell people you are doing great - no one wants to do business with a loser," to "have the courage to be honest and people will respond to that honesty."

My tendency is toward  the latter. I expose a lot. Maybe too much. Maybe not enough.

Recently, I went to New Media Expo (#NMX) in Las Vegas. This conference is for bloggers and podcasters - content creators of all types really - and it fed my soul. Although I haven't written in my blog for a while I realized that I still self-identify as a blogger and the only difference between feeling guilty about that and not is my writing a post more often.

Pat Flynn was one of the presenters there. He is a lot of things now: business owner, podcaster, passive income guru, author, and speaker. More than all that, he is astonishingly REAL. He shares his financial information, about the way he makes money, with everyone online. He spoke about authenticity with Cliff Ravenscraft at #NMX and it was the most powerful session I witnessed. They were both a refreshing change of pace from the typical do-whatever-it-takes-to-make-the-sale old-school nastiness I'm sick of. Pat seems happy and at peace with himself.

One thing I had to recognize for myself was that I'm happier creating ways to communicate with people, than not...usually using something like video to do so. I decided I want to pick up podcasting again (I miss doing the Social Media Sweet Spot) even if it is just for fun and not related to business.

All of this is to say that I am going to be testing out some podcasting ideas. If they stick, they stick. If not, I'm not going to worry about it. But I will be sharing them here on my blog, if you are interested.

What truth are you not telling? Do you think honesty really is the best policy or are there reasons to "keep your cards close to your chest?"

How to Find Your Voice

At the approach of every new year, we look at our lives with special scrutiny to identify the things we think we must change in order to improve our lot in some way. We resolve to lose weight, learn a foreign language, or take up exercise as a way to prove our merit and grit. This year I resolve to honor my standards and stay true to my voice.

Image purchased from shutterstock...so you'll see it again...

I was asked to speak on the subject of, "Finding Your Voice" and it has been the most difficult, but pleasurable, presentation to prepare for as I realized about halfway through preparations for it that I wasn't honoring my own voice during its creation. I stopped everything - threw on the brakes - and approached my talk differently, more authentically, as I reminded myself to practice what I preach...which is more difficult sometimes than I care to admit.

How does one find his or her voice? Once found, does it change? How does one stay committed to honoring one's voice?

When I thought about times in my journey when I'd truly been *in* my voice, I realized they were represented by the most powerful, life-propelling moments...from the time when I bombed on stage in kindergarten (they cued the wrong music!) to the time when I really made my voice heard and changed the direction of a meeting (when student members were changing an association from the ground up), my life is made up of times when I've either honored my values or not. 

For me, poetry and music are a gateway into truth. My gut responds to poetry in a way that insists I come clean with my intentions and progress. I lose my voice when I venture too far away from the raw language of poetry. Result? When I need to get stronger, a good book of poetry is better for me than the latest issue of Harvard Business Review.

What keeps you honest with yourself? How do you find your voice when you've taken a wrong turn? When did you recognize you'd found your voice?

The Power of Networking

This week’s Association Chat was focused on the topic: networking. It's an important topic for associations because people associate them with the ability to make connections to other specific types of people. What happens when you add social media to the mix? Does technology help or hinder an association's role in connecting people? 

We talked about those types of things and more during the chat. 

Association Chat takes place every Tuesday at 2 pm ET

Here is the list of questions I asked and some of my own answers. How would you answer these questions?

1.       Why do you think networking is consistently named as one of the top reasons for joining an association?

a.       It is people’s connections that lead to job opportunities, answers to problems, or developing relationships that may help in the future.

2.       How does your organization foster networking?

a.       Aptify uses Yammer and Lync to keep everyone in all the offices connected.

b.      Aptify also has an online users group for the users of the software so they can communicate with one another.

c.       They also hold in-person meetings with “networking events” to help get people together.

3.       How can associations bring more value to networking as a benefit in the age of social media?

a.       Associations can provide more ways to connect. I like it when I have easy ways to connect to people at meetings…like through apps or LinkedIn connections.

4.       What was the most valuable networking event you ever attended?

a.       I once crashed an invitation-only party that led to me running into an acquaintance who introduced me to a person who later offered me a job!

b.      For sheer bragging rights, the White House Correspondents Garden Brunch was another favorite networking event. Lots of celebs!

5.       Where do you do most of your networking?

a.       Online

6.       What are your best tips for networking?

a.       Smile

b.      Ask questions

7.       Where should people network in the association industry?

a.       Online with #assnchat or using private online communities, with ASAE events, and at their state SAE events.

8.       Describe a networking event in which you would like to participate!

9.       What is the most interesting thing you’ve ever received as a result of networking?

a.       A pair of shoes from a couple I met. It’s a long story.

10.   Quick! Name three people you would like to have coffee with to discuss your professional life.

My Interview with Creative Maya Kalman, CEO of SWANK Productions

BizBash’s IdeaFest has become an annual hotbed of creativity for events professionals and this year is no different. With a bevy of smart, interesting speakers and leaders in the industry, IdeaFest will no doubt lead the pack again with hot tips and insights for the future of the profession.

One exemplary standout from the lineup of speakers is Maya Kalman, SWANK Productions CEO. Maya will be mentoring event planners on in the Plan-A-Thon workshop, a part of the Event Leadership Institute Workshop Series, during the IdeaFest N.Y. trade show and conference on Wednesday, October 30.

The focus of the interactive Plan-A-Thon this year is for attendees to reinvent three key event formats: the award show, the gala fund-raiser, and the product launch. I asked Maya three questions about her involvement with the Plan-A-Thon:

•      How does your role with SWANK productions make you a good mentor for event planners?
•      What do you expect from the workshop’s participants? How can they best set themselves up for success?
•      What are you most looking forward to at Ideafest? 

Maya Kalman: Oh gosh…I hate to say this but I feel like almost all of these questions I can't answer because I've never been to this event before!

I'm both the CEO and creative director of SWANK Productions. We do luxury event planning and couture design, creating one-of-a-kind event 'experiences' for our luxe clients.

Maya believes that designing and planning every event is actually “creating an experience for the guests to be immersed in.”

Maya: I love helping other people sit down and really conjure up the most out-of-the-box ideas they can contemplate, but also love to figure out the pros and the cons -- and the pitfalls -- that might need to be thought of ahead of time and solved prior to production. My method of conceptualizing and brainstorming is very much a process of explicit visualizing and walking through every detail of the event in my mind. People always tell me that my enthusiasm and passion for this business shines through. I really do love what we do and it shows!

Maya is excited about the promise of IdeaFest and uncertain of what it will mean for her or for the participants...but she knows she'll love seeing the industry faces.

Maya: I am not totally sure what to expect so I'm not really sure what they [participants] should expect but from what I'm hearing from David [Adler, BizBash CEO and Founder] it's all about just letting your creativity flow. Designing without barriers or constraints, which honestly you never get to do with budget constraints and client wants and needs. 

I've been to many BizBash Events but this is my first IdeaFest so I'm just excited to see everything new in our industry. And to be honest it's an opportunity to see tons and tons of faces we know from all over the country in once place. Kind of an industry reunion! 

You can follow Maya on Twitter for more great events industry information at @mayakalman or @swankproduction.

Things to Ask When Producing A Video

Whether you know it or not, video is likely in your future. Here's why:

From this blog post by Wolf 21 Internet Marketing, you can see some provocative statistics about video (attrib. to Craig Backman from McLellan Group):

• Video is the preferred medium by most site visitors. According to Cisco Systems, 90% of web traffic will be from video by the time we reach 2013.
• Video is relevant to all demographics. It is not just youth that are broadcasting their talents through online video, but people 55 and older are also finding a space to share their stories.
• Video is more persuasive. According to Nielson data, product users are 85% more likely to buy from video content than from text.
• Video is more memorable. Videos are sensational and require more than just one sense to understand a message. They thus attract better site traffic and higher quality content than text does.
• Video enhances SEO results. Forrester found that video is 53 times more than text content to rank within the top search engine results. Google looks at the description, title and tags for indexing a video.

Here's the situation: I wanted to create a video series out of a project I'm working on at work. While I've worked with video in the past, I am still learning how to describe the different styles and formats of video that are out there. Fortunately, I work with a great guy that knows more about what to look for in cameras and lighting and so I'm picking up more knowledge that way.

If you find yourself starting out in the creation of a video, here are some good questions to consider...

Questions to ask yourself:
1. What kind of "look" am I going for? It helps to have examples to share with your videographer and others working on the project.
2. How long will this video be? Keep in mind what your goal for viewership is...in general, the shorter, the better.
3. Do I have video editing skills on staff? If so, that could keep your cost down. If possible, you should always get the raw video and audio so you can use it in other ways in the future.
4. Do I need a studio or do I have a background that will work for this project? Depending on what kind of video you're shooting, you might need to search for the right background.
5. Do I need a teleprompter? These days you can use a tablet (Galaxy or iPad) as your teleprompter, but if you have the ability to speak without it, that's always preferable.
6. What is my budget? Don't you hate this question? The budget will dictate who you work with. I had someone virtually hang up the phone on me when they heard the budget I was using. Of course, that ensured I would never choose to work with them in the future, no matter what kind of budget I had available. It helps to get an idea of the ballpark your videographer is working in  for your type of project early on to save you both time.

Questions your videographer should ask you:
1. What kind of lighting do you have/do you want? Your answers will dictate the kind of lighting or lenses they bring with them to the shoot.
2. What's your timeline? Your videographer should be able to share their typical turnaround time for the type of shoot you are doing and work with you to meet your schedule.
3. What kind of nameplates/graphics/logos/intro do you want to use? Your videographer should want to get a feel for the kind of editing they will need to do with your footage.
4. Where will you use the video once produced? Your answer to this question will dictate the format the video will be in and the way your videographer delivers the video to you.

Here's the example of the type of video style I want to shoot in that I shared with our videographer: http://www.aptify.com/vnext

 

From this example we were able to talk about the "shallow depth of field" or the blurred background look that my team wanted. We were also able to talk about the DSLR cameras the videographer would use that would achieve that result. This is why it helps to have an example or two of video styles your hoping to achieve when you talk with your videographer (and others working on your video project).

 

Was this helpful? Do you have other questions you think should be included in this list? If you have your own helpful tips, please include them in the comments so others can learn from your experience!

 

Hopefully, with the right questions and communication, your video experience will go smoothly and without a hitch!

 



The Mission-Driven Volunteer Chat

How'd you like to learn about the best ways to motivate people to volunteer for your organization?

Two of my favorite people have teamed up to write a whitepaper worth talking about - "The Mission Driven Volunteer." Elizabeth Weaver Engel and Peggy Hoffman packed their paper full of a wealth of information, including data about generational engagement and myths and truths about volunteering (among much much more that you would be wise to read as soon as possible).

The duo is going to guest host the Association Chat on Tuesday, August 27th, at 2 pm ET and talk about the topics discussed in their whitepaper. Be sure not to miss this great opportunity to talk to the authors online!