- Talk to your co-workers across all departments early in the process to get their thoughts and perspectives and how it might impact their area of responsibility.
- Talk to your association network to see what their experience has been and how it has impacted them at their association
- Make sure that what you are considering doing helps you better serve your members or makes your efforts more effective and efficient
- Don’t do it just to do it (Don’t chase the shiny object)
- Talk to your members to make sure that what you are considering is right for them
- Test or develop a pilot program for the idea to see how it will play out in real life
- Run the numbers to see how following the “trend” will impact your bottom line and your association’s business
- Do your research (i.e. books, white papers, listservs)
- Allow for a cooling down period so that you don’t rush into implementation too quickly. Give yourself a chance to sleep on it for a little bit.
- Consultants/associations should both take equal responsibility for implementation/outcomes
