2nd Idea for IABC Scandinavia: get local

Two weeks ago, I pledged to offer IABC Scandinavia 12 suggestions for building membership.

After a first suggestion (Start a blog, which drew attaboys from IABC members and was panned by IABC European leadership) I missed last week, between deadlines and a national holiday. But I'll throw out two this week, and then we are back on track next week.

Suggestion No. 2 Be far more local.

IABC, like Rotary, like scouting, like most political parties, operates at several different levels.

1) International: policy, strategy, budgets, global professional development. Boring (except for global PD), but necessary.

2) Regional: membership, chapter support, opening new markets, regional professional development. More fun! And necessary!

3) Local chapter: networking, local professional development, mentoring and being mentored, comraderie, smart thinking on local communication issues. Real value for IABC dues, and lots of fun.

The most important, for building membership, is the local level. We all know this. Members, living or working in a small geographic area, most of whom know each other (or of each other), who have a common purpose "on the ground," are the members who a) enjoy the benefits of membership most, and b) evangelize so much that they attract other members.

Who of us joined Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts or whatever to get the national magazine? You joined because you were in a troop and it was fun.

IABC Scandinavia misses this point, which is why the "chapter" is failing. It should look for instruction to successful chapters in the US and Canada.

First, the geographic catchment area of IABC Scandinavia is enormous, covering an area the size of the Eastern United States. It contains, at last count, 35 members -- to put this in perspective, some office buildings in Toronto contain more than 35 IABC members. This is not a group that can come together regularly or on any sort of short notice.

Second, most members do not know one another, and never will. And why should they? They don't share a common culture, don't speak the same language except in the broadest of terms, and don't move in the same business circles. Hell, they don't even read the same newspapers.

The result? None of the criteria for a successful local chapter are met: small geographic area, members knowing or knowing of each other, common ground from which to work. The results speak for themselves: IABC Scandinavia has had three sparsely attended meetings in 18 months, three all-member emails and... well, that's it.

So, on to my suggestion. Maintain the pretence of a "Scandinavian" chapter if you must, but concentrate on building lots of activity in the local centers of membership: Greater Copenhagen/Malmö, Greater Stockholm, Greater Oslo. Let the locals organize meetings and seminars amongst themselves -- encourage them to do so. By being actively involved in IABC -- and active involvement means more than 2 meetings a year in some city 500 miles away -- they become IABC evangelists. Which builds membership.

In fact, take it a step further: declare an ambition to split IABC Scandinavia, the "on-paper" chapter, into three or more real chapters by the end of 2007. Let the Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo groups build themselves up to 20-25 members -- not a difficult goal -- and form chapters of their own. The result for IABC: three active chapters, instead of one that never got off the ground. The result for local members: a much more interesting and rewarding way to be a part of IABC.

Readers, friends, IABC members, PRSA members, Little League coaches... please offer your suggestions and criticisms.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 11:24am in Communication, IABC, IABC Scandinavia | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (7)

1st Idea for IABC Scandinavia: start a blog

"Booo"... I can hear to the rafters already, as you all say "too easy..."

But hear me out a minute.

Most blogs are personal. Most blogs deliver the highly opinionated view of one person. In fact, blog "purists" would prefer it that way.

But I look back on the many organizations I've been a part of. Scout troop, fraternity, community group, IABC committees and boards, political party groups -- every single one had a problem with timely communication. In most cases, there was a will to communicate, but poor technical channels. A group blog would have solved a lot of problems,

Bad comms is a killer. In an organization like IABC Scandinavia -- a handful of members spread over tens of thousands of square kilometers -- it is  a killer if you cannot communicate.

A blog could be the answer.

Set up a blog, give all the regional leaders author rights. For that matter, give every member author rights.  Invite and encourage members to write in. Make it loose and unofficial. Sure, that's where you announce the next meeting. But it's also where you critique the meeting. Or announce a job opening.

Let me answer some of the obvious questions:

1) What if we don't have much to say? If you open authorship to all the members, you will find that other people have a lot to say.

2) We will need to monitor the conversation. No, we elected you as leaders. We monitor you, not the other way around.

3) Sounds like a lot of IT expense? Can be set up in an hour. And I, Allan Jenkins, will pay for the first two years of hosting. Free gift.

4) We already use email... shouldn't we keep that? Anything posted can be reformed to email, so that's not an issue. At any rate, within a year or two, all savvy communicators will prefer RSS.

5) No other chapter does this? Fine.... for once, be in front.

Price? Peanuts. Time to set up? About an hour.

Readers... Pile in with your views.

Suggestion No. 2? One week from today,.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 11:13pm in Communication, IABC, IABC Scandinavia | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (8)

12 ideas for IABC Scandinavia, in 12 weeks

Recently I poked fun at the idea of an IABC Scandinavia chapter. It was just a poke:  While I still think it a poor idea, it's a done deal, and the only thing is to try to make it work.  In the best case, it could maybe work; in the worst case, it could prompt a couple of cohesive chapters.

Poking, though, rubbed a lot of folks the wrong way. One IABC Scandinavia officer sent me a mash note indicating that being an American was in bad taste, and that being a blogger was in bad taste, and being both was in exceedingly bad taste.

More recently, I tweaked my chapter president and regional director about providing more information about IABC's Annual General Meeting & the issues to be discussed there.  By the time they got around to replying to me -- I'll get back to you in "due time" was one response -- my patience had run out, so I approached Chairman Bickford and Vice-Chairwoman Holmes. Both responded in hours, and now you can all see the IABC Annual General Meeting agenda here if you are a member.

But here's the rub.

Both my chapter president and regional director implied my criticism of IABC Scandinavia is insufficiently constructive.  Now, I know many of you are thinking, "What? Not a chance!" But let us accept for the moment that Allan Jenkins may not have been sufficiently constructive enough. What then?

Well, once a week, for 12 weeks, starting tomorrow, I will offer a suggestion to IABC Europe and IABC Scandinavia leadership  about how they can better engage, communicate with, and attract members like me.

I invite my readers to sail in on these suggestions -- praise, roasts, and helpful modifications are all welcomed. You don't need to be an IABC member.  You don't need to be Scandinavian.

At the end of 12 weeks, IABC Scandinavia will have 12 heavily edited suggestions for building membership and a bunch of us will have thought a lot about non-profit communication.

This is, of course, not about IABC Scandinavia... they are just a catalyst. We all have organizations, associations, Little League clubs -- you name it -- that need to think through how to attract, seduce, keep and serve members.

Will you join me?

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 11:24pm in IABC, IABC Scandinavia | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (5)

IABC Scandinavia to feature Arla communicator at presentation

[Update: Neville Hobson, former IABC Europe Director, in a comment to this post (see below) points out two websites for IABC Scandinavia:

http://europe.iabc.com/scandinavia/
http://www.iabc.com/about/leaders/index.cfm?vch=CH-12-773

neither of which are mentioned in the invitation or cover email, which is just as well, since neither is the paragon of information. He goes on to note that the VP of Communication could use some help -- hey, Neville, I've offered three times.

By zooming the .pdf document to 125%, I discover another link, this time to www.iabcscandinavia.com! But don't bother clicking... it comes up 404.

I've just checked the prices for a flight... US$ 210, plus transport to and from the venue, plus a whole day's downtime? For an hour's speech? Not bloody likely.]

This just in...

IABC Scandinavia, a chapter whose existence I was beginning to doubt (it has no website, no visible leadership, no dues, no newsletter, no meeting schedule, 25 putative members, most of whom have never met, and a catchment area the size of the entire US east of the Mississippi River) is stirring itself. At least for a day.

An email arrived today with this news: On April 28, in Stockholm, IABC (I assume the chapter and not the entire organization), is holding a meeting/presentation.

Keynote is Arla's besieged communcation head Astra Gade Nielsen, who will discuss what it's like to have her job when Arla is having the worst three months of its history. She's going to be discussing the backlash against Arla in the Middle East (because of the Mohammed cartoon affair), but I hope someone grills her on Arla being convicted of criminal unfair trade practices. Her masterful glossing of that off the front page would be worth hearing about.

What's unfortunate is the invitation includes zero information about IABC the international association.

None at all. No numbers to call, no email addresses, no website to visit. As a communication about our association, it is appalling.

Moreover, the "cover" email (the invitation itself is .pdf; go figure) features a broken link to IABC, calls IABC an "interesting network" -- surely we are more than that, despite our many faults -- makes no mention of IABC's global presence, offers no information on how (or why) to join, never mentions IABC Europe's conference Eurocomm or IABC's International Conference.

In short, if one purpose of a chapter is to make members enthusiastic and to attract new members... this chapter is not on the rails, yet, by a long shot.

And... I will just say this one more time. With a catchment area the size of the US eastern seaboard, it's simply unrealistic to expect this chapter to work. I ask my US readers: Would your employer -- say you live in Atlanta -- relish the idea of your spending a day flying to and from Chicago to attend a 2-hour IABC chapter meeting? My Netherlands readers: will you be taking a day off from consulting to fly to Berlin for a 2-hour meeting? And Lee in Adelaide... what are the chances of you flying to Melbourne for an IABC lunch meeting?

No, IABC Scandinavia is largely the result of a collision of ego and unbounded optimism.

What IABC should do is work hard to create chapters in Oslo, Stockholm, and Copenhagen -- and this is doable over a couple of years, if IABC wants to put its heart into it.

But trying to get 25 members to fly 500 miles for lunch meetings is not going to walk.

Technorati Tags: IABC, IABC Scandinavia, Arla Foods

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 07:42am in IABC, IABC Scandinavia | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (3)

It's time for Warren Bickford to assess IABC

Straight out: Warren Bickford has done a good job of blogging as IABC chairman. He turned the effort around when it was reeling on its feet, and he's thrown out topics that are worth chewing on.

But.... it's not right, yet. The IABC Chairman's Blog, or Café, or whatever, is still not there.

He  recruited co-bloggers. That was a good move, but a decided failure. Keefe has contributed. So did Pizzo, until Katrina put him out of house and town. Barbara Gibson remains as invisible to the world as she is to IABC's European members.

Worse, IABC incoming-Chairman Glenda Holmes apparently has little to say informally to communicators. I expect a big speech in Vancouver, and fear that we will next hear from her at her farewell speech a year later.

And we still have no public declaration of how IABC is meeting its strategic plan. The plan -- which Warren wrote -- is specific in its goals and detailed in its execution. 20 thousand members, revenue surpluses,  year by year goals.  Naturally, much of it is confidential, although IABC members can access it on the site.

No word of that on the blog, or anywhere else on IABC's site. N0t g0od. Warren, Glenda: you can get this right. You can speak out freely, now, with your weblog. No need to "cascade" and "manage" the message down through the IABC org chart.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 04:08am in IABC, IABC Scandinavia | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (8)

Charles Pizzo to speak to IABC Scandinavia

IABC Scandinavia is hosting Charles Pizzo at a speaking engagement next month. The idea of a lot of Norweigian business communicators encountering Charles in the cold of an Oslo December is... well... different.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 11:38pm in IABC, IABC Scandinavia | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (0) | TrackBack (0)

European IABC Members Take Notice

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 09:46am in IABC, IABC Scandinavia | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (1) | TrackBack (0)

IABC's 55% Loan Business

My favorite professional association, IABC, has launched a new membership plan, whereby a new or renewing member can buy membership today, and spread the payments over the next three months. For a "fee" of US$ 20.

At first glance, that may seem like a sweet deal. Just as so many "buy now, pay later" deals seem sweet. After all,  it's not for nothing that some department store chains make more from lending than from selling.

We'll break this offer down. But first, let's dispel any notion that it's not a loan. Any service received today in exchange for a future stream of payments is a loan. You can call the extra payments interest,, processing costs, billing fees or whatever. The operative thing is: a product is being received today against a stream of future payments.

An easy test is this: Would I pay less by paying in full for the service now than I will by paying for it over time?  If "yes", you're about to take out a loan.

In this case, the member can choose to pay US$209 today or pay $57.25 today, and $57.25 on the first of the next three months.

Now the installment plan has a certain appeal, on its face, but is it a good deal? In this case, the member could go to his or her bank (or to Tony Soprano) and, if able to borrow at less than 55% per annum, would be "in the money" by doing so. Because this deal carries a 55.69% interest rate.

That is, if the member is in one of the countries where IABC charges "full dues". In many countries, including Canada and all of the developing world, IABC charges less in dues but still wants the $20 fee. In Canada, the "interest" on the deal is 70%, and in many of IABC's 60+ member countries, the interest rate is a whopping 131%.

Nice business? Fuggeddabboutit!

Some IABC observers note that the deal might be good for members who have no other way of financing their membership. Fair enough. But the rules state that the membership may only be paid by credit card. I doubt that the interest rate on that credit card exceeds 55%.

I don't care how members choose to enter IABC. Many may have good reason to join on the installment plan.

What I do care about is how the plan is communicated. Right now, it's being presented and defended as a "member service".

Come on! It may be a service to some members, but let's also point out that it's an expensive member service that the member is expected to pay dearly for.

IABC is an association.... 13,000 equals who have voluntarily banded together to promote their profession. It's not in our interest to try to foist an expensive loan -- 131% interest -- on new members while telling them "Hey, this is a benefit for you!".

Offer the deal? Sure! People may have any number of reasons for choosing it. Just be up front about the costs.

Disclosure: I am a former Treasurer of IABC and have chaired or served on all of its financial committees.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 09:50pm in IABC, IABC Scandinavia | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (2) | TrackBack (0)

Kistle Reports Progress, Quits Blog: Notes on IABC

IABC Chair David Kistle released his 2nd Progress Report as Chairman last week.

First, there was the very good news that IABC's deficit dropped to "under US$700,000" during 2004. It's a good result. However, careless or uninformed readers might assume from the post that over a half million in deficit was cut in 2004:

"...reduced our deficit from US$1.2 million deficit to under US$700,000".

Actually, the US$1.2 million figure is a few years old; IABC began with a deficit of under $900,000. Still, any progress is good progress in this important area.

Unfortunately, the rest of the post offers little optimisim about Kistle's 5 X 2005 program.  The "five new overseas chapters" goal is a rehash of Progress Report 1. The "five 500-member chapters" is goal is acknowledged to be a bust. The other three 5 X 2005 goals (five reasons to join IABC, five new market-driven products or services, and five breakthrough growth strategies) don't even get a look-in.

Meaningful goals?

I've said here and elsewhere what I think needs to be said about this Chairman's year in office, so I won't dwell on it. I will say that Kistle -- a fine professional communicator who gave IABC's Research Foundation a boost when he ran it -- set himself up for a fall when he chose these goals.

For all I know, he has been busting butt to put five chapters over 500 members, but it's a meaningless goal that, whether achieved or not, reflects little on IABC's health or prospects. And no chairman can make it happen through personal intervention.

In the same way, five new overseas chapters may or may not be good for IABC. But it's local members who make those chapters happen. The chairman can only offer moral support and, perhaps, help boost the short-term organizing effort.

Strategic plan sets goals for several years

Incoming chair Warren Bickford, by writing the strategic plan, has set his goals already -- and those of the next couple of Chairmen. While no strategic plan is perfect, Bickford's plan has goals that are relevant, linked to one another, and measurable. Most importantly, because they take a longer view of the association's future, they will serve, I hope, to give continuity of focus at the top. Most of the goals aren't sexy, and most have 2009 as a deadline. Yet, Bickford and future Chairmen will be able to assess their progress -- and report it -- on a quarterly basis.

Open discussion is healthy; embrace it

Moving on, our discussions here at Desirable Roasted Coffee attracted constructive debate about the future of IABC. That debate spilled over into other blogs -- Shel's and Neville's and Eric's -- and helped prompt an article in the Ragan Report.

Most important, it prompted a thread in IABC's members-only MemberSpeak bulletin board. MemberSpeak is not widely read, but since it can be read only by IABC members, writers are sometimes more forthcoming.

One of those is incoming Chairman Warren Bickford. Warren, while choosing to write only in MemberSpeak (login required), was alone among IABC leaders to acknowledge the simmering debate. Some say that is indicative of an IABC "control the message" mindset. There's merit in that argument, but I believe IABC's professional leadership, as professional communicators, will see the light and embrace open discussion for members and industry observers.

Kistle Quits Blogging

One sign that "the top" is starting to get it is Kistle's announcement that he's turning over blogging duties -- and thus the bully pulpit of being IABC Chair -- to Warren Bickford effective immediately.

This almost cannot be bad news. Kistle, in his farewell article, acknowledges he is not cut out to be a blogger (What's ironic is that his final post -- from the heart, personal, down-to-earth, and yet insightful -- indicates great blogging potential). It's clear he never liked the task, and that's fair enough.

Will Bickford blog differently? He's indicated on MemberSpeak that his bblog will be different. I believe he "gets" that an IABC Chairman's blog is about sharing smarts, about reporting from what Brian Kilgore calls "the most important communication role in the world". An IABC Chairman with his or her ears open learns more about what's happening in communication practice than 99% of the profession. I hope Bickford hears it and shares it.

Over the next week or so, I intend to pick up on some of the ideas raised in the comments section of my Kistle Should Step Aside post. And I hope the discussion continues. And let us see what Bickford can do to bring direction and focus to IABC.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 08:17pm in IABC, IABC Scandinavia, Public Relations | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (2) | TrackBack (0)

IABC Creates New Scandinavia Chapter

IABC has created a Scandinavian chapter, gathering 35 IABC members from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark under one banner. Provisional Chairman is Anne Bove-Nielsen of Denmark. I've known Anne a few years; her energy and professional rank are good news for this effort.

Those of you with maps might be wondering how a chapter spread over three countries, three languages, and an area the size of the US east of the Mississippi might function. Actually, this is a common problem when companies or organizations try to do business in the region, and the answer is fortitude and the willingness to spend 5 hours on a plane for a 1 hour meeting.

Now I have to eat some crow: David Kistle said he would be able to announce a Danish chapter, and I rolled my eyes. But by expanding the catchment area to include three countries, it got done. And, as I said, we'll join any chapter that gets organized.

Here's the announcement!

I hope you are all well! I'm pleased to inform you all that the IABC International Executive Board has given unanimous approval to the motion to establish IABC Scandinavia as a Developmental Chapter.  So we are now official! 

One of our first tasks is to establish chapter bylaws, so enclosed please find a proposed draft for your approval. Please come back to me ASAP on this.

 

I have just attended a conference call with the European Board - and we are looking at the possibility of having a member event in early July in Copenhagen - I find that very exciting. As soon as I have more information on this I'll come back to you!

 

Best regards

Anne Bove-Nielsen

What's great for folks like me, who like an ultra-convenient life, is that I was able to join a "chapter" without being asked the first question about whether I would or wouldn't.

Posted by Allan Jenkins at 08:41am in Copenhagen, Denmark, IABC, IABC Scandinavia | Permalink | Comments Welcome! (4) | TrackBack (0)