My first ASAE annual meeting was Minneapolis in 2004. I registered so late I was out of the room block. I only knew a handful of people in the community, most of whom I met through GWSAE. I had a good time, but it was laid back, calm, with a fair amount of down time.
Flash forward six years and I'm looking at the five days I'll be in LA later this week and my mind is exploding based on how many things I'm going to do, people I'm going to see, and events I'm going to attend. Here's what Maddie, Jeff, Terry, Mark, and Bruce have in store as well.
And on top of that, I'm speaking. If you're currently setting your schedule for ASAE, don't forget the first session on Monday Morning (8:30 slot).
To Tell The Truth: You would think telling the truth would be a basic expectation, right? However, the closer you look, the more you realize we have cultures at both the volunteer and staff levels that support obscuring, deflecting, or downright avoiding the truth, particularly when the going gets tough! Explore the subtleties of what telling truth really means in organizations and how it can impact performance. Identify specific strategies for changing destructive patterns in order to bring more effective truth into your association’s leadership and management conversations.
It will build on the article I did earlier this year and we will talk about very practical things you can do (no matter where you are on the org chart) to build a culture of truth.
What else will I be doing? I have no idea. I plan on going nonstop. I definitely will be part of the ASAE 10 Flashmob, as well as the Monday Night YAP Party that has become a regular part of the Annual Meeting experience (PS, if you've heard about it but thought you don't qualify as a "Young" Association Professional, then get over yourself and come anyway. Age is a state of mind.). I look forward to the unplanned conversations that typically generate the most learning for me. I look forward to having fun with friends who, despite living a few miles from me, I tend to see only at these events.
See you in LA!