Vision, Mission, and Values Part 4: Creating Your Team Values
At this point in the journey, your team should have a clear sense of what mountain you will climb (Vision) and which path you will take up that mountain (Mission). Most teams might stop here; however, there always comes a point in the journey when challenges happen and tough decisions must be made. Sometimes you […]
The Valentine’s Day Bandit of Portland: Unveiling the Power of Anonymous Acts in Community Building
Portland, OR, is covered with cloudy skies for almost 50% of the year, but that doesn’t stop the Valentine’s Day Bandit from lifting the spirits of the city by secretly planting hundreds of red hearts all over on Valentine’s Day. For four decades, the bandit remained anonymous. However, his identity was revealed as Kevin Fahrman […]
Vision, Mission, and Values: Part 1
One of my best friends moved 2000 miles away from me to set up a new life with his family in Colorado. Needless to say, we knew we had to find ways to stay connected. So we decided to plan an adventure trip together and settled on climbing a mountain. Neither of us had any […]
Every Community Needs Traditions; Here’s How To Make A Successful Tradition
Do you know what’s odder than a boat carrying a giant herring? When that boat with the giant herring is carried through the streets of a town; it’s called the “Herring March” of Spakenburg in the Netherlands. The herring is a symbol of the town’s fishing heritage, and the parade is a celebration of community […]
You Need To Ask To Increase Engagement
Every hand in the room was in the air. I knew the number would be high, but I didn’t expect it to be 100%! At a recent leadership program I ran at Gannon University, I asked the current campus leaders how many are in a leadership position because someone asked them to take on the […]
Stop Trying to Engage Your Entire Community With The Same Type of Activities
It was a sad situation, knowing that the group spent thousands of dollars and no one showed up to the event. I was working with a university in Georgia that was hosting an outdoor adventure day for their campus. Ironically, it was raining that day, so they had to move the adventure indoors. The entire […]
How to Allocate Resources For Maximum Member Engagement
1000 Free Hugs signs cost me $40… and that was with premium paper. I used the signs for an event at a conference I was keynoting. The purpose was to create an engaging activity that connected people together and increased the energy of the conference. It took me about 30 minutes to set up the […]
Dirty Marketing: The Negative Impact of Mixing Marketing with Relationship Building in Business Communities
It felt like he had just dropped a dirty towel into our perfectly purified community, and it didn’t sit right with me or anyone else in the group. As a forum moderator for a community of business owners, I facilitate peer groups for members to learn and grow from each other. For example, one section […]
The Importance of Ongoing Support for Your Smaller Community Groups
I knew the whole group would fall apart if I didn’t attend their next meeting. That was how I felt after one distraught group member messaged me to say they were in trouble. Members weren’t showing up to meetings, engagement during the meetings was low, and the group often only covered half of the agenda […]
Make Sure Your New Members Feel Welcomed Within Your Community
I felt like I was back at a Jr. High School dance where each group of friends circled up to form an impenetrable wall to block outsiders from getting in. But I wasn’t in Jr. High anymore; I was an adult at a parent mixer with my wife for our daughter’s school. We had just […]