The Three Core Principles of Member Engagement that Apply To Every Community
Even though I can hold my breath for over three minutes, what could I possibly teach the U.S. Military about engaging their Marines? Marines are known for swimming for hours in freezing cold water while holding heavy weights above their head. I’m known for Free Hugs and my love of peanut butter. So when the […]
Why Strong Communities Have Secret Internal Languages
I joined a virtual community that I thought was about being a better parent, but seeing everyone with bingo numbers in their name almost made me leave, thinking I had entered the wrong zoom room. As a parent, I’m constantly thinking about how to be better because just when I think I’ve mastered the game, […]
The Number One Reason Why Large Communities Fail
The larger your community, the higher the chance of failure unless you have this one tactic in place. Rick Warren, the founder of Saddleback, an evangelical megachurch, began his church at the age of 26. He got off to a great start and was so successful that he had over 10,000 members before his first […]
Deciding When To Pull The Plug On Your Community
I was the captain of a sinking ship, and I didn’t know exactly how to stop my ship from capsizing. A few years ago, I was hired as an engagement growth specialist for an up-and-coming community. When I received the offer to be their executive director, I was overjoyed because it fits perfectly within the […]
The Importance of Metrics and Meetings in Your Organization
I looked at my watch impatiently and saw it was 12:23 pm. This meeting was supposed to finish at noon. We were already 23 minutes overtime because one conversation was running endlessly long. What should’ve been a simple discussion followed by a decision turned into people giving their opinions without any data to back it […]
5 Ways To Recover When Your Boss Ruins Your Perfect Plan
Hmm… I’m thinking of something that will make this day POP. But what would that be? Do I take the easy road and create a fun Casino theme? Do I look into creating a ’70s disco theme and have our team disco their way through the day? Or Do I create a 007 (James Bond) […]
How Much Is Too Much Programming?
A fresh cup of hot tea is brewing away on this lovely spring morning next to my desk as I open up my email. Loading, loading, and still loading my inbox finally shows over a dozen emails from different companies inviting me to events they have coming up. The first email is from Airbnb saying […]
Dedicated Roles For Community Programming and Community Growth
It felt so demoralizing to see our executive board go from 15 members at the start of the year to only three by the end. The issue, however, wasn’t that we had too few people; it was that we had too many people. Back when I was in college, I joined an organization led by […]
5 Ways to Increase Engagement on Slack
I was desperate. I called my mom, dad, and neighbor to ask if they could like my post. My plea for help came after posting my fourth bit of content on Slack without anyone else in the community sharing, commenting, or even liking it. It felt like I set up a dance party, invited everyone, […]
How a Pepper Plant Created a Community
This past summer, my Aunt Karen gave me four pepper plants, a mint plant, and a cucumber plant. I don’t have a green thumb, but I thought, “Hey, why not see where it goes? Worst case, I lose the plants and have to continue to get my greens from the grocery store.” Long story short, […]