Mark your calendars: I will be speaking at the next Great Ideas Conference, put on by ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership. The conference is December 7-9, 2007, and it will be at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort in Orlando, Florida. Registration for the conference is now open.

My session is called, “Who’s In Charge?” It will happen Sunday, December 9th, in the 2:15 to 3:30 slot (so don’t leave the conference early!). Here’s the description from the brochure:

The debate between “member driven” versus “staff driven” often boils down to "who’s in charge?" Afraid to alienate stakeholders, staff rarely sit down with members or affiliated organizations to fully answer the question, which leaves everyone frustrated. Explore common traps and pitfalls that derail those conversations and examine critical tools and frameworks that can help you get through the toughest negotiations. Work will be experiential, based on real associations struggling with this question.

Benefits and Learning Objectives
1. Understanding the danger of leaving the question of “who’s in charge” with a vague answer

2. Key traps and pitfalls that get in the way of complete answers to that question

3. Critical tools and frameworks that can help you successfully answer the question.

If anyone out there has examples of really good/interesting “who’s in charge” questions in their organization, please contact me, because I might be able to work it into the session (anonymously, of course!). I have examples from work I’ve done, but it’s always helpful to have more.