Governance Inspection
Explore the structures, roles, culture and practices guiding your association.
Inspect Your GovernanceAuthor: Jim Thompson
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Football fanatics have the Super Bowl and now the expanded college football playoffs. Basketball fans have the Sweet Sixteen and the Final Four. Golfers have the Masters and the U.S. Open. Music and film lovers have the Grammys and the Oscars. Well, for me, as an association geek who truly geeks out on membership statistics,…
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I didn’t have a chance to write a blog post on Tuesday, which is usually reserved for my professional journey. So, I thought I would blend the professional and personal into one post today because this subject matter crosses both. Let’s talk about AI. I will dig deeper into the recently released Membership Marketing Benchmark…
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As I sit here during this first full week of July 2026, I am shocked that it is already the middle of the year and five months into starting my own business. And I am absolutely brain-fried. I can’t, for the life of me, think of something creative to write. Since starting Tying It Together,…
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Several months ago, I unveiled my House of Governance™ framework during a webinar hosted by Ed Rigsbee, CSP, CAE. During the Q&A portion, Ed asked me about one of the domains of the House: Culture, Candor & Accountability. The question was really more like a challenge. “How do you maintain a positive culture on a…
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Over the last few weeks, I have been talking about the role of the interim in a nonprofit organization. I have broken down what an interim does, and does not do. I have talked about the costs, not just to the bottom line, of not having an interim. And I have touched on why a…
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When an organization experiences the loss of its CEO, whether by retirement, death, resignation, or termination, it is not only an operational issue. It is emotional as well. The board may feel pressure to project stability, protect the organization’s reputation, reassure staff, keep members calm, and move quickly. In that moment, hiring an outside interim…
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Ever since I have been in the association business, I have had a corporate credit card and have been responsible for budget items, both small and large. I have always prided myself on the fact that I treat an organization’s money as if it were my own. And if you know me well, you know…
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In the last 20 years, I’ve had the chance to guide several nonprofit organizations. During that time, I’ve seen transitions handled well, handled quickly, handled internally, and handled under pressure. Each situation has taught me that the real cost of transition is not always visible on the balance sheet. The following are not stories about…
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It’s hard to believe that at nearly 55 years old, I am in the best shape of my life. Just making that statement seems strange. But it didn’t happen by accident. It started when I lost a lot of weight between 2017 and 2018. You can read about that here. But losing weight was only…
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Often, when board members or other nonprofit leaders hear the term “interim,” they immediately think of a placeholder. And that’s not surprising. It’s not unusual for a board, upon hearing they are losing their CEO, to make a knee-jerk reaction and appoint a past board chair or an internal staff member as the interim. While…