AITP: Creating the Vision Actions

1
AITP Creating the VisionActions Attitudes for
Local National Leaders

• Russ Finney
• 2000 ABoD Member
• 2000 Austin AITP Past President
• Vice President CIO
• Tokyo Electron America, Inc.

2
AITP Creating the Vision

• Successful AITP Chapters
• Local Chapter Core Principles
• Basic Services Chapter Level
• Basic Services Regional Level
• Needed Services National Level
• 78 Chapter Retention Ideas
• Basics
• Closing/Questions

3
Successful AITP Chapters...

• Have growing chapter memberships (Membership
  Chair).
• Have hundreds of IT Professionals subscribed to
  their email announcement (Newsletter Chair).
• Are featured regularly in the local media (PR
  Chair).
• Are providing a forum for national caliber
  speakers (Programs Chair).
• Have a strong partnership with conventions such
  as ITEC Expo.
• Recognize local IT community leaders through
  awards and honors.
• Have an active, current, and informative web site
  (Webmaster).
• Have meeting attendance appropriate for their
  geographic location.

4
Local Chapter Core Principles

• We are THE information technology Community for
  our city.
• Our membership is comprised of IT corporate
  professionals, key vendor representatives, IT
  educators and academics, and local IT service and
  consulting representatives.
• We provide the most qualified forum for the very
  best local, regional, and national technology
  speakers to address the local IT Community.
• We are strong supporter of IT educational efforts
  at a college level by providing student chapter
  support, exposure for educators, and scholarships
  for students.
• We provide organizational leadership, personal
  growth, and targeted networking opportunities for
  our membership.
• We maintain firm ties with our regional and
  national AITP organizations.

5
Lessons Learned(From my Kids)

• A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a
  2,000 sq. foot house 4inches deep.
• A 3-year-old's voice is louder than 200 adults in
  a crowded restaurant.
• A six-year-old can start a fire with a flint rock
  even though their Dad says it can only be done
  in the movies.
• Certain Lego's will pass through the digestive
  tract of a four-year-old.
• The spin cycle on the dryer does not make earth
  worms dizzy.
• It will however make cats dizzy.
• Cats throw up twice their body weight when
  dizzy.

6
Basic Services - Chapter Level

• A regular monthly meeting
• A well planned calendar with excellent programs
• A web page with current information
• A monthly email announcement
• A telephone number for getting information and
  for making reservations
• An email address for communicating back to the
  chapter
• Ongoing support for local student chapters
• Occasional mixers and events
• A member discount for events and dinners
• A regular monthly BOD meeting

7
Basic Services - Chapter Level

• (Desirable) A monthly newsletter
• (Desirable) Periodic local seminars and technical
  sessions
• (Desirable) Scholarship awards for local students
• (Desirable) Professional awards for local
  executives
• (Desirable) A corporate donation/sponsorship
  program

8
Basic Services - Regional Level

• A regular yearly meeting event (Programs,
  Leadership Training)
• A web page with current information
• Several regular regional officer's meetings
• (Desirable) Chapter visits from Regional officers
• (Desirable) Localized resources for struggling
  chapters

9
Needed Services - National Level

• (Desirable) A database of speaker ideas and
  contacts (ECC)
• (Desirable) National agreements and visible
  relationships with major technology
  vendors (External Influence)
• (Desirable) A flexible corporate membership
  program - Revamped membership options
  (Membership)
• (Desirable) An integrated corporate
  donation/sponsorship program
  (Education Foundation)
• (Desirable) A technology association
  "affiliation" program (External
  Influence)
• (Desirable) Chapter web site support and hosting
  (ECC)
• (Desirable) COPA award graphics for chapter
  website display (Headquarters)

10
Some Management Wisdom

• Texas Wisdom
• If you're riding ahead of the herd, take a look
  back every now and then to make sure it's still
  there.
• If you get to thinking you're a person of some
  influence, try ordering somebody else's dog
  around.
• Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
• Actual Management Statements/Requests
• Please send me a list of specific unknown
  problems you expect to encounter.
• This project is so important, we can't let things
  that are more important interfere with it.

11
78 Chapter Retention Ideas(A Sample from the
AITP Marketing Committee)

• 6. Acknowledge renewals (in newsletter, web
  site, meetings, etc.).
• 18. Prior to sending the first renewal notice,
  send a personal note from the President
  recounting the organizations successes and
  telling members that he/she looks forward to
  working with them again next year.
• 19. During the expiration month, have a member of
  the Retention Committee call the member.
• 23. Conduct a phone/letter campaign to recapture
  membership lapses for the past year or two.
• 28. Think of involvement as participation, not
  just leadership. Try to find small jobs for
  people to fill to get them started in the
  leadership process.
• 37. Set meeting schedules well in advance so
  members can plan ahead. If they attend functions
  theyre more likely to stay.
• 42. Involve top management of companies that
  employ large numbers of members. They get a good
  impression of the organization and are more
  likely to approve memberships.

12
78 Chapter Retention Ideas(A Sample from the
AITP Marketing Committee)

• 43. Invite CEOs of major employer companies to
  speak annually at one of your meetings. Call it
  A View from the Top and have several speakers
  on the state of the industry/profession/community.
  
• 44. Develop a plan for ongoing communication to
  members, with one goal being to market to members
  (infomercial) by reminding them of specific
  benefits they receive as members.
• 53. Send a How Are We Doing? form to first-year
  members and respond to any negative comments. Be
  sure to call those who dont respond at all.
• 67. Do an e-mail survey of important
  questions/issues as they arise it gets members
  involved quickly and easily.
• 77. Use a tracking system to identify your least
  active members. Review the information at least
  2-3 times a year and make special contacts with
  inactive members.
• 78. Most of all, be a reason to renew. To many
  members, the leaders volunteer and staff
  personify the organization and should be of the
  caliber that make members want to renew their
  investment.

13
Basics

• Chapter
• Setup an email database
• Establish a website
• Upgrade your location
• Book the very best speakers
• View your Chapter as a Community
• Regional
• Initiate better communications
• National
• Build stronger ties to national technology
  companies
• Provide more enhanced web services to the
  chapters
• Build up our AITP image awareness in print and
  other media
• Revamp our awards programs

14
Some Parting Quotes

• "I haven't committed a crime. What I did was fail
  to comply with the law."-- David Dinkins, New
  York City Mayor
• "Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a
  very important part of your life. -- Brooke
  Shields
• "Outside of the killings, Washington has one of
  the lowest crime rates in the country. -- Mayor
  Marion Barry, Washington, D.C.
• "We're going to turn this team around 360
  degrees.-- Jason Kidd, upon his drafting to the
  Dallas Mavericks
• "I'm not going to have some reporters pawing
  through our papers.We are the president.--
  Hillary Clinton
• "Half this game is ninety percent mental.
  --Phillies manager Danny Ozark
• "It isn't pollution that's harming the
  environment. It's the impurities in our air and
  water that are doing it.-- Former U.S.
  Vice-President Dan Quayle

15
Conclusion/Questions

• AITP National Website
• http//www.aitp.org
• AITP Chapter Resources Page
• http//www.itmweb.com/aitpchapter.htm