Hanging with the Greatest Generation (Part 2)

The day got a little better with each moment. We were at the back of the plane and as we arrived in DC, we were told we would be the first to exit. That meant first off the plane and the first to make a bathroom stop. We never passed up the opportunity for a bathroom stop.
Once off the jetway, we were greeted by members of the USO and others welcoming us to DC. Then we made our bathroom stop and had a nice photo opportunity with Miss North Carolina.
Outside the airport were three motor-coaches waiting to take us throughout DC. The real treat though had to be the police escort. They lead us all around the city, blocking off streets and on-ramps as flew through DC in record time, something to make any DC commuter envious.
As we arrived at the WWII Memorial, Howard mentioned that his daughter and grandson had driven down from Pennsylvania to meet-up with him. After we exited the bus, we say his family. And in one of the first acts of selflessness, Howard, without even a hesitation, hugged his grandson, who appeared to be about 10, and promptly removed his hat and removed the Triangle Flight of Honor pin and proceeded to put it on his grandson’s jacket. It was very touching.
We took a few group photos, had the chance to hear from Senators Robert and Elizabeth Dole and spent the rest of the time walking about the monument. I was treated to some great stories about the WWII graffiti – Kilroy was Here, the relief carvings depicting scenes from the war and we took lots more great photos.
Following this visit, we were off to the Marine Corp Barracks. This is the home of about 1,200 Marines who serve on the Silent Drill team, the President’s duty and also as the burial team at Arlington. While there we got to see a special performance of the Silent Drill team, which was A-mazing. Once they completed, we had a chance to meet the Marines and chat with them about the 4-months, 12-14 hours a day training they went through to be on the drill team, a very select assignment.
We took more photos with the Marines and they even let us hold their M-1 rifles. What a treat. About the time, Bob Glaser, CEO of the NC Automobile Dealers Association, came-up and shared with us his story about his dad and his rifle. Days before his dad’s passing, Bob placed his old rifle in his hands and he could not only still identify it and even remembered his serial number. My vets chimed in, too, each recalling their serial numbers of their guns without hesitation.
Before we left for the Navy Museum, we enjoyed lunch aboard the bus and I finally had a chance to really chat with Ed. Ed was a North Carolina native and served in the 45^th Division, Infantry. He was actually a part of the invasion forces beginning inAnzio and headed to southernFrance and on toGermany. He told me of his service and also about his career in the military, whichwas followed by him owning a Christian bookstore, something he did really as mission work. Ed, much like Howard, also lost his wife of over 60 years to cancer about 5 years ago and he still resides inFayetteville.

After the Marine barracks, we headed to the Navy Museum at the Navy Yard and then to the Air Force memorial. There I took several photos, again and this time one of my vets wanted to know about trying to get the entire memorial in the photo, which was about 270 feet at its highest point. I proceeded to lie on the ground and try to get the whole thing in the frame. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. It was at that moment that Fred said, “Jim, you went beyond the call of duty on that one.”
“A small sacrifice Fred…small sacrifice.”

Hanging with the Greatest Generation (Part I)

This week I had the honor to accompany three WWII veterans to our nation’s capital and tour several historical monuments/museums.
The trip was coordinated by the Triangle Flight of Honor and it was intended to give WWII veterans the chance to see the WWII memorial and honor them in a way they should have many years ago.
When I signed-up for this experience I knew I would be doing a service for these veterans, but I never realized what spending the day with the “Greatest Generation” would teach me.
Before we made our journey to DC, we had to connect with our veterans and a member of their family to coordinate a special surprise for them and to make sure they had the necessary things in place before the journey.
The Saturday before the flight, we met at Broughton High School and before we were introduced to our vets, 33 of the Guardians, divided into three teams of red, white and blue, were given a brief orientation. I don’t recall much about what was said, until one of the coordinators mentioned how significant this flight would be to the vets. She mentioned that once this flight is over, they will rank this event right up there with some of the most important days of their lives, even comparing it to the day they were married or the birth of their first child. It likely was that special, but she didn’t mention anything about the impact on us.
When I did finally get to meet Fred, Ed and Howard, I knew we would be in for a great day, especially when Fred referred to me as their shepherd for the day. “Yes,” I said, “that’s exactly right. We are a team and I would be shepherding them along while in DC.
We chatted briefly, reviewed the plans for the day and then we were off. I touch-based with them once more on Tuesday before our flight to make sure all was good and our next meeting would be at Raleigh Durham International Airport for our 0815 flight.
When I arrived at the airport on Wednesday, October 26, I was greeted by current members of the military and members of Rolling Thunder and the Patriot Guard. They were lined up outside with American flags.
As I arrived inside the terminal, we had a special area for our 102 veterans to meet-up with the 33 Guardians. Each Guardian was responsible for meeting with their vets, collecting their IDs and along with their boarding pass, check them in through security, and make our way down to the gate. I knew I was in for a good day when I stopped at Starbucks to get a coffee and snack and my purchase came to exactly $5, the amount of my gift card I presented.When my vets arrived, one by one, they said their goodbyes to their families and we made our way through security. One of the great treats of this flight for the vets, and me, was that we got to sail through security without any issue at all. We didn’t even have to go through the scanners.
At the gate, we took some pictures and chatted before boarding the flight and got to know each other better. On the flight to DC, we talked a lot more. I was sitting in-between Fred and Howard and learned that Fred had two daughters and that Fred had two sons and a daughter, who still shares his love of baseball. Fred was still married and has been for over 50 years. Howard lost his wife about 5 years ago to cancer. They had been married for over 60 years. It was around that time doctors diagnosed him with cancer and gave him 6-months to live. Another battle fought and won.

Innovation Leads to Creating Value

AENC was asked by the American Society of Association Executives (AENC) to host a talk about Innovation – how we identify innovation and how we make innovation happen.

Thanks to Jerry Piercy, the Growth Coach, and several AENC members, we had a great conversation around what is innovation and how to be innovative.

The first thing we discussed was the actual definition of innovation. When we initially discussed the definition, the consensus was it meant positive change, however, when you read the definition, it was summed up as something new or different or having a different perspective.

With the recent passing of Steve Jobs and the recent anniversary of the death of Thomas Edison, we posed the question of is inventing the same as innovation. Inventors are innovative, but they are not synonymous. Invention is the idea of creating something from imagination. Innovation creates value around a process that already exits; it sustains and causes fundamental change.

Going back to Jobs and Apple, they were mainly about innovation. Apple didn’t invent the computer, the mp3 player, music downloading, or even the smart phone, however, they did invest in making them better. They have created this culture around innovation and people have come to expect it, they have built value around the name and have created a need for their products. People line-up for hours before an Apple product is released. Compare that with Microsoft – you don’t find people waiting in-line for the realize of Windows 7.

So, the challenge for associations is to be innovative, however, you can’t just innovate for the sake of innovation. The only reason to innovate is if your organization truly wants to create value and transform the experience of the customer.

The session explored ideas on how to innovate. For example: Must learn from the past, break the routine, ask better questions, observe the things around you, get good people and empower them, know/listen to your customer, and try, fail, try again (fail quickly).

So, how did these thoughts translate into the association? How are current associations innovating?

1 – Empower people – whether it’s the CEO, who should also be the Chief Innovative Officer (CIO), or the staff who have a passion and energy for their jobs, everyone (CEO, staff, board, members, etc.) should be empowered to be innovative. Encourage folks try, knowing the sometimes failure will be an option

2 – Know the customer – organizations must understand their stakeholders, gather data (from surveys, research, focus groups, town halls, etc.) and make decisions based on data.

3 – Embrace technology – in the recent book with Harrison Coerver, Race For Relevance,Harrison points associations spending more money on F&B than technology. So whether its bringing in an intern to help train the staff on technology or investing more of the budget or reserves to technology, associations must be willing to commit to investing in technology.

4 – This may seem obvious because this process has been around for a while, but it’s so important to have a strategic plan or a road map on where you want the organization to be heading.

5 – Must be willing to invest/work to achieve innovation. For example, check out this video called 212 degrees. That is the temperature that water boils. At 211 degrees it just hot water, but the extra effort to move from 211 to 212 causes water to boil, create steam and with that, run train.

6 – Inspiration from the book Race for Relevance led to the sixth how to shrink the board and clean-up our governance model. It’s broken, ineffective and in MANY cases, stymies innovation.

7 – Speaking of governance, consider allowing outsiders to serve on your board. Or perhaps create a board swap where associations can share board members to gain a different perspective.

8 – And lastly, be willing to devote the time to innovation. We are here because either the association has been around for over 100 years and its easy to get complacent. You have to be prepared to invest the time and make the change. Check out this video about 212 degrees.

The session was great and there were many other items that came out of this session and I will post more once I get a few of the handouts from our facilitator.

Health Care Reform and its Affects

Race for Relevance: Understanding Health Care Reform and How it Affects Your Business

This morning at an AENC CEO Roundtable, we enjoyed an inside look into a topic that has been very much in the news for a while now.   Insurance Industry Expert Rob Ferguson of Health Benefits US, Inc. painted a very compelling picture of how companies with 5 to 125 employees are being impacted by Health Care Reform.  Mr. Ferguson also explained there is a timeline for businesses to heed and take appropriate actions to ensure they are compliant with new benefit laws.

It was clear to those in attendance that Health Benefits US, a company headquartered here in Raleigh, is leading the way for showing businesses how to, as he called it “get out of the insurance business.”  This does not mean to DROP coverage and leave your employees with nothing.  It DOES mean there is a new model in place, that has taken years to develop, that will save a business thousands of dollars, lower HR man-hours for paperwork and managing the group plans, and leave your employees happy with a comprehensive health plan.

Today was an eye-opener for me and those who heard Mr. Ferguson tell story after story of how he is helping hundreds of companies be pro-active, well before the new law deadlines.   It gives one hope that Health Care Reform isn’t all negative.  I encourage all of our members to have their CEO’s or HR Managers contact Health Benefits US Inc to learn how they can lower costs and improve health benefits for their employees.

About Health Benefits US, Inc.

Health Benefits US specializes in providing quality employee benefits to the members of small to mid-size businesses.  HBUS Inc. is a leading industry expert in Health Reimbursement Arrangements and Health Savings Accounts, and how best to provide the solutions employers need NOW due to recent legislation and tax law changes.   They also assist individual clients with their financial needs through tailor-made financial plans.

At its core is the HBUS leadership team – a group of highly skilled professionals with 30 years combined experience in the insurance services industry.  Health Benefits US is headquartered in Raleigh, NC with their services reaching several states including NC, SC, VA, MD, GA and FL.  For more information please visit the HBUS Inc. website – http://www.hbusinc.com/ or contact them via phone at 919.794.8437.   Follow HBUS Inc on Blogger (http://hbusinc.blogspot.com/) and Twitter (@hbusinc1).