DelCor’s Most- and Least-Read Blog Posts of 2016

Bill Rowan | 12.23.16
Topics: Our Company & Community

As we close out 2016, we take a look back on our blog to see what struck a chord…and what didn’t. We won’t say you ‘loved’ one more than another—perhaps some of our posts just didn’t enter your content stream at the right time. So, ICYMI, here’s our annual roundup of our most-read (and least-read) blog posts. We’ll be back with more association technology content in 2017. Happy holidays!

Note: DelCor will be closed December 26 and January 2.

DelCor’s Most Popular Blogs of 2016

1. Design Thinking for Project Management

As the author of this blog, I confess I was delighted and surprised to find it in the #1 spot on your reading list. It was one of our last posts on the old delcor.com, before we launched our new, responsive site just weeks later. And it was picked up in the Associations Now Buzz column—how cool! But enough fanfare. Read my reflections on a CIO.com article on design thinking as a game changer for project managers.

2. It’s About Time: Experts Reveal What Associations Need to Know When Scheduling IT Projects

We’ve performed our share of gigs as client-side project managers for sophisticated technology implementations. So we polled our crafty consultants for advice on what to expect, and how to plan for, project timelines. This post went up just five weeks ago—when it was also featured in Associations Now Buzz—and quickly rose to our #2 spot. Read what Loretta, Dave, Tobin, Gretchen, and Wendy have to say about system selection and implementation timelines to boost your own scheduling prowess.

3. The IT Guide to Working Remotely During Metro’s SafeTrack Shutdowns

Ah, Metro. It’s a system with which commuters across the DC region have a love/hate relationship—with so many associations headquartered in and around DC, associations were not (and still aren’t) immune to frequent, drastic disruptions. Readers turned to our 4-point planning guide, authored by NSS Consultant Joe Frey, to plan ahead. Keep reading, folks—SafeTrack continues into 2017! Check to see if a SafeTrack shutdown is coming to your line/location, and read our handy guide to be prepared!

4. Five Technology Trends Association Executives Can No Longer Ignore

This post by President Dave Coriale has been around since January, but even then it piqued interest—like an ostrich peering out from the sand. From security to mobile, Dave succinctly outlines five areas of technology—beyond the budget—that association executives should be highly attuned to. These issues are critical, so check them out if you haven’t already, to prepare for a more insightful, progressive, and mature approach to technology in 2017. (Oh, yeah, this one was Buzzed about, too!)

5. Does Your Association Have the CIO Mindset?

Longtime association executive David DeLorenzo, CAE, joined DelCor in the spring as outsourced CIO to clients seeking a more strategic, integrated approach to IT. His post on dissing the all-too-common operational IT mindset is required reading for advancing any organization’s technology strategy—and the entire organization—rather than just keeping the lights on. It was a featured Tweet by association expert Deirdre Reid, CAE, in Buzz a week after posting! Don't skimp on the CIO mindset, even if you don't have one—read David's advice to jump start your IT in 2017.

6. How to Handle and Prevent the Use of Shadow IT by Association Staff

Year after year, security concerns, breaches, and proliferation of mismanaged software make the news—and into the dark corners of associations around the country. Shadow IT proliferates in that darkness, as staff make their own decisions and downloads—creating inefficiencies and potentially opening nefarious doorways into your organization’s data and systems. Read what Senior Consultant Dan Lautman has to say about why staff goes their own way and what makes this column Buzzworthy.

…And Our Least Noticed Posts of the Year

Countdown to 2017 with DelCor's year-end blog review.Like any year-end countdown, no list is complete without some low points. We don’t think of these posts as any less, but perhaps our timing was just off. Sometimes the ball just drops. In case you missed them, see if something resonates now! If the analytics don’t pick up, we’ll know we somehow just didn’t get these right, darnit.

4. Three Simple Steps to System Success: Design, Align, Refine

Strategic Consultant Tobin Conley, CAE, has a real way with words. With this rhyme-time piece, he dished out a new technology mantra. Tobin’s technology rule of three requires you to step back and take a look at the bigger organizational picture, asks whether your culture is a hurdle to progress, and demands that you constantly assess and tweak your technology. So before you embark on yet another system selection (or replacement out of frustration), read Tobin’s insights on preparing for system success.

3. Active Listening Will Turn Your Project Team on Its Ear

Sadly, a big-eared fox and being Tweet of the Day couldn’t raise the numbers for this global advice on being a better listener. I’m going to chalk it up to timing, since many of you were travelling for ASAE16 in Salt Lake City. But these are great points to remember next time you’re in a meeting, a client engagement, or even a disagreement (perhaps induced by too much eggnog). Get to know the benefits of active listening in this post penned by our summer intern, Allison Coriale.

2. Do You Have the X Factor? Digital Experiences for the Modern Member

We must have been too clever with our headline here. Because we know ‘digital’ and ‘experience’—together known as DX—are on your mind. Senior Consultant Kylee Coffman professes that creating a meaningful DX for your members requires an omni-channel approach—and for you to stay out of their way. Tune in if you want to better understand your digital ecosystem, including how to evaluate where you are now and how to embrace an integrated approach across platforms and experiences.

1. Secure Your AMS and Other Systems from Data Breaches

I’m bummed to see this post as our least-read of 2016, because it shouldn’t be. These days, security is the name of the game—even for associations, and especially your vendor partners! SaaS vendors and applications abound. I’m using one now to post this blog! You are likely using one (or several) to transmit, host, or access member and institutional data. So how do you know what those third-party vendors are doing to secure your data? First things first: read this blog by CTO Chris Ecker to understand why this is an issue, then start off the new year with renewed vigilance to data security.

Here’s to an informed, secure, mature 2017!

 

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