I like to call this time of year the “Winter Holiday Season” because there are so many holidays, both religious and secular, this time of year. As I wind down before my holiday break, I have been pondering why humans celebrate anything and everything. What is the need to point out that something special happened, or is happening, or will happen? From births to weddings to seasonal activities to new jobs, we celebrate. And sometimes when things go wrong, we gather to commiserate.

The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter "Rogue Speak."

This week's message: The Social Contract

Years ago, I was at a conference that likely was sponsored by ASAE but to be honest, the fog of memory clouds my vision. I do remember that it was the early era of online connecting because we were talking about online bulletin boards. Yes, dear reader, there was a bygone era when we didn’t have online communities where we could participate in real time.

The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter "Rogue Speak."

This week's message: The Danger of Outdated Thinking – Part 2

In February 2022, I posted a message titled “The Danger of Outdated Thinking” about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In that post, I noted this:

The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter "Rogue Speak."

This week's message: Muted Voices

There is a lot of frustration for women who work to be heard but instead are ignored, diminished, and dismissed. There are times it feels like our volume isn’t on and we are perpetually on mute.

Making anything takes effort whether you are making a meal or making furniture. Making peace is a lot harder than it looks and falls into that category of “easier said than done.” When two parties are in serious disagreement, it can feel like a war, full of bad feelings, fighting for influence and resources, and developing a stubbornness from not wanting to yield your position.

The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter "Rogue Speak."
This week's message: Cognitive Dissidents

Our contentious world of emotional arguments and baseless data and emotionally charged accusations makes it seem impossible to get back to the world of civil discourse and debate. Remember when two intelligent people could disagree about an issue, share their positions, ask each other questions, and then go out for a drink? While those days may seem long gone, I saw a glimmer of hope this week that all is not lost.

Radio Free 501c is the voice of Rogue Tulips Consulting. The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter, "Rogue Speak."

This week's topic: Hire Older People! This message was originally published on October 26, 2022 and is from the company archives.

I’ve said it before, and I will say it again: the obsession with hiring “the young” continues to get in the way of building generationally diverse teams in nonprofit organizations. Dear reader, you may think “obsession” is a bit strong for this topic, but I use it because I believe there are misconceptions about the abilities of “older people” when it comes to technology expertise, keeping up with trends, and being able to “relate to” younger people.

Radio Free 501c is the voice of Rogue Tulips Consulting. The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter, Rogue Speak. This week's topic is: GenZ: Super-Duper Underwhelmed.

For the first time in years, I attended ASAE’s Membership Marketing & Communication Conference (MMCC). It was great for networking and learning, and I really enjoyed the sessions I attended. The thread I found throughout the conference was data even though it may not have been in the title of the session or the main point of the content. Being something of a data nerd I was just thrilled and as a nonprofit management professional I was excited to see we are “getting it” and embracing our data and its management.

Radio Free 501c is the voice of Rogue Tulips Consulting. The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter, Rogue Speak. This week's topic is: Harassment, Brick Walls, & Apathy: How NOT to treat Members, Clients, or Customers.

Customer service (also known as client service or member service) is what sets apart any company or organization that is committed to excellence. While all organizations need to earn money to survive, that cannot be the only driver when it comes to serving the people who use your products or services. Think about the best experiences you have with any organization providing you with a service: it almost always comes down to how helpful, informed, and service-oriented the representatives are.

Radio Free 501c is the voice of Rogue Tulips Consulting. The author reads her weekly message from the Rogue Tulips Consulting newsletter, "Rogue Speak."  This week's topic is: Don't Even Get Me Started . . . Things On My Mind 1. Harassment Marketing 2. Women Not Speaking Up 3. Anti-Consultant Bias.

We all have them. Topics and issues that you don’t EVEN want to get started on because you will go on. And on. And on. Usually, these topics are emotionally charged or just plain frustrating because there doesn’t seem to be any resolution in sight. For example, when it comes to driving: Why don’t people use their turn signals? Was there a strange EMP (electromagnetic pulse) that ONLY affected cars turn signals making them non-functional?

As we near the end of the first quarter of 2023, AWTC is gearing up for its annual awards ceremony where they recognize women in associations making a difference with technology.

Recently, I completed the University of South Florida (USF) DEI Certificate program. If you haven’t heard about it, the USF program was one of the first ones in the United States developed in response to the social upheaval of the early 2020s that was partly related to a lot of hidden tensions rising to the surface as power structures shifted. We started talking openly about things that in the past were left unsaid or discussed in hushed tones privately.