If you are taking the May CAE Exam, you probably have a lot of nervous energy this week. You worry about a lot of things right before the exam, like “Did I study enough?” “Did I study TOO much?” “I didn’t finish the reading . . . “ “Will I remember everything?” What about the MATH QUESTIONS??”

Recently I saw a post in an ASAE Collaborate community seeking information about consulting fee estimates for a wide-ranging technology project. The person posting the query, an association staff member, noted that she was just seeking an estimate for a board meeting report and was not yet seeking proposals. In her post, she noted that consultants she asked were hesitant to give an estimate for the work.

I was surprised to receive a message from ASAE giving me another opportunity to pay to be in their CAE Registered Provider program. I have made my position very clear and public on the changes they made and I am not seeing any significant changes at this time (despite the message saying changes have been made).

Bias exists in many forms, and unfortunately, we here in the nonprofit management community perpetuate it like everyone else. While we try to follow each other’s good examples, we tend to copy the bad ones more often because “that is what everyone else does.” One of the biases we continue to perpetuate is anti-consultant policies for membership and event registration. These policies were established decades ago and many associations adopted them like these are a best practice.

I was on a networking call one evening this week, and I ended up staying on to talk to a friend of mine who also happens to be a woman. One of the things we had discussed in our networking call was funny examples of negotiating deals or contracts. As I wrote about in last week’s article, “Women, Ask for What You Want,” negotiating is just that – ask for what you want.

As a young person with a political science degree and an interest in policy, I moved to the Washington, DC area with my husband (another poli sci graduate) to change the world. We all think we can change the world until we are about 32, then we realize it’s more than one person can handle. But the enthusiasm of youth drives us forward, and I found myself interviewing for my first job in DC. I was excited to be considered for an entry-level position at the US Chamber of Commerce.

The other day I was talking with my friend Michael Butera (who is one of our Rogue Tulips Expert Partners) about the overall state of the world, and we talked about the state of the nonprofit management profession. It seems to be stuck in a rut and holding onto the past rather than living in the world we are in now.

We all hang on to things longer than we should. Whether it’s an emotional attachment, force of habit, or “that’s the way we’ve always done it,” humans love to keep things around that aren’t really useful any longer.

Being from Missouri, I tend to be skeptical about movies, books, and television shows (to name a few cultural icons) that EVERYONE raves about endlessly. That list includes people too – when people go on and on about “how wonderful and awesome” So and So is, and how everyone “loves them” I know it should be questioned. Why? Because no one is universally loved, not even The Drake from the “Seinfeld” television series.

I earned the ASAE Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation in 2015. It took ten years of waiting because the CAE Commission didn’t allow Consultants to take the exam in previous decades; they decided to change that rule in 2014, which meant the May 2015 exam was the first opportunity for consultants to give it a shot. I took that shot and I was one of the candidates who passed the first time.

As regular readers know, I have written about my fascination with con artists (“Lessons from the Long Con”, April 1, 2022). The reason con artists interest me is that I don’t understand why people fall for it. But I’m from Missouri; I’m a born skeptic so if it sounds too good to be true, I KNOW it is.

On October 5, 2023, I posted a message titled, “Muted Voices” about the difficulty women have in being heard about, well, pretty much anything. This is a phenomenon that is a global issue that affects all of us. I stated in “Muted Voices,” “There is a lot of frustration for women who work to be heard but instead are ignored, diminished, and dismissed.” It happens to all of us, no matter how strong, independent, or intelligent we are.

Why do we have the nonprofit status in the United States? Because 501c organizations serve a unique and valuable service to society by providing representation of professions and industries, charitable activities, education, and other services that improve the lives of people.

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

This week's message: The Reason We Celebrate

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.

This week I wanted to give a shout out to the leaders at the Association Women Technology Champions (AWTC) for their stupendous job putting on a one-day conference December 6, 2023 in Arlington, VA. This 501c3 organization emphasizes opportunities for women and provides a space for us to meet, connect, and lift each other up.

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

This week's message: Is ASAE Becoming Like Cable TV?

Like many people, I have a cable television subscription. Comcast, while the bane of my existence when it comes to customer service, provides me access to hundreds of channels that include local stations, premium channels, and basic cable channels. Out of the hundreds of channels available, I probably watch less than 10% of the options. But I have the options and can explore many areas of the service. My account includes all of these choices if I use them or not.

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.