Dawn Mancuso, Executive Director/CEO of the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS) Essential to ThinkThroughTools’ mission is to acknowledge high-yield evidence of performance and innovation in the Air Medical Transport arena and to recognize those who are leading the way.    Dawn Mancuso, Executive Director/CEO of the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS), is one of those leaders.  Dawn was part of a small task force selected by the American Society for Association Executives (ASAE) to participate in a 4-year evaluation of what makes some associations remarkable.  The findings culminated in a book called 7 Measures of Success: What Remarkable Associations Do That Others Don’t.  “Dawn is part of a unique group doing something innovative,” says Rich Obertots, CEO of ThinkThroughTools.  “There are thousands of professional associations throughout this nation and to be among a select few to participate in a project like this is a testament to Dawn’s innovativeness and outstanding leadership ability. It also validates AAMS’ commitment to support Dawn in meaningful action on behalf of our association. ”

Photo by Mark Mennie

The task force conducted research using bestselling author Jim Collins’ (Built to Last with Jerry Porras and Good to Great) research methodology to determine what makes an association remarkable.   After several years of working on the project and analyzing the findings with a team of other association executives, the results were published in 7 Measures of Success: What Remarkable Associations Do That Others Don’t.

Since it was published last fall, the book has become a must-read for Executive Directors, CEOs, staff members and volunteer leaders who are invested in making their organizations more remarkable.

Prior to interviewing Dawn, Rich emphasized, “We want to make other leaders in our arena aware of the processes and methodology used in the project to try to trigger some movement to action within our community.”

The book discusses what makes a remarkable non-profit organization and contains knowledge that will assist association executives in planning the future of their organizations. Based on 15 years of data and objective research tailored to the association community's requirements, 7 Measures of Success provides empirical data and lists the seven success factors common among visionary non-profits (see sidebar).

 To be eligible for the study, the associations needed to have:

·      Been in operation for at least 20 years;

·      Finished more years in the black than in the red;

·      Exhibited the ability to retain members, donors, or market share during the study period;

·      Had more than one CEO during the study period.

The final study group consisted of: AARP, American College of Cardiology, American Dental Association, Associated General Contractors of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, National Association of Counties, Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants, Radiology Society of North America, and Society for Human Resource Management.

Recently, Rich and I spoke with Dawn to discuss her participation in the research and what AAMS members can take away from the book. 

3T: What was your participation in the creation of 7 Measures of Success? 

DM: I was part of the task force that was responsible for conducting the research and doing the analysis and developing the findings.  We called ourselves the “research chimps,” using Jim Collins’ language from his own books. 

3T: What drew you to this project? 

DM:  Several things drew me to this.  The first was to be doing something brand new, in a new way with the potential for an outcome that would be fresh in the association management community.  Secondly, was to work with someone like Jim Collins and the other colleague I was working with – all leaders in the association management field.  Thirdly, was to roll up our sleeves and work on something in a way that you don’t get an opportunity to do as a volunteer very often.  Often, volunteerism takes on different forms and sometimes you’re sitting around a table talking about policy.  Sometimes you’re reviewing reports.  This was something where we got our hands dirty and learned something in the process about what you do for a living as well.

Rich: Tell us what it was like working with Jim Collins. 

DM: It was a phenomenal experience.  He is a very hospitable, cordial, thoughtful man and was very willing to share his time and energies with us in mentoring us through the process.  We would meet in Boulder, Colorado, for our “Jim-Posiums” because that’s where he works.  We would come in for two-to-three days at a time and he would spend an entire day with us.  He would ask poignant questions about what we found or what we felt about what we saw.  He would share stories and anecdotes about his experience and obstacles he and his research assistants encountered during the writing of his books.  We used his experience as a model for our research.  He also made general recommendations about process which was very helpful to us because this was new to us.

3T: What did you learn and experience during this process? 

DM: I learned something about the process Jim used and how it could be applied elsewhere.  It’s a fascinating approach to research in the social sciences.  I learned a lot by reading volumes of materials about other associations.  And I learned from our dialogue that took place after we read through all that information and discussed what key factors that made a difference with these organizations.  Finally, just the process of working through a volunteer project for that long was an interesting experience as well.

3T: Was there anything about the findings that surprised you most?  

DM: In some cases, I expected to see much bigger differences between the good associations and great associations.  I think most readers come to the book with that expectation as well – as if we were comparing great associations to bad associations.  That wasn’t the case.  And then there was a whole series of what we called conventional wisdoms – things that are taken for granted in the association world that we view as “of course that’s true.”  Well, it turned out, that at least in the examples we studied, they were not drivers for excellence.  It doesn’t mean that they still aren’t true, but they’re not what differentiate a good association from a bad association.  For instance, smaller boards are better than big boards.  That is a huge eye-opener for some folks in our industry.  There’s an expectation that associations should follow the lead of the corporate world – that corporations are going to smaller boards.  Smaller boards may seem more efficient and effective, but we found that while they may be more efficient, that doesn’t mean they’re doing the right things. So I think the conventional wisdoms were interesting and surprised all of us.

3T: What pleases you most about the book?  

DM: Seeing it completed after four years of work is the best reward.  It has also been well-received in the community.  And having Jim Collins’ appreciation of it.  He seemed appreciative that we were able to accomplish something he hoped would have happened as a result of his work.  He wanted to see it applied in another setting.

3T: How do the ideas in the book apply to air medical transport programs? 

DM: Not so sure if it’s the ideas in the book, but it’s more of the processes that apply.  The work of this research project was specifically catered to non-profit associations.  We did try to address some of the diversity within that community by extending it to professional societies, trade associations and non-profit groups.  We also included small, medium, and large groups, as well as international, national, state and regional groups.  The findings may not necessarily apply to air or critical care ground medical transport organizations.  But what could apply is the process of studying excellence in the medical transport community. 

Rich:  What you can learn from this book and its findings can result in high-yield outcomes for any AAMS member.   The book keeps referring to the foundations of Good to Great and Built to Last.  When you look at the models used in those books, they apply to AAMS, affiliated associations and to every member.  We often use the principles and processes in those books with ThinkThroughTools’ clients.  7 Measures is also a wonderful model.  In fact, I think you can use 7 Measures as an introduction to Good to Great.  For example, the on-site interview, which is included in the later chapters of 7 Measures, is a wonderful tool for members to use.  If we would get our members to ask themselves those questions and be blunt about their answers, they can really improve themselves and their outcomes.

3T: If you were forced to choose just one of the 7 measures of success, what do you feel is the most important principle for Air Medical Transport programs to follow? 

DM: My personal bias is that customer service culture would be the most important.  The reason I say that is because it can be a driver for everything else.  That has to be the core of where you’re coming from.  We purchased the books for our staff and required them to read it.  We asked them to bring forward an example of an association that has done something extraordinary so we could discuss it at the next staff retreat. 

3T: Were there any issues that the committee feels were left unanswered or were not addressed in this research effort? 

DM: I think there are a lot of questions that could come out of this and lead to more research. Each of the measures could use research on how it is applied.  Are there differences in the applications and do they affect outcome?  I also think that there’s been a call to have more research on how to take a group from good to great.

3T: Is there anything else you’d like to add?  

DM: One of the things that people have misunderstood about research is that they assume the 7 measures is the only thing that creates excellence in an association.  We could not disprove anything. We said these were factors we saw across all study groups. 

Rich: ThinkThroughTools is on a quest to identify and recognize individuals who astonish (fill with wonder and amazement) and achieve high-yield outcomes. It is an honor to acknowledge Dawn Mancuso - and AAMS for enabling her participation. Now – we need to be sure to integrate and sustain the 7 Measures both at AAMS and as part of how our members operate.  

7 Measures of Success: What Remarkable Associations Do That Others Don’t is available on Amazon.com.

Sidebar
The 7 Measures of Success* are:

Category 1 - Commitment to Purpose
1.      A Customer Service Culture
2.      Alignment of Products and Services with Mission

Category 2 - Commitment to Analysis and Feedback
3.      Data-Driven Strategies
4.      Dialogue and Engagement
5.      CEO as a Broker of Ideas

Category 3 - Commitment to Action
6.      Organizational Adaptability
7.      Alliance Building

 *From the American Society for Association Executives (ASAE)