--- title: "Great Ideas Takeaways: Attendees Share What They’ve Learned So Far" id: "37213" type: "post" slug: "great-ideas-takeaways-attendees-share-what-theyve-learned-so-far" published_at: "2017-03-06T23:16:35+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-16T18:47:49+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/03/06/great-ideas-takeaways-attendees-share-what-theyve-learned-so-far/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2017/03/06/great-ideas-takeaways-attendees-share-what-theyve-learned-so-far.md" excerpt: "Associations Now asks #Ideas17 attendees: What idea do you plan to implement when you return to the office?" taxonomy_category: - "Organizational Strategy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Data Organization" - "Leadership" - "Mid-Level Professional" - "Strategic Planning" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" - "For-Profit CEO / President / Owner / Partner" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Great Ideas Takeaways: Attendees Share What They’ve Learned So Far Association professionals come to [ASAE’s Great Ideas Conference (opens in a new tab)](https://gic.asaecenter.org/) to learn new ideas they can use to improve themselves and their organizations—whether that’s updating their membership model, setting aside more time for professional development, or building up the courage to take risks. With that in mind, *Associations Now*wanted to hear from attendees about what they’ve learned so far at this year’s conference in Orlando, Florida. So on Monday, we asked a few this question: What idea do you plan to implement when you return to the office? ### Danielle Baron *Chief Marketing Officer, ABET* “It’s just finding the time to prioritize. I’m really good at saying ‘yes.’ I love innovation, and a lot of the sessions have been about innovation. I’m all about it, but that’s when reality kicks in: What are the things that you’re going to have to say ‘no’ to so you can be more productive, more strategic, and more focused on the things that really matter?” ### Mark Granquist *Senior Consultant Partner, Association Technologies* “Even though we’re a technology company, we are horrible at social media, so the social media and SEO session was perfect for me, and I’m planning on rolling that out as soon as I get back.” ### Sherry Ballance, CAE *Meetings and Industry Relations Director, Texas Optometric Association* “I went to the using grants to improve your membership session, so that would probably be something I’m definitely going to take back—to talk about how we can use grants and scholarships to get students involved at a young age so that they will continue to be a member once they enter the professional world.” ### Kathy Benson *CEO, ORI* “One of them was from the opening keynote where he stated best practices would be your worst enemy. And we fall into that trap all the time: ‘Well we’ve always done it like this, so we’ll just continue to do it like that.’ So, when I go back, I want our team to think about what if we changed just one thing about something we were doing. What would that do for our internal processes? What would that also do for our clients, with our deliveries? Then, it’s about making our clients think about doing things a little differently and thinking outside the box.” ### John Parke *President, Leadership Synergies* “It’s more what I’ll pass along to my clients to help them to improve their business. But there’s two things: One of them would be association membership modeling, and the second would be succession planning for CEOs when they depart either on purpose or against their will.” ### Trudie Bruner, CAE *President and COO, Fernley & Fernley* “In several different sessions, we heard about the importance of having external voices, external board members, external board advisors contributing to help prevent insular thinking on the board. So I think I’ll be going back and thinking about how we integrate that idea.” (iStock/Thinkstock) [Alex Beall](https://associationsnow.com/author/alex-beall/) Alex Beall is a freelance writer based in California. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/alex-beall/) Tags: [#Data Organization](https://associationsnow.com/tag/data-organization/) [#Leadership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/leadership/) [#Mid-Level Professional](https://associationsnow.com/tag/mid-level-professional/) [#Strategic Planning](https://associationsnow.com/tag/strategic-planning/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoThe Adaptive Leader: Integrating Values and Strategy to Thrive Under New LeadershipDecember 15, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/12/15/the-adaptive-leader-integrating-values-and-strategy-to-thrive-under-new-leadership/) - [VideoTerin Bates, MBA, CAE, CX-PRO, Shares Her Experience at the 2026 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 18, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/18/terin-bates-mba-cae-cx-pro-shares-her-experience-at-the-2026-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) - [ArticleReport: Nonprofit Sector Recovering, Open to ExpandNovember 19, 2024](https://associationsnow.com/2024/11/19/report-nonprofit-sector-recovering-open-to-expand/) - [ArticleCreating a Strategic Plan That Enhances Member ValueFebruary 5, 2024](https://associationsnow.com/2024/02/05/creating-a-strategic-plan-that-enhances-member-value/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2017%2F03%2F06%2Fgreat-ideas-takeaways-attendees-share-what-theyve-learned-so-far%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !