6 Degrees of Associations: Presented by Big Red M

Big Red M
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Presented by Big Red M, Six Degrees of Associations is designed to be a professional development and education resource for individuals working across all aspects of associations. Whether you're in strategic planning, membership, marketing, communications, sales, generating non-dues revenue, or publications—our podcast is here to support you. If you're an “association lifer” like us, make Six Degrees of Associations part of your podcast listening routine!

  1. 5d ago

    "Slop" is Nothing New in Design (AI Just Accelerated It)

    Jon Cannon, a prolific creative mind and designer in the association design space known for inspired graphics and imagery in branding and publications, joins us this week on the Six Degrees of Associations Podcast, presented by Big Red M and hosted by Lucas McCann.Jon currently serves as Senior Graphic Designer with Big Red M and joins Lucas to talk about the positives, nuances and the good that comes with AI-use for designers and where it can improve the creative process, in addition to discussing the downside of what happens when AI encroaches in the creative world. He also cautions about what associations need to watch for if they are planning on replacing human designers with AI and automated technology. The bottom line: slop is nothing new in graphic design or any sort of creative aspect of associations, AI just accelerated it, and it's not all doom and gloom. Jon brings you an honest look at what you need to know.About Big Red M: https://bigredm.com/

  2. Aug 12

    What It Takes to Lead the Nation's Largest State EMS Association

    Alan DeYoung is the Executive Director and CEO of the Wisconsin EMS Association (WEMSA). He joins us on the Six Degrees of Associations Podcast this week, presented by Big Red M. Alan shares how WEMSA grew into the largest state-level EMS association in the country, despite Wisconsin not ranking among the biggest states by size, population, etc., and what it took to build that reputation through advocacy, incredible events and good old-fashioned hard work. He also talks about his own path into association leadership, from an IT and marketing background to running WEMSA's advocacy efforts as a registered lobbyist, and the personal accident that first connected him to EMS long before he worked in the field. We also dig into how EMS itself is evolving from pure transport to more treatment-in-place and community-based care, and the role of associations in shaping all facets of that progression.About WEMSA: https://www.wisconsinems.com/Learn about Big Red M: https://bigredm.com/

  3. Jul 8

    How Regional Associations Can Hold Advantages Over their National Counterparts with Russ Webb, QAS, CAE

    In this week's episode of the Six Degrees of Associations,presented by Big Red M and hosted by Lucas McCann, we visit with Russ Webb, mQAS, CAE. Russ is CEO of the Bay Area Apartment Association in theGreater Tampa region and joins us to talk association shop. We learn about the advantages of a regional association, which can be substantial, though knowing how to leverage that natural value-add is not necessarily something everyregional organization is able to capitalize on. Other important themes we explore include:Why bigger is not always better and complacencyis the enemy of innovation. Not being afraid to fail and learning from thosemoments. Net promoter scores and leveraging mentorships. Concentrating on member recruitment at theexpense of retention and fixing the leaky bucket of members who fail to engageor renew their membership. Learn more about the Bay Area Apartment Association: https://www.baaahq.org/Follow Russ on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russwebb/ About Big Red M: https://bigredm.com/

  4. Jun 10

    How Customer-First Tech is Solving Associations' Hairiest Problems

    It's really this simple: when building a product, you shouldstart with the user story, and you will end with the best solution. This week on the Six Degrees of Associations Podcast, hosted by Lucas McCann and presented by Big Red M, we're joined by Pete Zimek, the founder and CEO of NoviAMS. We discuss: How a customer-first AMA is solves problems arounda user story with precisionWhy products and services tend to hit different whenthe customer (and not private equity) is calling the shotsHow to build impactful software services arounda user story Learn more: https://www.noviams.com/ Pete is a prolific problem solver with a lot of resilienceand grit. He had already run two Ben and Jerry's franchise locations and founded a tech company specializing in supporting college towns' off-campus housing (which he still owns and runs), when he was “voluntold” to build a technological solution to solve an absolute dumpster fire of an accounting software issue. The end result (and 600 customers later) it became Novi AMS. Shout out to Nathan Victoria for his recommendation andnominating Pete to join our show! You can watch Nathan's episode with us here: https://youtu.be/H_gF1n5R9Ws

  5. May 27

    Building a Remarkable Association Career Without Losing Your Balance

    We are joined by the incredibly inspiring Nathan Victoria, CAE, on this week's episode of the Six Degrees of Associations as presented by Big Red M.Nathan is Vice President of NextGen Association Management Company, the inaugural Executive Director and CEO for the Society for Personality Assessment and a doctoral candidate at the George Washington University. He discusses how he makes time for all of these responsibilities while balancing his first calling – being a loving partner and father of three. He is also an ASAE DELP scholar and active in ASAE’s AAPI Advisory Group.We also want to give a shout out to past Six Degrees of Associations guests Wendy-Jo Toyama, Joanna Pineda, and Donald Dea who are also key contributors to this Advisory Group, promoting the inclusion of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities in the association sector.Learn more about NextGen: https://nextgenamc.com/ Follow along Nathan’s Journey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-victoria/About Big Red M: https://bigredm.com/

  6. May 13

    When an Iconic Association Leader Steps Down

    It’s all about strategic succession planning for association leadership this week on the Six Degrees of Associations Podcast. Greg Heidrich, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Society of Actuaries (SOA), takes us on a journey through what must be considered when stepping down from a CEO position. We discuss how that process becomes even more nuanced when you’ve been in the role for nearly twenty years with unprecedented success.Under his leadership, SOA has seen incredible membership growth. How does a leader who has meant so much to one organization step aside? The reality is that everyone is replaceable, and the time must come for succession planning eventually. Even the most iconic leaders have to step aside and let new leadership take the reins.Greg joins us on the Six Degrees of Associations Podcast, presented by Big Red M, to walk us through that journey. After announcing his retirement in September 2025, he will welcome incoming SOA CEO Clar Rosso officially in early May 2026.More about Big Red M: https://bigredm.com/ More about SOA: https://www.soa.org/ Follow Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-heidrich-5439317/

  7. Apr 29

    Why Toxic Positivity is Kryptonite for Association Leadership

    Courtney Clark, an incredible human who is a world-renowned speaker, author, and researcher on resilience and change, is our guest this week on Six Degrees of Associations, presented by Big Red M.As someone who has spent extensive time working in the association space and has keynoted countless industry events, Courtney is on a mission to end toxic positivity in the workplace.Going beyond pure grit, she discusses how there may come a time in your life, career, or at the inflection point of your association where you actually need to pivot. Sometimes, grit alone won’t get the job done. That is why knowing what to eliminate or stop doing is often more important than knowing what to optimize, because you can never build success while optimizing for all the wrong things.We also touch on the following themes:- Addressing the Gap: Navigating the space between what people want and what they are willing to do.- True Adaptability: What it actually looks like to be adaptable in real-time.- Goals vs. Plans: Understanding the fundamental difference between the two.- Kindness vs. Niceness: Why being nice and being kind are not the same thing.- The Ultimate Choice: Deciding when to pivot and when to persevere.Learn MoreShortCutBook.com: https://courtneyclark.com/theshortcut/ Learn more about Courtney: https://courtneyclark.com/ Watch our episode with Randy Pennington: https://youtu.be/qxroqax1ea4 BigRedM.com: https://bigredm.com/

  8. Apr 15

    A CEO’s Playbook for Managing Member-Driven Culture at Associations

    With an extensive background in associations and leadership since 1993, Christie Tarantino-Dean, FASAE, CAE, the CEO of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), is our guest this week on the Six Degrees of Associations Podcast, presented by Big Red M. Christie sits down with host Lucas McCann to examine what she's uncovered in a career spanning multiple decades, including serving as CEO of IFT — one of the leading food science associations in the world — since 2014.As we learn in this chat, associations take on the personality of their membership, and association managers and leaders need to stay nimble to embrace that. Before embarking on her role at IFT, Christie also served as: President and CEO of Association Forum of Chicagoland; Executive Director of the Academy of General Dentistry; and Associate Vice President of Member Relations with the Professional Convention Management Association.You can follow Christie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christietarantinodean/ And learn more about IFT: https://www.ift.org/

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Presented by Big Red M, Six Degrees of Associations is designed to be a professional development and education resource for individuals working across all aspects of associations. Whether you're in strategic planning, membership, marketing, communications, sales, generating non-dues revenue, or publications—our podcast is here to support you. If you're an “association lifer” like us, make Six Degrees of Associations part of your podcast listening routine!

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