The Association CEO Handbook:
Second Edition

A Personal Guide to Leadership Development and
Career Fulfillment in Association Management

Getting Better at It
Getting More from It

Introducing: The Six Elements of the
Association CEO Position

 
 

The Six Elements as found in the Handbook constitute the core content of the Association CEO Masters Seminar. Offered by Whitich Press, a CAE Registered Provider, ACMS participants may apply for 6.25 credits in meeting their CAE application or renewal requirements.

 
 
 

  • Develop a solid grounding on the core elements of the Association CEO position

  • Analyze and evaluate your organization and staff resources to identify and pursue opportunities to improve performance and enhance member engagement and value

  • Discover the forces at play in building a true partnership with your Board 

  • Develop a plan for your continuing growth as an Association CEO with clear and achievable goals.

  • Enhance your appreciation of the essential role associations play in the vibrancy of our economy and the continuing expansion of the nation’s knowledge base

 

Six Elements of the Association CEO Position

  1. CHANGE AND LEADERSHIP

    How an association’s structure impacts the role and functions of its CEO.
    Read Change and Leadership Excerpt »

  2. COMMONALITIES

    Selected particularities and characteristics of the Association CEO position.

  3. FUNDAMENTALS

    The 18 Fundamentals found in every association, the operational matrix of the CEO’s role.

  4. DELIVERABLES

    Association deliverables as they define the CEO position and provide venues for growth within it.

  5. RESPONSIBILITIES

    The Overarching and Core Practical responsibilities of the association CEO.

  6. BOARD/CEO PARTNERSHIP

    The Board/CEO relationship and the basis of its partnership nature.

Whitich Press, publisher of the Handbook, is a CAE Registered Provider of educational programs related to the CAE exam content outline. As such, ACMS participants may apply for 6.25 credits toward their CAE application or renewal development requirements.

 

“I recently had an opportunity to read the entire Handbook and I think it is absolutely excellent!  You have (once again) really captured the essence and the complexity of the role of Association CEO and done so in a very compelling and comprehensive way. Thank you for all your work in this arena - we all benefit from your clarity of thought and your ability to articulate a framework that captures our profession so well.”

Dawn Sweeney, President and CEO, National Restaurant Association (ret.)

“The Association CEO Handbook is incredibly insightful, comprehensive and its content is conveyed in a unique and distinctive voice unlike anything I’ve read on the subject.  It is thought provoking and invites deep thinking about the essence of what it means to be a chief staff executive.  This is a must-read for anyone who is considering the CEO journey or wants to take fresh look at his or her role, job and career.”

Joel Albizo, CEO, National Planning Association

“In fifty years of both studying and practicing the art and science of association management, I’ve never seen a book that better captures the core competencies – the essence of CEO leadership.  The Association CEO Handbook is a powerful resource for new CEOs as well as those of us who have long experience in the role.”

Elissa Myers, Association CEO and former Publisher of ASAE’s Now magazine.

 

(NB - The Handbook contains a Workbook that will facilitate your analysis of your organization’s position in regard to each of the 18 Fundamentals contained in Element III. It will also help you focus more clearly on how your current position aligns with your career goals. Purchasers of the book providing an email address will receive at no extra cost a Word download to facilitate the Workbook’s development and completion.)

 
Paul Belford

Paul Belford

Paul Belford has successfully completed more than three hundred association executive searches, most at the CEO level. A professional search consultant since 1990, Paul joined JDG Associates in 1993. Outside of his client work in executive search, Paul is the author of Planning Your Career in Association Management, published in 2002 by the American Society of Association Executives, and has spoken about career-development at ASAE meetings and those of its Allied Societies. Most recently he spear-headed the development of the Association CEO Masters Seminar, of which he now serves as Director. Prior to executive search, Paul spent eleven years with a major Washington, D.C-based trade association. Previously he spent eleven years with the U.S. government, six of which as an International Economist at the Treasury Department. An Accounting graduate of Boston College, Paul has an M.A. in Economics from Fordham University.

 
Mark Milroy

Mark Milroy

Mark Milroy, CAE, is an independent consultant who advises associations in the development of their education programming. Mark has served as Managing Director of Global Education for the American Industrial Hygiene Association and as Vice President, Learning at the American Society of Association Executives. He previously held senior-level positions at APICS, the Association for Operations Management, the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio. He is a Certified Association Executive and presently serves on the CAE Commission for ASAE. A graduate of Franklin & Marshall College, Mark has a M.S. in Adult Education and Human Resource Management from Virginia Tech.