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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October 21, 202644 min
How Career Detours and Pivots Prep You for the Next Chapter
Kate Coffey-Bacon, SVP of Marketing and Strategy for U.S. Transactions Corporation and host of the podcast “Coffey Talk,” joins Six Degrees of Associations with host Lucas McCann this week, as presented by Big Red M. If you think you’re going through a random twist or turn in your career, the best advice we learned from Kate is to keep going, because something you are struggling to make sense of in the present may just serve you next-level dividends in a later chapter in life. That’s what happened for Kate, whose career arc took her from entrepreneurial wedding photographer to SVP serving associations in the transaction space and beyond. Subscribe to “Coffey Talk”: https://www.coffeytalkpodcast.com/ Follow Kate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kateecoffey/ Visit U.S. Transactions Corporation online: https://www.ustranscorp.com/
October 14, 202625 min
Believability, Awkwardness, and Winning Over a Trust-Starved Audience
**Visit: https://www.thesignalgap.com/sixdegrees *** for a FREE copy of Chapter 1 of the Signal Gap book!** Henna Pryor, CSP, a two-time author, Keynote Speaker, Writer, and Workplace Performance Expert, joins the Six Degrees of Associations Podcast, presented by Big Red M, this week to talk about her professional journey leading up to the 2023 release of "Good Awkward" and her forthcoming book, "The Signal Gap: How to Boost Believability and Influence in the Age of Doubt." Her advice for associations navigating this skepticism: find ways to "dance with reality," and now is not the time to cut corners and be lazy about aspects like graphic design and faux authenticity. For example, a written testimonial used to carry weight; now it can be faked by AI in seconds. What's harder to fake, and therefore more valuable, is something like a video of a genuinely happy attendee with real background noise from the conference floor. "Good Awkward" grew out of a simple observation: post-pandemic, people were feeling the discomfort of social interaction more acutely than ever, and no one had taken a close look at awkwardness itself as its own distinct emotion. Henna's thesis: awkwardness isn't a weakness to eliminate, it's a catalyst for personal and professional growth. The book sold over 10,000 copies, entirely on word of mouth, without a mailing list. Her forthcoming book, "The Signal Gap," picks up where that leaves off. If "Good Awkward" is about finding the courage to take the risk and have the hard conversation, "The Signal Gap" asks whether that message actually lands. Learn More: About Big Red M: https://bigredm.com/ Henna on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hennapryor/ Henna on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hennapryor/ Henna’s website: https://pryoritygroup.com/ TED Talks featuring Henna: https://www.ted.com/speakers/henna_pryor Six Degrees of Associations Interview with Courtney Clark: https://youtu.be/6VbEQH9kfPE **Visit: https://www.thesignalgap.com/sixdegrees *** for a FREE copy of Chapter 1 of the Signal Gap book!**
October 8, 202638 min
The Role of Associations “When it Mattered Most”
Joanna M. Pineda, CEO and “Chief Troublemaker” with Matrix Group International, Inc., returns to the Six Degrees of Associations Podcast, presented by Big Red M, this week, and we’re talking about the heroic efforts of associations “when it mattered most” in the time of the global pandemic. Many of these stories encompass the research behind Joanna’s new and inspiring book, “When It Mattered Most: The Untold Story of How Associations Protected Professions and Saved Industries During the Pandemic,” as she discusses them with Big Red M CEO and Six Degrees host Lucas McCann. Joanna is a keynote speaker, author, blogger, and association podcaster who is fluent in several languages. Get the book here: Get the book here...Kindle and paperback amzn.to/47IhtVO Hardback https://www.amazon.com/dp/1963732464 Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/when-it-mattered-most-joanna-pineda/1151584099?ean=2940196685064 Buy elsewhere https://books2read.com/u/31E607 Joanna’s previous episode “The Membership Cliff is Here Now Here’s What Associations Can Do”: https://youtu.be/lg6nQ44cMC4 Matrix Group International, Inc., is a web design and development firm based in Northern Virginia. Learn more about it here: https://www.matrixgroup.net/ You can follow Joanna’s Associations Thrive podcast here: https://www.matrixgroup.net/associations-thrive-podcast/
September 30, 202642 min
"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/
August 12, 202627 min
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/
July 8, 202636 min
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/
June 10, 202644 min
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 precision Why products and services tend to hit different whenthe customer (and not private equity) is calling the shots How 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
May 27, 202635 min
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/
May 13, 202623 min
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/
April 29, 202628 min
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/
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