6 Degrees of Associations: Presented by Big Red M

Hosted by Big Red M

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110

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Jun 2026

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About the show

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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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 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

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/

April 15, 202637 min

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/

March 25, 202639 min

How Associations Can Reach the Holy Grail of Retention

Everyone wants everything faster. It's a recurring theme in our culture, and if associations are going to keep up, responsiveness and speed will be the coin of the realm.We're joined this week on Six Degrees of Associations, presented by Big Red M, by prolific author, speaker, branding and marketing thought leader, business-growth expert, and world‑renowned tequila influencer Jay Baer, who brings his passion and wisdom to the show alongside host Lucas McCann, Big Red M CEO and serial entrepreneur.As Jay points out, consumers are telling us that speed is as important as price — but are you running your association that way? It's obvious many associations are either unaware of this or have grown complacent about their standing in the marketplace. We also learn from Jay that responsiveness is the key to unlocking what so many associations are seeking: member retention and loyalty.In the age of AI, the human touch will be what stands out. Once efficiency gains become a red‑ocean commodity through AI, Jay predicts, those who return to the human touch will gain the lasting competitive advantage.Jay’s Website: https://www.jaybaer.com/ “The Time to Win: How to Exceed Your Customers’ Need for Speed”: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9NYKWK9?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420 About the Tequila Report: https://www.tequilareport.com/ Follow Jay on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaybaer/ Jay on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JayBaer

February 25, 202625 min

Leadership Advice for Introverts Looking to Excel

Wylecia Wiggs Harris, PhD, CAE, CEO of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and a renowned association executive and purpose-focused leader, joins the Six Degrees of Associations Podcast this week, presented by Big Red M. Dr. Harris has reached what many might call the pinnacle of the association profession, serving as the CEO of multiple large-scale, globally recognized non-profit organizations, and she has done it all as a self-proclaimed introvert — something she discusses at length in this compelling conversation. She offers plenty of pearls of wisdom for those in our association industry who want to excel in leadership and management but feel uncomfortable engaging in crucial relationship-building activities like networking and socializing to make deeper connections.Learn more about the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: https://www.eatright.org/More about Big Red M: https://bigredm.com/

February 18, 202637 min

Four Principles That Improve Every Aspect of Your Association

New York Times bestselling author and business-philosophy and leadership expert Mark Sanborn is our distinguished guest on this week’s edition of the Six Degrees of Associations Podcast, hosted by Lucas McCann and presented by Big Red M. In addition to his writing, Mark is a prolific and highly sought-after speaker who is a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame and a recipient of the Cavett Award, the highest honor from the National Speakers Association.Mark knows the business of associations inside and out, as you’ll hear in this interview. He’s spoken to many associations in his illustrious career and served as volunteer president of the National Speakers Association in 2004.He joined High Point University’s Access to Innovators program in 2019 as Leadership Expert in Residence. [Previous podcast guest Scott McKain is also a member of this prestigious program.] Mark also serves as president of Sanborn & Associates. The interview kicks off with an exploration of the four principles from The Fred Factor (the book for which Mark is best known). These principles impact every aspect of any business:1. Everyone makes a difference. It’s just a matter of what kind of difference you want to make, and it’s important to be intentional about it.2. You can add value to anything you do, and it does not necessarily have to cost you a nickel.3. It’s all built on relationships. [Associations: pay attention — it’s not just the quantity of members but the quality of relationships members have with the association and with one another. “Numbers and data are less powerful than relationship capital,” and that’s always a challenge to address, as Mark tells us.]4. You’ve got to reinvent yourself every day. You have to keep things fresh.Ready to learn more?Get The Fred Factor here: https://www.amazon.com/Fred-Factor-Passion-Ordinary-Extraordinary/dp/0385513518 Visit Mark’s website here: https://marksanborn.com/

January 21, 202652 min

What Hollywood and Storytelling Can Teach Professionals Serving a Mission

As a prolific business author and speaker (having delivered over 2,000 presentations in 36 countries) who is a member of both the Professional Speakers Hall of Fame and the Sales & Marketing Hall of Fame, Scott McKain is also an "associations guy."He joins the Six Degrees of Associations Podcast this week, presented by Big Red M, to discuss what works and what doesn’t in today’s world of associations and business, along with reflections on what he’s learned in his decorated career that’s included writing some of the best business books of the past few decades.You can check out all of Scott’s books referenced in today’s episode here: https://scottmckain.com/bestselling-business-books/ As Scott discusses with our host, Lucas McCann, we can all learn from the traditional three-act story arc when solving the challenges of our members, as Scott elaborates in this interview (which reminds us to stop skipping Act 2)!Scott also brings to our attention his passion for seeking "reverse mentorships," where someone much younger mentors you on how they see the world. This can lead to better connections, understanding, and a greater overall culture to be a part of, regardless of the mission of your workplace. In addition to his writing and speaking, he currently serves as "Corporate Educator in Residence" at High Point University.Visit Scott McKain's Website: https://scottmckain.com/Learn more about Big Red M: https://bigredm.com/

January 7, 202649 min

Adapt, Anticipate, Pursue, or IGNORE Change in the Storm of Uncertain Times

A calm, measured approach to dealing with the avalanche of change that keeps hitting us all these days is a top priority and listeners of the 6 Degrees of Associations Podcast this week, as presented by Big Red M and hosted by Lucas McCann, are in for a treat. Randy Pennington, author of Results Rule and a longtime friend and consultant to the association community, is our guest for an episode aimed at anyone facing the challenges of leadership, mental and emotional wellness, and the anxiety of how and when to respond to change. Randy is the CEO and founder of the Pennington Performance Group. The bottom line from Randy is that change is hard, but ultimately how you choose to respond to it…ends up defining you.You can learn more about Big Red M here: https://bigredm.com/Learn more about the Pennington Performance Group here: https://www.penningtongroup.com/See Results Rule on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Results-Rule-Build-Culture-Competition/dp/0471782742