Adam Legge - Making Remarkable: How to Deliver Purpose, Inspire People and Build a Platform for Exceptional Results

Praise for Making Remarkable

In a hyper-competitive and complex world, its not enough to meet expectations and be good at what you do. In order to stand out, inspire and lead exceptional teams and organizations, you have to be remarkable. Remarkable leaders are ethical, catalytic, and transparent, and apply the right strategies across their entire enterprise. Only then will you deliver the highest value to all your organizations stakeholders. Adam Legge wrote the book that walks readers from basic tenets, to common challenges leaders face, through practical application of remarkable thinking and strategy within your organization. This isnt a book about leadership style. Its a road map, workbook and your go-to leadership doctrine all rolled into one.

- Sheree Anne Kelly, President & CEO, Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives

I wish I would have had a step-by-step process to become remarkable when I accepted my first CEO position. Many of the lessons I learned the hard way are included in Making Remarkable.

- Tim Giuliani, President and CEO, Orlando Economic Partnership

Adams approach motivates and inspires you to challenge the status quo, to think and act boldly. Making Remarkable provides a purposeful roadmap for leaders to transform organizations and cultures to deliver impactful results.

- Mark Eagan CCE, CEO, Capital Region Chamber, Albany, NY

Making Remarkable provides an easy to follow roadmap to remarkability. It is well written and provides great insights, direction and tools for organizational leadership. It is both inspirational and informative. Author, Adam Legge is a great storyteller who gives a poignant personal perspective and also knowledge gained from other experts. While geared to beginning your leadership journey, I found great nuggets that apply to an experienced CEO. I would highly recommend to anyone running or considering running an organization.

- Betty Nokes Capestany, President & CEO, Bellevue Chamber of Commerce

"Adam Legge shows you both sides of organizational management: the top of the leadership mountain and the underbelly of change."

- Kyle Sexton, ChamberThink Strategies, Author of Remembership and Follow You Anywhere

I have had the opportunity to serve with Adam Legge on both the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Board and World Chamber Federation General Council. He is without a doubt a global thought leader in the Chamber of Commerce industry. Making Remarkable is an excellent "how to" resource for both new and seasoned Chamber CEOs on modernizing your organization to achieve better results, more satisfied members, and more engaged staff."

- Jay Byers, CEO, Greater Des Moines Partnership

As the pace of change accelerates, organizations are seeking ways to stay ahead ofnot just respond tochange. Adams book is part case study, part textbook, and all inspiration. It gives evidence-based advice about how to recognize an organizations need for transformation and how to get there.

- Jennifer Diakiw, President, Ernest C. Manning Awards Foundation

What I wouldve given 25 years ago as a new CEO to have had the benefit of Making Remarkable. Nowhere else have I seen such a comprehensive, yet targeted, resource to molding a remarkable organization with a continuous eye towards truly being a differentiator. Adam Legge provides real world examples as well as personal insight into what todays organizations are looking for in their leaders. Beyond that, it is also a valuable reminder to those who have long been in leadership roles where they are in their remarkable journey!

- Jay Chesshir, President and CEO, Little Rock Regional Chamber & 2017/18 ACCE Board Chair

Copyright 2018 Adam W. Legge.

All rights reserved.

Thanks for buying a copy of this book. However, to preserve author rights, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, send an email to .

The author has worked diligently to ensure that all information in this book is accurate as of the time of publication and consistent with standards of good practice in organizational leadership. As research and practice advance, however, standards and practices may change. For this reason, it is recommended that readers evaluate the applicability of any recommendations in light of particular situations and changing practices.

www.makingremarkable.com

Cover design: Sara Swallow

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Making Remarkable/Adam W. Legge. - 1 st ed.

Ebook ISBN 978-1-7753927-1-2

This book is dedicated to every leader who has a permanent dissatisfaction with the status quo.

And to my childrenit is for them I wish to leave this place a little better than I found it.

It is the time to dare and endure.

Winston S. Churchill

1940

Contents

The not-for-profit model is mature at best. It is struggling to perform in an environment it wasnt designed for. Time pressures, higher member expectations, generational value differences, increased competition, and rapidly emerging (and often disruptive) technologies have converged to create an unfriendly landscape. As a result, many not-for-profits are struggling, and some are in unquestionable decline.

In 1965, the American Medical Association membership represented 75% of U.S. physicians. Today that share is 17%. The Boy Scouts membership dropped from 4.6 million in 1995 to 2.3 million in 2017. Membership in the Masons has declined from 4 million in 1950 to under 1 million today. The Jaycees peaked at 356,000 in 1976 and now have under 10,000 members.

The imperative is clear: innovate. Think differently. Shake off the past and try the new.

Since the release of Race for Relevance, Five Radical Changes for Associations in 2011, non-profit volunteer leaders and staff have recognized the need for change. Associations have addressed their governance structures and processes, eliminating unproductive bureaucracies and emphasizing appropriate board composition. And non-profits have endeavored to improve their focus on where they have unique value in an increasingly competitive environment. A few have achieved remarkable transformations while others have struggled to effect meaningful change.

What have we learned from those who have succeeded?

First, change starts at the top. You have to take your governance seriously. Attracting the competencies on your board that are aligned with the organizations opportunities and challenges is critical. And size does matter. Large, unwieldy boards simply dont produce. And this should be no surprise - the research on the superior effectiveness of small teams is overwhelming.

Next, you wont get far without a sense of urgency. The clock is ticking. Every day that you tolerate the status quo makes it more difficult to change course. And non-profit leaders have learned that data can be a powerful tool in creating that sense of urgency.

They understand that trying to do too much, while noble, is seriously flawed. Members are not fooled by long lists of marginal programs, services and products. And spreading scarce resources across a bloated product line is simply mismanagement.