Sidecar Blog

Leadership (5)

Illustration of a man on a cliff shouting into the wind, colorful speech bubbles with AI symbols swirling away into a stormy sky.

4 min read

The Lonely Work of Innovation: Why Being Right Too Early Still Beats Being Late

Mallory Mejias: Sep 4, 2025 1:06:36 PM

I recently interviewed Thomas Altman on the Sidecar Sync podcast, and his story perfectly illustrates the innovation journey many of you are already...

Leadership Technology Innovation

A surgeon’s gloved hands reach for a surgical instrument on a sterile tray, with faint blue AR grid overlays suggesting a VR training simulation in a bright operating room.

5 min read

World Models: The Next Frontier of AI for Associations

Mallory Mejias: Sep 2, 2025 6:12:29 PM

Three years ago, if you'd told association leaders that AI would be writing their member communications, answering complex certification questions,...

Artificial Intelligence Leadership google World Models

Pointillist aerial view of a digital maze in muted charcoal and sage, with small professional figures navigating toward a glowing peach and gold exit.

5 min read

Your Members Need an AI Authority. It Should Be You.

Mallory Mejias: Aug 12, 2025 11:46:09 AM

You get it. You're reading about AI, experimenting with tools, maybe even using GPT-5 already. But when you bring up AI education at the board...

Education Leadership

Low-poly geometric illustration of two hands shaking, left in dark gray tones, right in teal and purple, with warm gold highlights where they meet, on a light background.

5 min read

The Association That Bought the Future: AAPC's Bold AI Move

Mallory Mejias: Aug 11, 2025 1:00:29 PM

In November 2023, the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) made a move that surprised many in the association world: they acquired Semantic...

Leadership AI Augmentation Innovation

5 min read

The 3% Problem: The Hidden Cost of Underinvesting in Technology

Mallory Mejias: Jul 15, 2025 11:02:19 AM

Nine out of ten nonprofit leaders say technology is vital to their success. Yet most spend less than 3% of their budgets on it.

Artificial Intelligence Leadership Technology Innovation

Actor in period costume stands center stage under spotlight, holding a glowing laptop aloft, with binary code cascading behind him on dark curtains.

5 min read

To Block or Not to Block: The AI Scraping Dilemma for Associations

Mallory Mejias: Jul 14, 2025 12:05:34 PM

While you're reading this, AI bots are likely scanning your association's public website, harvesting your blog posts, event descriptions, and...

Artificial Intelligence Leadership Answer Engine Optimization

Cartoon-style naval battle in fog: left ship fires multiple cannonballs, one glowing shot arcs across water and hits right ship, causing a peach-colored explosion.

4 min read

From Bullets to Cannonballs: Why Your Association's AI Experiments Aren't Scaling

Mallory Mejias: Jul 10, 2025 5:07:50 PM

Year one: Let's experiment with AI! Education staff use AI for course descriptions. The membership department uses AI to draft renewal emails.

Artificial Intelligence Leadership Organizational Culture Experimentation

Photo of four business professionals in a modern lab interacting with labeled beakers representing AI, Disruption, and Transformation.

7 min read

The Thought Experiment Every Association Leader Should Try: Build a Competitor to Your Own Organization

Mallory Mejias: Jul 8, 2025 11:18:53 AM

Here's the reality: There's a version of your association that costs less to run, serves members faster, and delivers personalized value at scale....

Artificial Intelligence Leadership Organizational Culture Experimentation

Overhead view of a business professional at a desk using a laptop, casting a robotic, circuit-patterned shadow symbolizing AI integration.

8 min read

The Leadership-Lab-Crowd Framework: A New Model for AI Transformation in Associations

Mallory Mejias: Jul 7, 2025 3:26:50 PM

Here's a frustrating reality: Your team members are quietly achieving 2-3x productivity gains with AI, cutting tasks that used to take hours down to...

Artificial Intelligence Leadership Organizational Culture Experimentation

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