Settling the Global Frontier.

If Horace Greeley were alive today, rather than saying, "Go west, young man, go west," he'd no doubt be urging, "Go global, young person, go global." It's no secret that the world is undergoing one of the biggest technological, economic, political, and social reorganizations in history. For associations, the global frontier represents the vast and often uncharted territory of challenges and opportunities where traditional assumptions and boundaries of space, distance, and time no longer apply. Instead of exploring new landscapes, we're exploring new marketplaces worldwide; instead of leading covered wagons on unmarked trails, we're following the Internet through the mysterious pathways of cyberspace; instead of working from nine to five, we're operating 24/7. And rather than going to the global frontier, we find that it is coming to us via our desktops.

Preparing for the journey

The globalization trend requires that we adapt to changing environments and develop new skills and tools that enable us to work, compete, and cooperate in a global context.

Blazing your own trail

ASAE Global Opportunities (www.asaenet.org/go) is an online resource designed to help you manage your organization's transition into the global marketplace. You'll find tools and resources that can help you assess your international readiness, understand global management issues, and map out a strategic course.

I'm often asked, "How do we take our association global?" There is no single right way--each association must chart a unique course based on its circumstances and opportunities. Associations are answering the question in a variety of ways--from helping members move into faraway markets, to recruiting and serving international members, to globalizing their identities and operations. ASAE's Global Resource Center is providing support in three major areas.

Global Forum of Societies of Association Executives. ASAE serves as the international secretariat for the Global Forum of Societies of Association Executives (see www.asaenet.org/globalforum), a network of 15 national/international societies of association executives (SAEs). Represented by the chief elected and chief staff officers of SAEs worldwide, the forum promotes the exchange of information about the professional management of associations, mutually beneficial collaborative activities, and the development of a global community of associations. The forum supports a biennial World Congress of Association Executives conference, an annual International Summit leadership meeting, and the Perspectives biannual newsletter.

The Sixth World Congress of Association Executives attracted more than 350 professionals from 21 countries. Among them was the first-ever delegation of Chinese association executives and representatives of the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs, which provides oversight to China's 200,000 nonprofit organizations. Future plans include a possible international summit meeting in Barcelona to promote the development of a new SAE in Spain.

ASAE Global Initiatives. ASAE is also developing the ESAE-ASAE Strategic Alliance that offers members of the European Society of Association Executives (ESAE) membership in ASAE. Dual members receive a unique package of virtual benefits through e-mail and members-only Web site access. Another initiative focuses on selling and licensing translations of ASAE publications abroad.

International association management. ASAE's International Section (with more than 1,000 members) offers a professional peer network for association professionals working globally. Among the section's benefits are the ASAE Global Link e-newsletter, an e-mail discussion forum, professional development sessions, and publications. For more information, see www.asaenet.org/Sections/International/index.

If you need any more convincing as to the importance of globalization, consider the words of Stephen Rhinesmith, a guru of global management: "Globalization has arrived in the world, but not in most of the world's organizations. To be viable in the next century, all organizations, whether domestic or international, will need to become more global in their outlook, if not in their operations."