In this episode of The Association Insights Podcast, host Colleen Gallagher sits down with Denny Lengkong, President of IntelliData, for a candid, jargon-free conversation about turning association data into decisions. From “Dashboarding 101” to building a culture that breaks down silos, Denny shares practical ways teams of any size can start small, prove value, and scale their analytics—without blowing the budget or waiting on IT.
🎧 Whether you’re leading a lean staff or modernizing a large association, you’ll get clear steps to move from scattered reports to a repeatable, data-driven rhythm.
Key Highlights
Start Simple → Scale Smart
Stop waiting for the perfect stack. Denny’s “cup-of-noodles to pizza oven” analogy shows how to begin with an Excel table and a basic chart—then evolve into multi-source dashboards as your literacy and needs grow.
Three Questions Before You Build Anything
Reverse-engineer your dashboard:
What problem or goal are we answering?
Who’s the audience (peers, execs, board, members)?
Do we actually have the data—and is it clean and complete?
These answers shape the visuals, the data model, and your collection plan.
What “Data-Driven” Really Means
It’s not a buzzword: it’s making routine adjustments based on what the numbers say—mid-campaign, mid-year, and not just at year-end. If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.
Kill the Silos, Create a Single Source of Truth
Membership says 5,000; events team says 5,500? You’ve got silos. Denny outlines how successful associations share data, align definitions, and anchor reporting to one trusted source.
You Need a Champion (and Ideally, a Small Data Team)
Lasting change needs ownership. The most effective associations appoint a cross-functional lead or lightweight data team to set standards, prioritize asks, and coach the organization.
Cost, Time, and Bandwidth (The Honest Answer)
You can DIY and learn—start small for near-zero cost—or bring in help when bandwidth, speed, or complexity outgrows your team. Either way, show quick wins to build momentum and buy-in.
Share Early, Win Early
Publish simple visuals, gather feedback, iterate. Early exposure sparks better questions, better data collection, and stronger internal demand for insights.
A Case Study with Dual Impact
Certification programs + learning products: by connecting exam outcomes with course and resource usage, one association identified what helped candidates pass—then proactively guided non-passers to the right prep. Members succeeded faster; the association grew non-dues revenue. Win-win.
🎧 Tune in for practical steps, real examples, and a playbook for moving from “we have data” to “we use data” across your association.
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Coming Soon: We’re continuing to sit down with association leaders, builders, and problem-solvers to unpack what’s working, what’s changing, and how to lead with clarity in 2026 and beyond. Stay tuned!
