What Is This Stuff
When did we get into the business of doing
"stuff?"
I thought we were leading voluntary organizations which are
dedicated to improving industries, professions, communities,
and/or some greater good. But it seems that more and more
associations and societies have given up on -- or, in their
minds, moved beyond -- the reason for their existence. Two
recent series of events really brought this point home.
Series of Events Number One:
While preparing for a group of membership
development programs, I invited attendees to send samples
of their literature for "evaluation." In reading
through the brochures, I found that many of my sister organizations
now supply the following "tangible benefits" to
their members:
(Please note that these are actual listings
from real life trade associations, professional societies,
and chambers of commerce, and not exaggerations made up to
make this article sound more profound.)
Life insurance; car insurance; homeowners
insurance; auto rental discounts, with your own member number
on the card; affinity credit cards with your association's
logo!; personalized business forms; fax machine discounts;
bumper stickers; jackets; caps; lighters; pens; and calendars
with your company name and association logo; discounts on
amusement park rides; and many more of the same types of programs
and services.
What Is This Stuff???
Call me old fashioned, call me unsophisticated,
call me a Neanderthal (I've been called all of them many times
already), but I don't understand how spending time and money
to create a laundry list of "stuff" to put in a
brochure does one thing to advance the goals of an association
or society.
Of course you need to have non-dues sources
of income. But too many associations -- including one in which
I am an active member -- have gone off the deep end. We're
not supposed to be money machines. Our first thoughts shouldn't
be how much we can soak our suppliers and members for. Our
job is to identify and meet the actual, factual, real-life,
they-do-this-for-a-living needs of our members. How does an
amusement park discount program do that?
Series of Events Number Two:
I had the opportunity to work with three
very respected professional societies in the area of strategic
planning. Each group had a dedicated, qualified and thoroughly
enjoyable professional staff, headed by an effective, experienced
Executive Director. Our task was to come up with recommended
implementation programs for a plan put together by a group
of member-leaders. Here are some of the actual "goals"
adopted by these committees:
"Increase the Association's influence
with all important constituencies and affiliated organizations"
"Enhance the Society's image with its
various publics"
"Become recognized as the spokesperson
for our profession" (No, I didn't add the emphasis, it
was really part of the document)
"Ensure the maximum level of member
benefits at the lowest possible cost"
What Is This Stuff???
Look, association leaders need to exert some
leadership here. We need to make our members focus on real,
identifiable, and worthwhile goals and objectives. Association
staffers need direction, not directives. We need to help members
make tough, perhaps unpopular decisions on where in the heck
our organizations are trying to go and how do we know when
we get there! Don't accept goals like "increase"
or "enhance" unless they are accompanied by statements
like "until we have XXX total members" or "with
a goal of placing a voting member on at least four certifying
Boards."
Be bold. Have real, challenging and achievable
goals. Half (or more) of the fun of association leadership
work is actually accomplishing something by working hand-in-hand
with our members. That means planning and working toward having
five good years, not one good year five times. Identify what
success looks like, then develop a plan to achieve it. A real
plan, with practical steps to accomplish specific, important
goals that will provide real benefits to the industry or profession
in general and the members individually.
Don't Just Do "Stuff"
© Copyright , B.A.I., Inc. All rights
reserved.
|
