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There
are some of you out there who are probably already saying to yourselves,
"Here he goes again. Trying to be cute by telling people he can't
turn on a computer, or making fun of computer 'wonks.' Wake up, Mark.
It's been done."
As the commercial says,
"Not exactly." However,
having just received my 347th brochure to attend a seminar on
"Using Technology in Today's Business Environment," I am
getting a little overwhelmed. Almost every survey of association leaders
that comes back lists "technology" as the number one issue
facing organizations today. I just haven't been able to figure out what
that means. As
Gary Bolinger, CAE (Executive Vice President of the Indiana Society of
CPAs) likes to say, technology ISN'T and issue -- it's a given. An issue
is something that has two sides to it, like "where do you stand on
the issue of abortion?" You can't ask where you stand on the issue
of technology, can you? I mean, you COULD say you're against technology,
but that pretty much classifies you as soon-to-be former
association executive. Still, I think there are some things about the
impact of technology that are being overlooked, and I thought I'd take a
shot at bringing them up. A.
Not everyone is comfortable with all of these technological
changes. The
way I see it, there are three levels of technology comfort among
association leaders out there. 1) There are those who really are into this in a big way, and can use technology to it's fullest advantage (younger people, smarter people, adaptable people, and Maynard Benjamin, raise your hands). 2) There are those who are somewhat competent and have learned to use technology to do their jobs more efficiently but get into a comfort zone and are not crazy about having to keep up with all of the changes (self-starters, hard workers, learners, steady-as-she-goes people, and Bob Hepner, raise your hands). 3) Then, there are those who are hoping that they can get to retirement before this whole thing catches up to them (my hand is now up). For
those in the last group I have some bad news -- you didn't make it. My
advice to you (and believe me, it took me a long time to take my own
advice) is try to move as quickly as possible to level two (somewhat
competent). Once you're there, either move to level one or quickly hire
someone who is. We
need to be careful about assumptions -- assuming everyone can cope with
technology, assuming everyone can use technology, and assuming everyone
sees the growth of technology as a positive trend in associations. This
includes volunteer leaders, members, and staff people. As critical as
technological skills are, and will continue to be, there are many people
who are intimidated by the demand that they be "computer
literate." Be patient, be understanding, go easy on these people. B.
Don't overestimate the 'value' of technology. As
I've written in the past, "value" is in the eyes of the
beholder. When I recently asked attendees at our Membership Development
Seminars how many of their organizations had a Home Page on the
internet, quite a few said that they did. Then I asked what percentage
of their members have the capability to access that page, and most said
somewhere in the range of 15-20%. Now, for the other 80% of the members
of those organizations, is that internet service something of real
"value," or is it just high-tech "stuff?" If the
association is technologically advanced and the members/customers
aren't, you might be forcing your members into a choice either of
spending the time, effort, and money to get "with it" or not
have a potentially valuable professional or business advantage available
to them. C.
Be prepared for competition -- and expense! Associations
have a unique challenge in this whole area of technology. Our members
expect us to keep up with the changes, and to help them keep up with the
changes. But are they willing to spend the money to do that? What if the
internet becomes obsolete overnight, and the next "useful"
technology is fiber-optic video communications where people turn on
their computers and have desktop videoconferencing capabilities? Is the
association now old-fashioned because e-mail is as advanced as it gets? Remember
that technology and information services are no longer the unique domain
of associations and professional societies. Companies with huge
resources are competing with associations to provide those services to
your members -- and they don't charge annual dues, have a code of
ethics, or ask people to serve on committees. It's a simple transaction. I'm
certainly not saying that we shouldn't do everything we can to meet the
technology needs of our organizations and our members -- we should.
However, don't get caught in the trap of doing things for the sake of
showing that you're out there on the "cutting edge." Some
people are like me -- they don't want to be on the cutting edge, they
just want to be able to use technology in a comfortable and efficient
manner. In
my house, if you REALLY want to know anything about computers and
technology, you need to talk to my teenagers. They've been using
computers their entire lives. In fact, when we recently upgraded our
computer system, my kids came to me and said "Hey, Dad, come on
downstairs and take a look. We got into the graphics on the CD and put
up a sign on your home office door." I thought, "Gee. What
nice kids." Then I saw the sign they put on my office… |
