Should Your Association Stay in Business?

The Association's Chairman gavels the Board Meeting to order. Minutes are approved. Introductions are made. She then turns to the first item on the agenda. Actually, it is the only item on the agenda:

Why should the association stay in business?

Unlike previous board meetings, the mood is somber; each member of the board is giving his undivided attention to the Chair. She asks that everyone turn to page one of the "Strategic Directions Report" prepared by the outside consultant who has facilitated the strategic directions process. "Ladies and Gentlemen, " she begins, "the fate of our association is in your hands..." For those of you whose association has been around for years, who think because of (a) member loyalty (b) the value of membership (c) the great job that the staff is doing or (d) all of the above, that its very existence could never seriously be called into question - are you sure?

With virtual members and virtual associations increasing daily - are you willing to bet the family jewels, much less your future on it?

Asking whether or not your association is viable isn't a preposterous question, says Senior Futurist Daniel Shostak of the Institute for Alternative Futures in Alexandria, Virginia. Shostak posed that question to fifty-two association community leaders at a two-day Think Tank Conference in Chicago sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Foundation. Representing a diverse cross-section of associations and industries, the conference participants were challenged to develop innovations for associations based on key internal and external trends identified in a recent environmental scan of the association community conducted by the Foundation of the American Society of Association Executives. The scan identified 14 key trends affecting associations.

Shostak challenged participants to engage in discussions about the current and future state of associations. The ultimate goal was to develop innovations to test in new frontiers of association management.

Key Think Tank Themes:

• E-commerce will decrease transaction costs and increase competition. This will drive a new balance between fee-for-services and dues in association operations.

• There will be a redefinition of buyers/sellers often driven by and creating the need for sophisticated market profiling. Customization, but also personalization (relationship building), will be of increasing importance.

• Increasingly, there will be a "free agent" mentality among potential stakeholders (members). This will be coupled with the emergence of a "renaissance" mentality, that is, "if I can think it, I can achieve it." Individuals will not allow themselves to be constrained by associations.

• Individual needs and desires will drive the formation of virtual

communities that may not involve an association.

• Associations will need to develop or expand competencies in translating information to knowledge and then brokering that knowledge within and to virtual communities.

• Ability to add value, will be huge, maybe even the most critical factor of associations. This may well drive new and more creative collaborative approaches.

• These collaborative approaches may take the form of strategic alliances around common agendas. Associations will need to align with those beyond their current community, especially in determining strategic priorities.

• And finally, quite possibly the "mother" of all issues - will the fundamental nature of associations change? Issues around "transactional members" and "virtual members" will need to be addressed.

This particular Think Tank created a free flow of ideas about the future of associations. Some of these ideas may seem unrealistic, futuristic, and even ridiculous. Others may provide crucial insight and lead to a real "aha" experience. But they should be ignored at your own peril - or at the peril of the future of your association.

It is critically important to take the future into account when we make decisions. Association executives who take the future seriously will be those who shape their own future and that of their organizations. Decisions that are made with adequate foresight will advance us toward our long-term goals.

Too many associations are consumed by the demands of day-to-day activities. As a result, their leaders are forced into making assumptions about the future - without understanding the future. To limit our focus to the present may one day find the association executive in a room with a somber or frantic board of directors asking the question: "Should this association stay in business?"