It's been two weeks since my last post. I have to do better than that, but my recent job change took my attention for a while. Now, I'm back in the swing of things.
Two weeks agp, I "sat in" on one of Jeff De Cagna's sessions at the ASAE Annual Meeting. He focused on the reasons why associations should commit to being social. Right up my alley. I've included a brief outline of his remarks below, but I wanted to expound on the title of this post, which was a point Jeff made during the session.
I hear so many association leaders talking about the critical need for relevance. Relevance... to be relevant... a term used to describe how pertinent, connected, or applicable something is to a given matter. IS THAT IT? That's what we want our associations to be in the eyes of our members??? I was thinking more along the lines of "indispensible" or, at the very least, "important" or "necessary."
About 10 years ago, Jeff wrote an article titled, "Destroy Mediocrity" that urged association leaders to abandon thinking that mires us in the ways of the past, allowing only incremental change to occur. Wow... Jeff, you're looking like a genius now, aren't you?
So my challenge to you today is simple: eliminate "relevance" from your lexicon. And please answer this question: what have you done lately to make your association indispensible to your members?
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Here's a quick outline of Jeff's remarks:
What does it mean to associate? make everything social
What does it mean to be a member? membership is a commodity, meaning is the business case.
What does it mean to be a volunteer? contribution is king; networks jump hierarchies
What does it mean to govern? govern from the outside in or risk isolation.
What is the meaning of strategy? if you're planning strategy now or soon for the next 3 to 5 years, PLEASE STOP NOW. control is history. strategy demands learning.
What is the meaning of innovation? Innovation is a commitment to doing things because they are right, they are smart, and they create new value. Having the same people in the room all the time will lead to a decline in innovative thinking.
