The Big Picture

Worry About the Why, Not the How

 

A new study by Arthur C. Brooks, a Syracuse University professor who specializes in studying nonprofit organizations, says that trade and professional associations need to start worrying less about how to get younger members to join and more about how to keep them interested once they do join. And he says they will join, eventually, despite the doomsday predictions we have heard for quite some time now.

In 2000, about a quarter of the population belonged to a trade or professional association. Brooks predicts the number of association members is likely to rise from about 51 million today to about 55 million by 2015.

His report, Generations and the Future of Association Participation, was sponsored by the William E. Smith Institute for Association Research, which is funded by SmithBucklin Corp., a Chicago-based company that provides management and professional services to associations.

Hurricane watchers

Hurricane Dennis has made hurricane watchers of much of the Mississippi association community.

The Mississippi Municipal League and the Southern Public Relations Federation both cancelled conferences at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi. (I was scheduled to be heading out myself on Sunday afternoon for the annual SPRF conference and Lantern Awards dinner. No longer, I assure you.) MEDC is supposed to be making a decision on Monday about a conference that was starting on Wednesday of next week. The Mississippi Bar had a meeting scheduled for SanDestin that they were trying to figure out how to plan for at our monthly meeting on Thursday. (I'm assuming it too will be cancelled.)

Generally, the only way to recoup any money in these situations is to re-schedule. But with hurricane season stretching from June to November, it's pretty hard to get around those dates. And the majority of destinations that can handle larger convention numbers in the South are in resort/beach areas. Many associations are struggling with how to deal with the issues contractually.

Does anyone have any information to share that could help with this issue?

The Tortoise Vs. The Hare

Look before you leap. Slow down. I've heard variations of these sayings all my life - usually in the form of scolding.

But as Aesop says, plodding and plodding wins the race. (I always thought the moral of the story was to not take naps, but I've been told I misunderstood.)

In 1982, Larry Dossey coined the term "time-sickness" to describe the belief that time is getting away, that there isn't enough of it and we must pedal faster and faster just to keep up. Klaus Schwab, founder and president of the New World Economic Forum, warned that we were moving from a world where the big ate the small to a world where the fast ate the slow.

But in a new book, In Praise of Slowness, Carl Honore points out that "some things cannot, should not, be sped up. They take time; they need slowness." (You can read an excerpt from the book here.)

Slow movements are breaking out everywhere, from food to relationships. And with building community a cornerstone of associations, maybe we need to look at the trend more closely from an association standpoint. I'm adding this to my thinking to-do list in the coming month (I don't want to rush through it, for goodness sake!)

What are your thoughts?

The Thought Guru Association

Rich at The Westerfield Group calls me on not asking Seth about lobbying.

But if I were going to create an association for Seth and his ilk, I would guess that lobbying would be low down on the list of their needs. Lobbying as the primary reason for membership is found mainly in trade associations, I would guess (which is admittedly where 100% of my association experience comes from).

I do think that lobbying is doable to likeminded folks without joining an association - look at Rock the Vote and other online programs that stirred a group to action without collecting association dues. Free programs like GovTrack.us can keep us up-to-date on just the specific legislation we want to follow. During Mississippi's legislative session, bill status can be tracked online to see who has what bills in which committee. And grassroots advocacy - contacts by the members themselves - is a much-needed tool in any association advocacy program. (I could start a Yahoo! Group of like-minded folks and use VoteSmart zip-lookup to get them to contact their legislators.)

Rich's better point is that any group - whether dues-paying or not - needs leaders to ensure structure and success. And once that group forms and creates that structure, it's work to keep it going. And who's going to go through all that trouble for a sustained period of time for no cost? (But many associations are and always have been completely or largely volunteer-driven.)

Members could handle all of this on their own. But if we are doing our job well - why would they want to?

So if you had the task of creating an association that Seth Godin would want to join, what would it look like? The Thought Gurus Association, perhaps.

Here's where I would start:

• Health insurance - This is an issue for almost all of the independently employed folks that I know. In my association, Seth would be able to opt in to a pool with fellow thought gurus.
• Household repairs - I know this one is strange. But this group is always on the road. And the husband or wife back home might need help from time to time when they are away. I would create kind of a AAA for the household. (Hey, the doors are wide open here - it's all on paper.)
• Creativity/Writing Workshops - I know this would not be for all of my thought gurus, but I'm guessing a large number of them would like creativity and writing tips and a chance to network with fellow gurus. We all need help exploring what to do when the thought well dries up.
• Administrative Pools - I would offer referrals to editors, copy editors, book designers, etc. that fellow thought gurus had used in the past.
• Starbucks discounts - The thought gurus are generally self-employed. They probably spend a lot of time at coffee shops, bookstores, etc. I just used Starbucks for the name effect, but I would seek out affinity relationships with like companies.
• Computer assistance - Technical assistance, assistance with researching future purchases (the lightest one for a briefcase, the best internal Wi-Fi, etc. etc.)
• Mobile assistance - Affinities with cell phone companies, Blackberry, wireless, etc. - discounts and special purchases for members
• A magazine (just because I love magazines)
• Online forums (and a blog, of course)
• Travel discounts - airlines, car rentals (first-class upgrades for our members, of course)

Any other ideas?

What you want, when you want it, where you want it

Dr. Lowell Catlett, an economist, recently spoke at MHA's 74th annual Leadership Conference. His topic: New frontiers that change everything. He was speaking to mainly health care administrators so had a health care slant on a topic I'm sure he has covered many times. But the message really is applicable to all fields - and plays well with Seth Godin's main tenets in All Marketers Are Liars.

Mass markets are gone - all of the growth is in differentiation and segmentation. Catlett gave as an example the American Association of Concierge Physicians (who changed their name in 2003 to the Society for Innovative Medical Practice Design but still strangely use the Web address www.conciergephysicians.com).

He makes the assertion that cost is not the problem - for health care or associations or any consumer product. The problem is that we need to get used to a new marketplace paradigm - if you give customers what they want, when they want it, where they want it, cost doesn't matter. If you don't, cost won't matter either when your business closes its doors.

Catlett uses the economic term "cohort analysis" to show that we are more like the generation that we grew up with, regardless of demographic or economic profiles. A diverse membership base (in age, demographics, income levels, race, and occupation, in some associations) expecting us to give them what they want, when they want it and where they want it to keep paying dues is going to continue to be a challenge for associations.

But I think in a time when many of us are faced with members saying budget cuts, no money, no travel budget, etc. etc. ad nauseum, it's an important mantra to repeat every morning:

What you want, when you want it, where you want it - price doesn't matter