Food for Thought

• Published date: 01 March 2018
• Date: 01 March 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/bl.30102

8 BOARD LEADERSHIP

associations are time-intensive

(board and committee meetings,

advocacy work, attending

conferences, etc.).

2. Value expectations. In many

professions, joining an

association was “the right thing

to do.” And not joining was a

social faux pas. Today, return on

investment is expected.

3. Consolidation. Many industries

are emerging with fewer, larger

players, which often have the

resources to effectively produce

their own training programs,

research, advocacy efforts and

so on.

4. Generational differences. Today’s

young professionals don’t value

“membership” as did previous

generations. They aspire for

professional knowledge and

success, but they “connect

differently.”

5. Competition. The emergence of

smaller specialty associations,

in‐house programming by

consolidated corporations, and

online resources all compete for

attention, attendance, volunteer

time and dues.

6. Technology. Coerver and Byers

assert that associations have

been painfully slow to embrace

technology. Such risk aversion

inadvertently disenfranchises

those more progressively

adapting.

Conclusion

“Five radical changes” are pro-

posed in Race for Relevance to meet

these challenges. The latter four are:

2. Empower the CEO and enhance

staff.

3. Rationalize the member market.

4. Rationalize programs, services

and activities.

5. Bridge the technology gap and

build a framework for the future.

From the lens of most sectors,

these are sensible business strategies,

but why are they “radical”?

The answer lies in context. The big-

gest challenges for many associations

are not external, but lie within the

structures that are hurdles to their own

competitiveness. Cognizant that sound

governance creates an environment in

which management can excel, Coerver

and Byers emphatically convey that the

first step in the sequence of change

must be radical change #1: “Overhaul

the Governance Model.”

Notes

1. http://www.asaecenter.org/files/

FileDownloads/PublicPolicy/Associa-

tions‐Matter‐FINAL.pdf

2. http://www.independentsector.

org/uploads/Accountability_Docu-

ments/governance_is_governance.pdf

3. Coerver, H., and M. Byers. Race

for Relevance: 5 Radical Changes for

Associations (Washington, DC: ASAE,

2011).

4. Carver, J. Boards That Make a

Difference: A New Design for Leader-

ship in Nonprofit and Public Organi-

zations, 3rd ed. (San Francisco, CA:

Jossey‐Bass, 2006).

5. See note 3.

Bill Charney can be contacted at bill@

bcharney.com.

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(continued from page 3)

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Teamwork is the ability

to work together toward

a common vision. The

ability to direct individual

accomplishments toward

organizational objectives.

It is the fuel that allows

common people to attain

uncommon results.

Andrew Carnegie

Business leader and philanthropist

(1835–1919)