Living through short-term pain
I could write 10 blog posts based on Fareed Zakaria's closing general session speech, but I think to start with I'll focus on one of his last exhortations to the audience: "We have got to learn to impose short-term pain for long-term gain."
If an association were to really orient itself around that statement right there, and commit to endure short-term pain for long-term gain, think how powerful it would be for that organization. But I think short-term pain is a challenge for associations: We don't like members to be unhappy (in my career, I've seen several initiatives of long-term importance derailed by member complaints). In addition, we're governed by boards made up of people who aren't there for the long term; many a volunteer president has wanted to keep things calm and pleasant for his or her presidential term. This isn't to say that boards can't think long term, but in many cases, it's hard to sell a board on "you should suffer the slings and arrows now so that the board members who are around in five years can reap the benefits."
So what does it take to strengthen an association's willingness to suffer now for future benefit? I have a few ideas:
Have a strong vision. It's a lot easier to suffer for a vision you really believe in than for "our margins will be two percent better" (at least in my opinion). It's also easier to convince members and stakeholders when you can paint them a picture of a future where this vision is reality than it is to sell them with disconnected facts.
Educate everyone. This ties back to a great post by Peggy Hoffman on the SmartBlog Insights blog, about turning members into informed and engaged association owners. If members really understand your environment and your vision, they're much more likely to be convinced of the importance of bearing the short-term pain than if they only know that "something I was comfortable with is changing and I don't understand why."
And it's just as important to educate staff. Make information available to them--don't keep it secret or within the executive ranks. A staff person who understands and is educated in your vision can be an ambassador for it.
Ask your members. Spread the conversation as far and wide as possible. Have them help you build the vision and make the choices. Pain is easier to bear when we bear it by choice.
What else would you add to this list? What can associations do to help overcome their aversion to short-term pain?
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Comments
I don't deny that very often pain is involved, but I think part of the solution might be in reframing what we're talking about. The choice we need our elected association leaders to make is indeed making investments now in initiatives whose dividends may not be fully realized until they are out of office.
We need to help break the narrow mindset that their success is only measured by what happens during the time they sit at the board table. The long view needs to become a critical part of how they view their decisions. One of the best volunteers I worked with took great pride in going against the grain and committing to an initiative that only years later was embraced by the membership. He would always smile when talking about that with the staff because he knew his efforts helped make it possible.
Posted by: Jeffrey Cufaude | August 18, 2009 8:35 PM
I really like the idea of reframing "pain" as "investment." The latter is definitely a more powerful, and positive, term, at least to me.
And I like what you've said here: "We need to help break the narrow mindset that their success is only measured by what happens during the time they sit at the board table." Could former board leaders become shepherds or stewards of long-term initiatives that began under their watch, without overshadowing new leaders?
Posted by: Lisa Junker | August 18, 2009 9:03 PM
When thinking of engaging members for the long-term I always think it's imperative to 'chunk it down'. It's often too much to take a huge, big bite at once. If you can break down the work into manageable, small bites, you'll get more buy in.
I also agree with the comment that associations have to step up their communications strategy - keep all stakeholders engaged on the vision and the reason this association community exists.
Posted by: Ann Ranson | August 20, 2009 10:15 AM
Thanks for the link-back, Lisa!
Posted by: Jess | August 27, 2009 2:21 PM