Acronym

You don't have to be in the association business long to realize your member dues value proposition is being examined and reconsidered on a very regular basis. Joe Flowers' post unleashed an informative and eclectic assortment of opinions about the value of ASAE membership. More than anything, what I took away from the dialogue was just how much people consider membership to be a highly apersonal choice.

One rising development in membership it seems is a newfound sense of entitlement brought about by an economic exchange---"dues" (money) for "membership" (belonging) The quest and awareness of value---perceived and real---is top of mind for our prospects and members. While belonging has historically always cost money (church, clubs, sports teams), some now find equivalent value in the "free belonging" created by blogs, online communities, social media and community-based coops. While one can argue you get what you pay for, "free belonging" is upending the longstanding economic model of paying to belong. Because the question of "value" remains so personal, it seems likely this conversation will continue for a long time to come. IMHO that can only be a good thing.

In times of great change and turmoil I am always reminded of that wonderful comment by comedian Bill Cosby when asked about his success. "I don't know the key to success", he said, "but the key to failure is trying to please everyone." I think he's on to something.

I should probably resist the urge to go here, but I am feeling reckless ... and fed up.

Yes of course, a lot of associations could do a better job of delivering ACTUAL value as opposed to HYPED or CLAIMED value.

Yes of course, a lot of associations could do a better job being accessible and open and meeting members of all generations/career stage/demographic characteristics "where they are."

Yes of course, a lot of associations are losing relevancy because they are too slow to change or respond to a changing world.

I am absolutely NOT making any excuses for the legion of failures of associations to live up to what they aspire to or their members deserve.

But I have to say that the "Why I didn't renew" blog post that started all of this is just the latest and greatest example I have seen of myopic, self centered, head up your a**, "I don't give a d**n about anybody but me" thinking that makes it hard for even the good associations to succeed.

Associations are about more than just meeting individual member needs. They are about making it possible for a community with shared interests, values and identity to achieve collective action that it would be impossible for us each to achieve on our own.

Technology has made networking cheap ... virtually free. If all you care about is you, there are faster, cheaper, easier ways (notice that I didn't say necessarilly better ways) to connect with others for that purpose than association membership.

If I want to personally profit from someone else's investment, I can certainly read a copy of a magazine or journal that someone else paid the subscription for.

But would your professional life and your profession be better if the association serving it ceased to exist?

Would you even have a job in an association if all your association's membership adopted the same attitude expressed in that blog post?

This is not a new problem. We used to describe it as the free-rider problem. There are actions and impacts from a good association's effective performance that benefit ALL members of the profession, whether they are paying dues or not. A legislative or regulatory victory, a new development in theory or practice, any number of collective achievements that create a positive environment for me and my industry or profession to be more effective and more successful ... those are what associations exist to deliver. I benefit whether or not I contributed (financially or otherwise). But my failure to support the association CAN jeapordize those things happening at all, for my benefit or for anyone else's.

Let me reiterate: I am not making any excuses for poorly performing associations. This doesn't take you off the hook if your association is failing to meet EITHER the collective OR the individual needs of your members in a meaningful and effective way.

I just want to put the self-important, "I am the center of the universe" types on notice, too: It's a free country. Be clever and freeload off of the investments others are making to improve your professional life and opportunities. But as you sanctimoniously criticize your association(s) for failing to make the world better, even as you make it clear that you belive it is someone else's financial responsibility to get that done for you ... Well, I am not sure full blame lies with the association.

OK. Got that out of my system.

First off, bravo for tackling this on Acronym.

Second, I don't really understand how one person writing--on his personal blog--an account of why he, as one individual, is choosing not to renew an association membership is myopic, self-centered, or any such negative attribute. I don't see it as a statement about "I am the center of the universe" at all. What I see as myopic is the angry assertion that association members better just put up and shut up because any networking or learning that's not created by an association is crappy and of no actual value. And that nothing of an value can be done on an individual or ad hoc basis by an individual or group of individuals not affiliated with an association. Seriously?

Just as Mark is sick of the navel gazing bloggers and social media freeloaders, I'm sick of the old-school "if it's not done by an association, it's crap," "if it's free, it's crap" die-hards who think that there is ONLY power in doing it the way it's always been done, that legislative victories ONLY happen if orchestrated by an association, and that's required of association members is that they write a check each year.

I've never met Joe Flowers in person--I met him--guess where--on Twitter. I've participated in many association chats with him--first via Socialfish, then via #assnchat (neither of which are ASAE activities) and through those activities came to know how smart and cool he is. Last year when I needed help doing something for my association, who volunteered to help me and do something that a consultant could and would have charged me for? Joe. He did it quickly and expertly. I appreciated it a ton, as did our members. Did any of that require him to belong to ASAE? Will ASAE have to do without anything because he's not sending his $100 young professional dues in this year? I just don't get what about any of this has to do with him "paying his dues"--literally.

Sorry if I offended, Maggie, but I don't think I suggested that association members must "put up and shut up" and accept what their association is offering, regardless of its value. I went out of my way to say the opposite. Associations that underdeliver often use competition from new, non-traditional sources as an excuse for their own intrinsic failures, rather than getting their own acts together. And I repeatedly said they need to get their act together.

And I certainly NEVER suggested that anything produced for free or produced outside of the traditional association model is by definition "crap." Or that associations are the ONLY place where good things happen.

Here's my issue. If I am disatisfied with the offerings at a department store, or a grocery store, or a pharmacy and so choose to take my business elsewhere, so be it. The entity that is best at meeting my clothing, grocery and pharamcy needs best prevails over inferior options. And if the store that wasn't meeting my need goes out of business, nothing much is lost, in the grand scheme of things.

I apologize if it is unfashionable, but I DO think associations are different. It is about more than transactions, personal needs and directly obvious results. It is more than immediate and tangible impact I see and feel. It is about serving longer term, higher goals and higher needs. And unforunately, the needs of the general industry/profession and society are generally NOT as fully addressed in more free form/non-economic models. Without the organization, there will be parts that are missing. (AGAIN --- I am NOT saying NOTHING good happens outside of formal assocations without economic exchange, only that SOME things will not happen outside of such formal organizations and some of those things are important.)

So when I chose to address some of my personal needs (even my generous and altruistic ones) elsewhere and this serves as an excuse to no longer support an association that represents my trade, profession or community, more than just the inferior networking site goes out of existence. Something else more difficult if not impossible to replace gets lost.

If my association isn't meeting my social networking or information needs and I go somewhere else, that's fine. If I can connect and achieve tangible impacts on society outside of a formal membership relation or financial transaction, that's fine too. I think there is room for lots of providers and lots of styles or forms of relationships. That's my point: it is (or at least should be) additive, not exclusionary. I needn't choose one (traditional associations) OR the other (for want of a better term, let me use the blanket phrase "new media"). I can choose and support both. In fact, I should.

And this isn't a case (in my personal opinion) of establishment or traditional or old school associations being intolerant (unwilling to co-exist) with new media and forms. Associations couldn't successfully adopt that strategy even if they wanted to.

It is more the new media being intolerant or uninterested in co-existing with the old.

I have never read anyone credibly suggest as a strategy: "don't support ANY services or media that are not officially part of the association. You don't need them."

I do routinely read blogs suggesting "Since many of my needs are being better met outside of the association, I don't need an association at all anymore or for anything. Stop wasting your money on dues."

That's what set off my admitedly intemperate rant this morning.

If the association is failing to deliver even in those areas where there IS a vital and continuing need for formal, structure to deliver tangible, collective impact, members absolutely do NOT need to just put up with it. They need to fix it. But abandoning it is no solution. In the long term, something important will be lost.

You are one hundred percent right in one of your criticisms, however, and I own up to it. I used one individual's post as a launching pad for a more general rant that really didn't have anything to do with him. That is unfair to the individual and inexcusably ungentlemanly of me. I apologize for it.

AMEN Mark. You restated every point I made through numerous posts on Joe's blog.

Properly performing associations bring value to the "industry" as a whole. Some choose to invest in that value to ensure an association is there to keep consistency, levels of standards and governance for the industry. Some pay into the protection, preservation and growth of the industry. Many do not, yet reap huge rewards from those who do invest in the association.

Again, I respect Joe for sharing his feelings and opening up this incredible discussion. The fun thing was that Joe had someone offer to pay his $100 dues and I offered to mentor Joe for the next 12 months with a guarantee to be better after 12 months.... NOW I CALL THAT A PRETTY GOOD RETURN ON AN INVESTMENT....

My three things are actually 2 and buried my related post on Mariner's Idea Center (http://www.marinermanagement.com/idea-center/20110103/my-new-years-list-with-a-little-help-from-friends).

1) when I have a complaint, I will start with the source and 2) I will empower my members to complain.

On the first point, it's not that I'm against the public commenting, I just think that we need to be responsible citizens. But its a two-way street, and we have to help citizens be responsible.

This whole debate also brought back to my mind the simple truth - associations need to never stop evolving. And the next generation should take us one step closer to not having to debate the question "what did I get for my dues?"

I stopped writing and following blogs a long time ago precisely because of false controversies like this one. "You don't get it!" "No, you don't get it!" Oh, enough, already.

Statistics show that, generally speaking, associations have never been appealing to "everybody" in a particular market segment, but associations never got that memo. They pretend that their mission is to grow their membership, and they waste precious time and energy casting wide nets based on the assumption that "if you work in the segment we serve, then you should be a member!" They do things like offer the $100 membership dues that Joe mentioned in his post, out of little more than faint hope that the lucky recipient will keep paying the annual bill.

Imagine -- all that agita over a hundred bucks!

Seems to me this time would be better spent building relationships with the right people, who care about what you do, who are willing to spend ten times more than the usual dues, rather than those you lure in for two-thirds less.

Scott is right when he puts this in perspective ("we should listen, debate, and try to learn from such experiences--they truly are gifts to an organization--but should the organization make a change based on it?"). Rather than wring hands over every potential customer who has no use for you (or wax bitter over those who refuse to "pay their fair share"), associations should:

1) Decide what it is you want to do.
2) Stop, think long and hard, and make sure it really, really is the right thing to do.
3) Then do it.
4) Promote it to the sorts of people who think it's valuable ... which is NOT everyone in your sector.

Try to make this sort of thing about "soclal media" all you want, but it isn't. It's about associations recognizing that, in serving what they believe to be the greater need of the sectors they represent, not everyone in those sectors will agree with them, like them, value them, or -- horror of horrors -- even notice them.

That's okay. Be purposeful about what you do, build relationships with the people and organizations who care about the same things you do, and make THAT your business model. Then live within it.

As Scott says, you should still listen to those who disagree with you, and always be ready to learn from them. But being clear about your purpose means you won't be easily distracted by those who have personal axes to grind, and to the honest Joes of the world you won't have any problem saying, and meaning, "Thank you!"

"We think we have a great community. There are many opportunities for you to contribute to it, help shape its direction, and receive a lot in return. I'm sorry it doesn't seem to meet your needs right now, but I hope you'll check back in the future to see if it might be a better fit."

Seems like we need to get better at saying things like this rather than assuming we know what an individual needs and that he is foolish (or worse) to not see things through our lens of what constitutes value.

I posted my thoughts on http://www.getmejamienotter.com

Love is the killer app! ;-)

Great discussion! This topic IS the elephant in the room for many professional associations. Joe is a superstar for helping us take the conversation to a deeper and more meaningful level.

Wouldn't this make a great session at ASAE's annual meeting? I'd attend for sure. Heck I'd even moderate. It wouldn't be hard to find the right polarizing panelists and to get the audience involved.

Thanks for all the thoughtful comments. I want to address Kevin Holland's specifically. If you skipped over it because it was long, please go back and read it, it is excellent. I put a lens of social media in my post because that was Joe's frame of reference in his post. To steal a word from another comment above, I was being myopic. Kevin is right, social media should have been on the sidelines. The way he teed it up with focus is how I'd go back and edit my post if I could.

(And thanks for noticing and adding in defiance of your usual blog-less routine Kevin!)

This is a fascinating exchange, both here and on Joe's blog. I think it has moved well beyond the membership issue to the value issue.

I'll get to that momentarily, bur first I have two gut reactions to the conversation that may seem very off topic, but I feel the need to air them.

First -- TIME Following Joe's blog, acronym, twitter, Facebook, all take time -- where do you find the time to do it? I'm in an association turnaround. Maybe 15 minutes a day to spend on digital connections, at best.

Yes, it would be fabulous to meet colleagues online, follow up with phone calls and in-person meetings. It's just not possible with my calendar and the expectations of my new association, and my location in western Massachusetts.

Where do you all find the time? Maybe I need an education in quick and easy ways (less than 15 minutes a day) to stay engaged online. I'm focused on good books in my spare time - that and some skiing and NOTHING involved with my work or career. That's the only way I maintain my sanity.

Second -- I'll argue that ASAE members are very different from my members (that's my frame of reference). Way more connected digitally, way more well read on the latest business and management trends. Way more engaged in on-line discussion and connection. I think ASAE has a tremendous challenge in this arena. Perhaps missed the boat. Perhaps hasn't grasped opportunities, perhaps, perhaps perhaps...

I will add a third unconnected thought. ASAE sponsored the best learning experience several years ago when they supported the Prometheus Retreat. When they stopped supporting it, a group of volunteers kept it going. It will happen again in May of this year at Keystone. I will be there. This face-to-face, executive learning experience -- no speakers, no sponsors -- is like getting everything you've learned with all your online connections in two days. It is inspiring, re-energizing and restful all at the same time. There's nothing digital that can compare.

It's all about value. Value is a cultural issue. If I hear the term Value Proposition one more time I'm going to scream. Individuals, they may or may not be members, place different values on different things and have different reactions to different programs and opportunities. Value is also a reaction to the culture of your members. If they don't find anything of value, why should we expect them to stay? At the same time, if we don't ask in a meaningful way what would help them do their job better, what would make them more valuable to their organizations, we're not doing our job. If we don't provide the forum for them to offer insight and new ideas, we're not taking advantage of the ways to create value.

That's my rant.

ASAE members have very high expectations, and are more educated and have more opportunity to connect in multiple ways than many of our own members.

Everything takes time. Making that time and helping others make that time is critical. I need someone to help me.

Digital or not, nothing will replace learning from my peers. I prefer face-to-face without structure. Others prefer other ways to learn.

This is a great discussion, but I think we've moved beyond the 'keep my membership' issue to the heart of value and providing a place for people to both find and create value.

Thank you Scott for the link and the response. A little off topic, maybe, but every time you or another ASAE employee is allowed to post a response to a discussion, it has to be accompanied with the requisite "Acronym is not the place to give an official ASAE position on things or to deliver messages ASAE wants delivered"... but while, yes, absolutely this particular issue is much wider than just ASAE, it's also directly about ASAE (and about ASAE as the association of associations) - so when will there be somewhere we can actually talk openly to you guys about it all? I get that that place is not Acronym. But there is a need for more transparency and more direct conversation with you, the body responsible for "pushing the industry forward" and "the good of the order" for us, your current and future and potential members.

I renewed my ASAE dues without question (although it's expensive and I pay for it myself).

I expect little, if any, personal contact in any national association. I join for the services, which I find valuable (I think the Listserv is great!), to support advocacy for my profession, and for the ability to share thoughts that would rarely see the light of day in a conference setting.

In fact, I would never have known about this posting if it hand't been mentioned on Acronym. I don't have time to read everything, so I read what's important. Acronym connects to a lot of what's important.

Associations may be more valuable to people at different times in their careers. And people's criticism may vary from time to time.

Right now, ASAE and Association Forum of Chicagoland meet my needs just fine.