I believe the state of academic study in the association management field is a disgrace. For a profession to be a full 75 years old and yet have so little empirical research supporting its best practices is just deplorable. The body of knowledge in the association management profession is certainly large enough (and growing fast enough) to support a master's level curriculum. For now, we have the CAE.
As I've discussed before, the concepts tested on the CAE exam are those things that are generally accepted as a best practice. Unfortunately, the association community's best practices have to be "generally accepted" because there is such little research in the field to support "universally accepted" best practices.
Although I don't think 7 Measures of Success is as comprehensive or academic as it could have been, I do believe it is one of the only texts out there that comes close empirically proving the fundamental concepts of association management. For this reason, I urge the CAE Commission to add 7 Measures of Success to its core reading list for the CAE exam.
As I started writing this post, I began wondering if I would support We Have Always Done It That Way (another book that debuted at ASAE & The Center's Annual Meeting) as a core text for the CAE program. I personally believe that in the long run and on a day to day basis, We Have Always Done It That Way will be a more useful book for the average association professional. I do think that We Have Always Done It That Way should be added to the CAE core reading list, but for different reasons than I support 7 Measures. We Have Always Done It That Way would help new CAEs envision the future of their associations, while 7 Measures will help them filter these visions through the lens of the association management field's proven concepts.
In the long term, I urge ASAE & The Center to pursue a Master's level degree for association executives.