Association Insight International & European Association Insights Winter 2015 | Page 6

Association Insights | Article

Q How can associations add value to

Q How can associations ensure

membership?

they continue to appeal to the
younger generation and retain the
sustainability of their organisations?

A

Membership is the most sacrosanct orthodox belief in
association management. For many boards, CEOs and other
decision-makers, membership is a matter of organizational
identity. They simply cannot conceive of the association
without members.
Membership, however, is only one possible relationship
that associations can have with their current and future
stakeholders, and in ‘The Age of Transformation’ we
are living through right now, it is far more important for
associations to focus on co-creating meaningful new value
with a broad range of potential stakeholders than it is to sell
more memberships to stakeholders they already know.

Q Why is it important for associations to
gain a better understanding of their
stakeholders in order to thrive?

A

In my work I challenge associations to focus on
‘thrivability’ not sustainability. Being sustainable is about
keeping the organization going. Being thrivable is about the
‘the next level’.
For associations to become thrivable, they must develop
their future stakeholders, especially those under the age of
30, by asking what matters most to them, attracting them
to relationships based on shared meaning and mutual trust
and activating their networks to collaborate and co-create
with the association. Stakeholder development, not socalled membership engagement, is a critical next practice
for building a truly 21st century organization.

A

As I mentioned in my previous answer, we are in what I
call ‘The Age of Transformation’. The powerful and relentless
forces of cultural, demographic, economic, environmental,
all reshaping our society at the same time, forcing us to
challenge old assumptions and ask new questions in the
process.
In this volatile environment, associations must have an
empathic understanding of their stakeholders’ short-term
problems, intermediate-term needs and long-term outcomes.
This kind of deep understanding involves listening to and
learning from stakeholders, and using that learning to build
adaptable and resilient business models focused on value
instead of membership.

“The powerful and relentless forces
of cultural, demographic, economic,
technological transformation are all
reshaping our society at the same time,
forcing us to challenge old assumptions and
ask new questions in the process.”

Jeff will be presenting at the International & European
Associations Congress in Lausanne, Switzerland this May,
with Michael Anderson, CEO of the Canadian Society of
Association Executives. They will be talking about the work
they are doing to reinvent CSAE’s business model and help it
become a truly 21st century organization.

Jeff De Cagna
Chief Strategist and Founder
Principled Innovation
www.principledinnovation.com

Jeff De Cagna is chief strategist and
founder of Principled Innovation LLC
(P.I.), and the association community’s
leading voice for innovation.

6 | Winter 2015

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