Loyalty or passion?
February 21st, 2007
At the moment, I am moblogging on my BB from Greensboro Airport in North Carolina, where I just finished a two-day facilitation for a client. During the session, an interesting question came up, and I thought it would be good to post it here to get some conversation started:
If forced to choose, would you rather have loyal members or passionate members?
Now, I realize that for many of you, the reflexive response will be, “Both!” But let’s consider this a thought experiment in which you must make a choice to play out the discussion.
For me, the choice is crystal clear: passion rules. In fact, I would suggest that in the life cycle of any member, there is a transition point when long-term loyalty stops being a benefit and, instead, becomes a legacy cost for the association. Loyalty can be a source of friction as the association attempts to move in new directions which, in turn, becomes a drag on innovation.
Passionate members, on the other hand, are more likely to push outside of our comfort zones. They will challenge us to come up with new stuff, and they want to participate in creating it. If it isn’t happening, they may bolt and, in all candor, it’s the greatest gift they can give us because it forces us to confront the realities of the marketplace.
I need to go catch my flight, so I will leave it here for now. I can’t wait to read your thoughts!
Entry Filed under: Principled Innovation Blog, What's New?, Social Media, Innovation, Associations, Extreme Makeover, Random Thoughts, The Association Innovator, We Have Always Done It That Way
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4 Comments Add your own
1. Shawn Lea | February 22nd, 2007 at 9:47 am
But if you have passionate members and your association and its employees are passionate about the association’s mission, wouldn’t that de facto be the formula for a loyal membership?
I’m just saying is all.
2. Matt Baehr | February 22nd, 2007 at 1:35 pm
I would agree. Passion rules, and usually begets loyalty.
3. Kelley Burrus | February 22nd, 2007 at 6:22 pm
A loyal member lacking passion is the same as a bad strawberry in the middle of the container. It’s just sitting there festering, threatening to accelerate the surrounding berries’ demise. “Festering” is contagious…especially in large groups. The association leader must re-engage or cull….simple as that.
4. Ben Martin | February 23rd, 2007 at 12:31 pm
By their very nature, these either/or questions oversimplify the nuances of association work. I dispute the notion that passion necessarily produces loyalty. A passionate member can fester and infect others too, with good and bad results. A member who is passionately opposed to an assn policy or stance might be just what the assn needs to engage in meaningful debate, but s/he sure can be a pain in the @$$, er, distraction sometimes. Luckily you can have both passion and loyalty in a single member, and in my experience it doesn’t seem to matter which begets which. The truth is, we need passionate members, and loyal members, and members who are both.
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