Principled Innovation LLC

More on loyalty vs. passion

February 24th, 2007

My thought experiment on loyal vs. passionate members has produced some interesting comments in the last couple of days, so I thought I would share a few more ideas on the subject in response.

Ben suggests that my question oversimplifies “the nuances of association work,” an assertion I would challenge. In my experience, the kind of forced choice inquiry I’ve posed is precisely what we need to help surface the deeper contours of the mindsets we bring to our work. While I’m a committed advocate on behalf of “both/and” thinking, the intention of more expansive thought processes is not split-the-difference decision-making. From a strategic point of view, it is remains absolutely essential that we achieve clarity in both individual and organizational perspectives on the likely drivers of success going forward. This is the underlying spirit of my question.

Shawn asks “…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?” Well, I suppose if your members are passionate about the association as they know it, then their passion may translate into loyalty, just as Shawn and Matt suggest. But if your members are passionate about what they do, as well the association’s potential to evolve and create new value, their willingness to remain loyal may be tested if the organization is unable or unwilling to deliver on that potential by capitalizing on their passion.

Kelley offers a very strong view on the consequences of member loyalty without passion:

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.

On balance, I agree with Kelley’s perspective. For example, so-called “checkbook members” may be loyal, but they have no demonstrable passion for the association. Unfortunately, their loyalty doesn’t help us move the organization forward and, as Kelley argues, may undermine our efforts. Their connection to our organizations is purely transactional, and I have argued that we shouldn’t count this group as members at all, treating them instead as customers or subscribers. From my point of view, then, a streamlined association business model consisting exclusively of engaged or “engageable” member-contributors who are passionate about creating new value, combined with a robust customer/subscriber base, would serve the strategic and financial interests of our organizations quite well going forward.

But Ben pushes back on Kelley’s comment:

[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.

There is no question that Ben is correct. Just as a deep-seated loyalty to a nostalgic view of the association is a drag on the pursuit of innovation, so too can extreme passion interfere with the organization’s ability to operate with strategic coherence. Nevertheless, if given the choice to manage activated member passion as a resource investment in the association’s future or pay the staggering legacy costs of passive loyalty, I will still choose the former without reservation.

Let me once again extend an invitation to anyone who wants to join this important conversation. I hope that our dialogue is provoking some new thinking that will benefit your approach to driving association success in the years ahead. I look forward to your thoughts!

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