Participation is not a benefit
June 8th, 2008
At ASAE & The Center’s recent Marketing and Membership Conference in Baltimore, one of the speakers suggested associations treat participation as a benefit rather than a punishment, The latter sentiment certainly makes sense, but I’m concerned the former assertion fails to recognize the strategic dynamics facing associations today and going forward.
Ours is an age of participation, a time when there is a clear need to make it as attractive and uncomplicated as possible for our stakeholders to engage in ways that are meaningful to them. If we view participation as a benefit, however, we are reducing its standing to nothing more than a quid pro quo transaction, i.e., once you pay, we let you play. Not only is this an increasingly unattractive value proposition, but it reflects a way of thinking with the potential to eviscerate our organizational capacity for radical innovation and value creation going forward by excluding some contributors.
So we really can’t treat participation as if it is the same thing as a car rental discount. Rather, we must consider it a strategic imperative that is embraced at every level of our organizations, including the board of directors. For boards, there is a huge opportunity to explore compelling new business models that both generate and thrive on increased stakeholder engagement. Once we begin to design and implement these new models, we will be able to unleash a new level of excitement and energy for participation throughout the association community.
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Entry Filed under: Principled Innovation Blog, What's New?, Social Media, Innovation, Associations, Extreme Makeover, The Association Innovator, Simplicity, We Have Always Done It That Way, Garage Memes
Ben Martin and P.I.
Association exec Ben Martin, CAE is P.I.’s Architect of Participation. Jeff and Ben help clients harness the power of the Web through the strategic application of social tools.
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