FIVE RADICAL
CHANGES FOR
ASSOCIATIONS’
RELEVANCE,
PROSPERITY
BY HARRISON COERVER AND MARY BYERS, CAE
The traditional association model worked well for decades, but was designed for different times. It is time intensive, slow and tradition-bound in an environment of rapidly accelerating change. It was designed to serve a homogenous membership, but professional specialization and industry consolidation have Balkanized tradi- tional markets. It is face-to-face and print-centric in an increasingly digital world. It
is based on a package of static programs and services when today’s consumers demand an
a-la-carte approach: What they want, when they want it and how they want it.
