I'd like to go a step further and assert that there are many things that make association professionals so fantastic that we could teach our corporate counterparts a thing or five.
- Embracing Teamwork--I was really excited when KD Paine, the Goddess of PR measurement, praised non-profits at BlogPotomac. She found it so refreshing when a non-profit client willingly shared interdepartmental data across the whole organization. Great association professionals have this same sense of teamwork within their organizations. Nothing is too sensitive or too sacred if it will help us understand our members. And data is just one small example of the ways we all chip in to achieve remarkable goals with limited staff and resources. We work together because we're working toward an absolute common goal, creating value for our members.
- Nurturing Community--For every loyalty program and membership deal floating around corporate America, precious few succeed in creating community. And while we association pros have been slow to adopt social media technologies, we are light years ahead in understanding how to nurture and sustain communities. The truth is, no corporation can build community like a great, member-centric association. (Will I get push-back for saying that? So be it!) And great association professionals are the people who facilitate and harness the power of those communities.
- Doing What's Best for Everyone--Corporate America is competitive. Sometimes what's best for the company's bottomline is not what's best for the industry or profession. Even in the movement toward corporate responsibility, there are a lot of companies who are just paying lip service. Association professionals work to protect entire industries and the livelihood of thousands of their members. And when there's a goal that we can't accomplish alone, we willingly partner with groups that a corporate mindset would view as competition.
- Sharing the Reigns--Great association professionals value and seek out new volunteers and people with great ideas, even when they aren't members. We honor our boards and our CEOs (chief elected officers) while at the same time honoring grassroots feedback. We have a long, valued history of sharing control with our members that we dutifully uphold.
- Incubating Talent--Even the best corporate training programs can never have the diversity of experience or breadth of scope that a great association can provide. Association professionals continually enable the advancement of members and provide learning and leadership opportunities. In fact, great association pros are often the only people who have the knowledge, time, initiative and network of experts to enable the best learning and networking experiences possible.
And hey, if you work for a corporation, we association professionals are happy and eager to teach you all we know. After all, we spend a lot of time learning from all of you!
Hat tip to Saul Colt for making me think more deeply on this topic. BTW, it's apparently Lindy Dreyer week on Saul's blog. (I'm only blushing a little.) He's just announced a new book he's writing based on a little nudge I might have given him. Go Saul!