.orgSource
What are members hiring your association to help them do?
For years, associations could create value by collecting knowledge and making it easier for members to find. That still matters. But members now have more ways than ever to get a quick answer, including AI tools that respond in seconds. So the question is no longer only whether we have good content. It is whether…
Read MoreIs your association preparing for the future it actually faces?
Associations are good at planning. We gather input, convene committees, develop priorities, and put a polished document in front of the board. Then the world changes before the first year is over. That is not an argument against planning. It is an argument for a different relationship with the plan. When Kevin and I first…
Read MoreAssociation 4.0: A Roadmap for Relevance, Growth, and Resilience
Associations are not struggling because their missions no longer matter. They are struggling because the world around those missions has changed. Members expect faster answers, more personalized experiences, flexible learning, visible value, and meaningful connection. Employers are questioning which professional expenses they will continue to fund. Competition for attention is constant. AI is changing how…
Read MoreFrom Pilot to Product: How Associations Can Create Revenue With AI
Associations are running AI pilots everywhere. They are testing content creation, meeting summaries, chatbots, data analysis, research support, marketing automation, and internal knowledge tools. That experimentation is necessary. But pilots do not create sustainable value simply because they exist. Eventually, associations must answer a harder question: How do we move from testing AI to creating…
Read MoreYour AI Strategy Will Only Be as Strong as Your Culture
Many organizations believe they have an AI problem. They do not know which tools to use. They are unsure where to begin. Their pilots are scattered across departments. Staff members are worried about accuracy, privacy, job security, and expectations. Those issues are real. But many AI problems are actually culture problems. During our recent ASAE…
Read MoreCommunity Is Your Competitive Advantage in the Age of AI
Artificial intelligence can answer a question in seconds. It can summarize a report, recommend a learning path, analyze data, generate content, and help someone understand a complicated topic. What it cannot do is replace the feeling of being understood by another person. It cannot fully recreate the trust built between colleagues over years. It cannot…
Read MoreMembership Is Declining. Meeting Attendance Is Down. What Now?
Association leaders are feeling the pressure. Membership numbers are softer. Meeting attendance is less predictable. Sponsors are asking harder questions about return on investment. Expenses continue to rise, and staff members are trying to accomplish more with fewer resources. Budgets are tight, teams are stressed, and boards want answers. The natural response is to cut. …
Read MoreIf a Chatbot Can Replace Your Value, It Was Never Your Value
Only eleven percent of associations describe their value proposition as very compelling. Sit with that number. Nine out of ten organizations in our sector, asked to assess their own case for membership, decline to make a strong claim about it. That is not a marketing gap. That is a group of experienced leaders quietly telling…
Read MoreAI Doesn’t Break Your Culture. It Reveals It.
Picture the all staff meeting where you announced the new AI tools. Everyone nodded. A few people asked good questions about the timeline. Nobody objected. You left thinking that went well. Six weeks later, adoption is at eleven percent. The people you expected to lead the charge have not logged in. Nobody will tell you why. That is not…
Read MoreYour Team Is Already Using AI. Nobody Told You.
Somewhere in your association this week, a membership coordinator pasted a list of lapsed members into a free AI tool and asked it to draft the renewal email. She was not being reckless. She was being resourceful. The campaign was due Friday, her team lost a position in the last budget cycle, and the tool worked. She also has no idea where that data…
Read More