Indeed, the phrase, “membership organization” may well be the most orthodox description of an association’s organizational identity. They must be organized around a flexible combination of compelling value propositions supported by strong brand equity, robust organizational capabilities and meaningful tangible and intangible incentives that combine to create new revenue streams and grow future market share. It is extremely difficult for association leaders to reconsider their unswerving commitment to membership as the organizing premise for future business models. MORE >>

Indeed, for many organizations, the membership imperative defines the very existence of the association:  membership is who they are and what they do. Similarly, in associations, a relatively small number of leaders who are personally and professionally invested in the membership paradigm make virtually all critical decisions about the new value their organizations will (or will not) create for the larger markets they are trying to serve. Membership is perhaps the most sacred tenet in all of association orthodoxy. If you have not done so already, I recommend you read Part I. Please MORE >>

Each shift deals with an important area of association management in which doing what has always been done too often trumps the hard work of building our organizations to thrive, even right now when the latter is both an urgent priority and a non-trivial concern. By publicly challenging some of our community’s most sacred beliefs, I have tried to create a space for association leaders to do the same inside their own organizations. hope this post helps to explain my motivations, and places the e-book in a broader context. What do you think? Associations Unorthodox MORE >>

My article “ Trapped in the Past ,” which appears in this month’s issue of  Associations Now , challenges association boards to look beyond the richness of their own association membership experiences to recognize the unintended negative consequences of their organizations’ membership-centric business models. This post originally appeared on the Associations Now Leadership Blog on March 7, 2013. To put it another way, during the most severe economic decline in most of our lifetimes, more than half of associations surveyed still moved forward with a dues increase. Thank you! MORE >>

” In the e-book, Jeff challenges boards, CEOs, C-Suite executives and other key contributors to break free of the association community’s orthodox beliefs and make six radical shifts toward the future to help their organizations thrive in the face of relentless societal transformation: De-emphasize membership. Jeff De Cagna’s new e-book, Associations Unorthodox: Six Really Radical Shifts Toward the Future , will be available as a free download beginning this Wednesday, August 8. The e-book was produced in collaboration with DC-based branding firm, CHIEF. Updates MORE >>