Everything Eventually Loses Its Shine

Recently I spent some time on the Merritt Parkway in Connecticut, winding my way toward the lakes and mountains of Maine. The Merritt Parkway is notable because it is an “antique” highway or, more accurately, a National Scenic Byway and received the National Register of Historic Places designation in 1991.

First opened in 1939, this road is beautiful primarily because of its bridges. Each one is unexpectedly unique (you can see some photos here.) Look closely as you are speeding by, and you’ll see ironwork and cement in all sorts of art deco designs. Every bridge is unique, and each one is a masterpiece.

For me, traveling this road is like a trip into my ancestry. My grandfather would have taken the route every Monday and Friday, heading to Manhattan to sell magazine ads in an industry journal and then home for the weekend in rural Connecticut.

Eighty-four years must be a long time in road years because evidence of the constant battle to maintain these structures is everywhere. Each little crack is carefully sealed.

Everything eventually decays. Grasses start popping up between the cracks in the asphalt. Ice and water slowly weaken the concrete. Thousands of rain storms finally wash away the paint.

Similarly, processes and programs decay over time as well. That new welcome member email was great the first day and week you sent it, and then slowly, day by day, it loses its panache.

In the New Member Engagement Study, we asked association leaders if their onboarding program was ‘set it and forget it’ or if they updated it once a year, twice a year, quarterly, or more often. There is a connection between more regular updates and program success.

Some association professionals review each word whenever they dust off an old communication and prepare to send it. Some set reminders in their calendars to review all the automated messages being sent. Some associations have a detailed process for reviewing the results of each communication and continually improving them. Still, not everyone has the time or resources for this approach—you do you! Because everything eventually loses its shine, even a once-a-year rewrite is better than a ‘set it and forget it’ approach.