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May 30, 2019 By Amanda Kaiser

You Are Not Making a Change For That Group of Members

There is a room in a grand old hotel that used to be magnificent. In my memory, the place is full of dark, ornate woodwork, and deep, plush leather chairs, and Tiffany lamps. At one end of the room, there is a massive fireplace with cheery fire. A few old-fashion ornate murals hang on the walls. Entering the room is like being instantly transported back to the 1920s. There was a particular feel of British-occupied civility to the place that makes me want to grab a novel and park myself in front of the fire for the afternoon.

I have not been to the hotel in three years so, imagine my surprise walking into the room and seeing a remodeled husk of what it once was. The murals are gone, much of the woodwork is gone, the leather chairs are all gone, and the lamps too. The room is updated, it is more modern, but the character, in my opinion, has been entirely removed.

The hotel did not remodel the room for me. My guess is they remodeled the room to make it more family friendly as they make the hotel and the surrounding resort more family friendly. I understand the business decision, but I certainly do not like the change.

Your members, perhaps your long-time member and your board members are not going to like every change that you make. They will morn old events, and they will look at new services with bewilderment wondering why anyone would like them, and they will assume that every other member thinks the way they do.

And you know what? You are not making the change for them. It is unfortunate that they do not like the change, but maybe this change is precisely what another very important group of members needs and wants.

Related: 

  • It is time to revisit our member segments
  • Sorting through the mixed messages our members send us
  • How to recruit and engage an entirely new generation of members

Filed Under: Association Innovation, Association Leadership Tagged With: association change, change agent, change management, innovation practice, member needs, member segment

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