Do Less Better
Decrease Choice, Focus on Community, and Reduce Burnout
Summary
When associations try to be everything to everyone, they often end up being nothing special to anyone. Strategic focus - doing fewer things with excellence - can help transform associations from traditional benefits providers into value engines that drive meaningful outcomes for all stakeholders.
This is an article about reducing the noise and making choices. Great associations are focused, thriving communities. These communities are member-centric in a way that drives connection by focusing on developing and delivering the right value to solve the right problems. Done right, this value creates belonging and the association is more than relevant: it is indispensable in spirit, purpose, and outcomes.
I lead the product community, a product development learning community designed specifically for associations. Let’s compare ideas and build something great.
The Importance of Focus
“Starbucks says there are more than 170,000 possible drink combinations available, but outside estimates have put the number at more than 300 billion. And the person in front of you always seems to be ordering 100 million of them.”
Bill Saporito
New York Times
I am a huge proponent of strategic focus in which we make explicit choices about our identity, direction, values, and priorities. This article builds on previous articles which emphasized value creation, leverage, shared decision-making, and the building of a crisp product portfolio:
Playing to Win. How to gain strategic advantage by making deliberate choices that serve your shared purpose.
Leading the Growth Association. A guide to strategic focus and growth readiness.
How to Create a Product Portfolio. The nuts and bolts of organizing your offerings for maximum reach.
As you can see here, the value of committing to strategic focus are both broad-based and stakeholder-driven.
Member Value
Receive higher quality, more impactful programs and services
Experience a clear value proposition and positive return on investment
Gain access to differentiated offerings rather than commodity benefits
Apply focused core value to help solve problems
Find it easier to navigate and engage with focused offerings
Volunteer Leader Advantages
Make more meaningful contributions through focused initiatives
Experience less burnout from scattered priorities
See tangible results from concentrated efforts
Provide clearer strategic guidance
Feel enhanced satisfaction from measurable impact
Staff Impact
Develop deeper expertise in core areas of strength
Spend time on high-value activities rather than maintaining marginal programs
Experience reduced stress and burnout from trying to manage too many initiatives
Have clarity about priorities and decision-making
Can innovate and improve within focused domains
Corporate Sponsor Value
Gain deeper access to a more engaged and defined member audience
Experience clearer ROI through association programs aligned with sponsor objectives
Benefit from higher quality partnership opportunities rather than scattered sponsorship options
Build stronger relationships through focused, meaningful interactions with members
Create more innovative and impactful collaborations due to the association's strategic clarity and expertise in specific areas
Financial Return
Reduced costs from eliminating underperforming programs
Higher margins on core offerings due to expertise, quality, focus, and reach
More strategic use of limited resources
Better ability to invest in improvements to key programs
Clearer metrics for measuring success
Greater and more sustainable value creation
Everyone benefits from an investment in innovation and an emphasis on doing less better. For instance, the shift from broad, unfocused programming to more strategically-focused value creation allows sponsors to move beyond traditional transactional sponsorships to become true strategic partners, creating more value for both the sponsors and the association's members.
There are many ways to achieve strategic focus, but there are some best practices. In the next section, let’s look at a list of suggestions with links to previous articles from this newsletter, The Innovative Association.
The Path to Strategic Focus
“What you pay attention to will define for you what reality is.”
Oliver Burkeman
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: people don’t want more stuff. They do, however, want to be connected, desire to have their problems solved, and oftentimes want a stake in participating in what’s coming. This agency is the kernel of community building that is so important to achieving strategic focus.
Evaluate current offerings against clear strategic criteria
Identify core competencies and areas of true differentiation
Listen deeply to what members value most
Create a product portfolio of only highly-valued offerings
Make deliberate choices about what to stop doing
Build excellence in chosen areas
Communicate the value of your focused strategy
Resist pressure to expand beyond core focus
Success in our rapidly changing world requires us to move beyond the traditional benefits model to become engines of focused value creation. By making strategic choices about where to excel rather than trying to be all things to all people, associations can better serve their members while creating a more energizing and sustainable organization for volunteers and staff.
Making Choices (and Sticking to Them)
“Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.”
Greg McKeown
By embracing making explicit choices about who (and how) we serve we can shift from satisfying members to motivating and challenging them to create and belong to a thriving community.
Strategic focus, associations transform from trying to check every box to delivering exceptional value in carefully chosen areas. This shift creates a virtuous cycle: better programs lead to more engaged members and leaders, which enables further improvements and innovation.
The key is having the courage to say no to good but non-essential activities in service of excelling at what matters most. When associations focus their energy and resources on doing fewer things better, they create more value for everyone involved while building a more financially and culturally sustainable organization.
I lead the product community; we are a learning community because we believe great relationships help us create the value our members want. Remember, product-led growth fuels connection. Join the product community and flip your destiny.
About the Author
James Young is founder and chief learning officer of the product community®. Jim is an engaging trainer and leading thinker in the worlds of associations, learning communities, and product development. Prior to starting the product community®, Jim served as Chief Learning Officer at both the American College of Chest Physicians and the Society of College and University Planning. Please contact me for a conversation: james@productcommunity.us