Proceed until apprehended — one of my favorite lines from our recent webinar with Jamie Notter. (If you missed it, you can must view it.) As Jamie explained, this phrase is a little softer version of “Act now, apologize later.” Many member organizations are structured with appropriate sign-offs and an adherence to protocol. These rules married with an attachment to doing things the way they’ve always been done hinders innovation.
A step back — innovation for innovation’s sake is not necessary. If what you are doing is working — i.e., your work flows are effective, your membership numbers are at goal or exceeding goal and your retention is tip-top, keep on doing it just as you always have. But if you’re starting to see a trend in declining memberships or you spend hours doing repetitive busy work that could be handled more efficiently, you need to “proceed.”
Proceeding until apprehended is not about flying off in all directions. Don’t surrender good judgement just because we’re suggesting you take action. Invest the time to investigate solutions that will work for your organization. Talk to the people involved. Ask others who have had similar situations. Use social media. But when you get to the point that you have a proposed remedy, act decisively. Implement your solution. Run over those sacred cows if you have to.
(Disclaimer: we here at YourMembership.com are not advising you run over real cows. Sacred cows are those beliefs your organization holds dear to the detriment of progress. Flatten them like a pancake.) Â
