Be Prepared to Deliver Digital Value

You may not want to be the first to dive into the newest digital trends. Some leaders prefer to hang back and let others be the guinea pigs. I’ll offer a caveat. Don’t wait too long. The best hedge against disruption is the Scouts’ motto, “Be Prepared.”

In 2018, my business partner, Kevin Ordonez, and I wrote our book, “Association 4.0—Positioning for Success in an Era of Disruption.” We interviewed association executives who were early adopters of both digital thinking and systems.

It was the eve of the pandemic. When the storm was over, the CEOs we featured, who were already digital leaders, had arrived safely on the other side.

Tom Morrison, CEO of the Metal Treating Institute, is one of those technology visionaries who always sees beyond the horizon. He has built a culture where the staff, the board, and the members are ready with the skills and the tools to succeed in an uncertain future.  

MTI is a nonprofit trade association that represents the largest network of commercial heat treaters in the world, with plants in 40 states and eight countries. The organization is active in government advocacy and technical standards, conducts national and regional educational networking conferences, and produces the Furnaces North America business exposition every other year.

Embrace Change, But Respect Tradition

Tom has figured out how to balance the equation that challenges many association leaders. He’s learned that you can respect tradition while embracing innovation and change.

“Personalities can get in the way of success—that’s what keeps many associations from growing,” Tom says. “Sometimes when an executive is extremely successful, members begin to think that the CEO is becoming larger than the organization. Then the board puts on the brakes. In their mind the association is moving out of their control.” 

Tom’s effective board leadership is part good governance and part good business.

“The average executive director or CEO is afraid to challenge the board,” he says. “They are great at governance, but not business savvy. I always ask people, ‘How do you think the association would be run if Steve Jobs or Bill Gates was the CEO?’ It would be run very differently. We need to predict the next major shift and anticipate changes.

“I push our board to think about what our members will want five years down the road so that we can be prepared. We must live in the future and be ready to act today.”

Identify Your True Value

Tom’s vision isn’t crystal ball gazing. MTI initiatives are deeply informed by strategy. MTI  has identified these six pillars that form the organization’s strategic hexagon.

1. Actively recruit, develop, and engage younger members
2. Stay ahead of the technology curve in heat treating processes and serving the members
3. Promote contract heat treating to the captive market
4. Educate and influence governed and other regulatory bodies
5. Evaluate and promote services to MTI members
6. Promote membership to prospective members and other allied groups

“These are activities we execute better than anyone else in our space.” Tom advises. “Our members realize that working together, with this framework as a guide, we can achieve the best results.”

If an opportunity to solve a challenge, anxiety or stress in members’ business arises, MTI evaluates the proposal to determine whether it fits into the strategic hexagon. “We don’t invest in potential, we invest in known solutions to help with our members’ critical problems,” Tom advises. “Most associations are trying to offer perceived value. That is dangerous. You’ve got to find your actual value. When you identify what’s truly meaningful to your members, then engagement and recruitment are not a big deal.”

Explore Future Impacts

Tom believes it’s MTI’s responsibility to initiate conversations about anything that might impact the heat metal industry.

Long before the pandemic, MTI began producing “Heat Treat Tuesday” a monthly live webcast. The first episodes explored additive manufacturing and 3D printing.

“We’re forcing these conversations, Tom says. “We’ve had speakers at our conference, shared YouTube videos and other intelligence to address disruptors like 3D printing as well as how to be a manufacturer of the future.

“Some MTI members pride themselves on being at the leading edge of shop technology—automating and modernizing everything from their manufacturing processes to management software. One member shop in Phoenix boasts it is ‘digital in everything it does.’”

Being among the first leaders in digital transformation was significant for this group’s growth. “Members want all their information to be shareable, documentable, and transferable at a moment’s notice. They don’t want to rely on a piece of paper,” Tom says. “If a customer calls and says, ‘Hey, you didn’t ship us enough of a particular part,’ the company can provide a picture and video showing what came out of the oven. Modernizing processes solves many customer service problems.”

While MTI maximizes technology to communicate more effectively with members, it also focuses on their future expectations—especially those of its largest demographic, Generation X.

“Generation X represents about 75 percent of the association community. But many associations are fixated on the Millennials who are still early in their careers,” Tom notes.

“These organizations are trying to sell membership to a group who may not be ready to buy. They have skipped showing how awesome and valuable they are to their current constituents. They are the ones who are going to be on our board today. They are looking to us for support and we’re not addressing them.”

Leverage the Power of Membership

Tom purposely uses the term “members” versus “customers” because he believes in the membership model.

“Don’t listen to people who say the membership model is dead. There’s no other framework that allows you to come together as a group of people or companies and facilitate or fight for a cause. When associations struggle with recruiting members it is because they haven’t figured out how to sell the power of that group dynamic.”

The idea that technology can and should enhance the emotional impact of membership is something I write and speak about frequently. Tom’s success as a leader comes from understanding that technology is not an end in itself. You must learn to use those innovations to forge lasting connections and deliver the value that makes membership meaningful.

Don’t wait for others to test the water for you. Your success won’t look like theirs. You may not be the first to launch an AI initiative or adopt the next digital trend, but you need to be prepared to solve your members’ problems long before they begin asking for your support.

 Read Tom’s profile in our book here.