The question becomes one of where will transparency in the organization create the most strategic value for our mission.

How about a definition for “transparency?” I could not find a modern, organizational definition of this buzz word, so I invented one. What do you think?

Transparency is more than telling the simple truth about what you did; it is the act of making known what you are thinking about doing, how you are planning to think about it, who is going to be involved, and why you are thinking about doing it. Then, after you have done it, telling what you did and why.

Transparency is no longer a matter of seeing through the organization, it is now about seeing into it.

If the goal is growing and continued membership, I think you follow the data such as you just shared. Which activities tend to generate the most members? Which tend to increase retention? Invest in growing those and track impact.

– Members who placed a product order in the past year were 28% more likely to renew than those who had not placed an order.
– Members who also maintained membership in an optional local chapter along with their national membership were 17 percent more likely to renew than those who were not a member of a chapter.
– Members who attended an association meeting in the past year were 19 percent more likely to renew than those who did not attend a meeting.
– Members who attended an association meeting at any time in the past were 7% more likely to renew than those who never attended a meeting.
– Members who attended four or more meetings were 30 percent more likely to renew than members who never attended a meeting.
– Members who upgraded their membership in the past year to a higher level of service were 12% more likely to renew.

So part of our challenge is how do we provide the value that produces the behavior that encourages continue membership?

Tony