Hope everyone is looking forward to some rest, Turkey, and football.
Before we all head out, I wanted to share a quick lesson as we head into the last month of 2025.
Years ago, we were working with a national medical society that had a perfect strategic plan on paper.
The problem was: no one believed it.
→ The board saw it as a governance document. → The staff saw it as another management exercise. → The members never saw it at all.
That disconnect is what I call the alignment gap, and it is the most common reason plans fail.
The Real Work of Alignment
Every great strategy starts with one thing: shared understanding.
Without it, planning devolves into politics: competing priorities, not common goals. True alignment means everyone agrees on what matters most and who it matters to.
Shared understanding is the difference between a plan that drives impact and one that gathers dust.
When strategy drifts from member needs, you feel it fast:
→ Teams stop thinking strategically and start putting out fires. → Boards default to what’s familiar, not what’s necessary. → Members check out.
And since associations live at the intersection of mission, members, and money, alignment keeps them moving in the same direction.
When alignment is strong, progress accelerates:
→ Teams stay focused on shared priorities, → Members see their needs reflected in results, and → Growth follows naturally because everyone is moving toward the same clear goal.
We often say that without revenue, there is no mission. It is equally true that without alignment, there is no momentum.
What Alignment Looks Like
Over the years, we’ve seen consistent patterns among organizations that stay aligned:
They begin with the members' perspective. They know exactly who they serve, what those members care about, and how their organization fits into that story.
They translate member needs into measurable goals. Instead of “growth membership,” they aim to “increase the number of early-career professionals who renew in year two.”
They validate every goal in the members' language. If you cannot explain your strategy in words that your members use, the strategy is not aligned.
They communicate outcomes instead of intentions. “We helped 5,000 members advance their certification this year” carries far more meaning than “We expanded our education platform.”
They revisit alignment regularly. Members’ needs evolve faster than strategic plans do.
A Workshop That Works
Before every planning cycle, we run an alignment workshop:
Step 1: List your top 5 organizational goals on one side of a whiteboard.
Step 2: List your top 5 member needs on the other side.
Step 3: Draw lines that connect them.
The exercise usually produces two reactions:
First, there is relief when the connections are clear.
Then, there is surprise when they are not.
The real insight comes when you ask one question:
If this goal does not connect directly to a member's need, why does it exist?
And the discussion that follows is often the most important one of the entire planning process.
A Simple Next Step
If your next planning cycle is approaching, start with a 90-minute alignment workshop. It will help clarify your organization’s purpose, highlight what members value most, and reveal where your goals and their needs truly meet.
I’m happy to share some notes and tips on how to facilitate an alignment workshop, including sample questions and discussion prompts.
Reply to this email, and I will send it to you directly.
We can also sync up after the holidays! Happy Thanksgiving!
- Chris
PS - if you’re interested in the 2026 Association Trends report, you can access it here.