Looking after the base

Here in the US we heard a lot last year during the election season about “taking care of the base.” No matter which side you’re on, politicians always have a lot riding on keeping their base of supporters happy and committed. 

This topic came up in an IABC conversation I had earlier today. The International Association of Business Communicators relishes in the “I” – as it should. It is the only truly international organization to serve the needs of those working in all the communication disciplines. I personally appreciate this because I can tap the association to find resources for my clients almost anywhere in the world. The organization has focused increasing attention and resources on growing the “I”.

The rumbles I hear these days among some US members are often about alienation and neglect. “IABC has wandered off in another direction, without me.” “IABC is no longer relevant to me (and not because I’ve changed).” “IABC is so focused on the ‘I’, they’ve forgotten about me.”

How can the association grow and meet the needs of members outside North America, while still staying relevant and valuable to the members who frankly started it all? What do we risk by alienating our core, our base? While we may not have as much room for growth in the US and Canada as other parts of the world, we don’t want to lose what we have in North America.

Have we, in our rush to be international, not paid enough attention to bringing our base along with that direction? I think this is the case. We make changes we think make IABC more appealing to prospects outside North America, without consideration for how those changes might be perceived by the base. 

I’m all for growth and internationalization. In fact, I have been actively working toward that end. But, we’d better look after our base, or we’ll risk all that made us great in the first place.