Secrets of Agile Associations

Preet Bassi, CAE, CEO of the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE), jokingly says she has a precise technical term for association members’ current environment: “nutso.”

“The political tenor of discussion, the rejection of expertise, has trickled down from federal government to local government,” she says. “There’s so much more scrutiny on our members. Many members, their departments are seeing leadership transitions that are entirely political.”

Like a lot of associations that are facing disruptions due to federal agency changes, CPSE is under pressure to respond to immediate crises while still taking the long view. Board meetings that used to occur every six to eight weeks are now monthly. But more important than the frequency of conversations, Bassi says, is their focus on risk: which disruptions the organization will have to absorb, and which it may choose to initiate to predict its long-term stability.

Read More