Leading together in an accelerated environment.
Editor's note: The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), Rosemont, Illinois, is an early adopter of a number of the ideas presented at the November 2000 associations: digitalNow Internet strategy conference, cosponsored by Fusion Productions, Webster, New York; Walt Disney World Company, Orlando; and ASAE. Held in Orlando November 2-4, 2000, the conference focused on helping associations reshape their business models and redefine their competitive advantages to capitalize on opportunities offered by the digital age.
Starting to work with Fusion Productions in 1999, AAOS has been addressing issues relating to technology, the Internet, and the Information Age that its leadership sees as critical to the association's continued relevance. This article launches ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT's in-depth coverage of the conference, which will continue in the February and March issues. Co-authored by Lawrence E. Rosenthal and Richard H. Gelberman, the article is presented in Rosenthal's voice for purposes of clarity.
Late in 1999 (eons ago in Internet time), the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), Rosemont, Illinois, recognized that times were definitely changing. We were seeing several emerging trends: new generations of members with different value sets, volunteers willing to contribute ever-smaller amounts of their time, and increased competition at our doorstep. We were hearing more often the question from members: "What value am I getting from the academy?" At the same time, both our staff and board had to admit that the organization had not been changing. As the largest orthopaedic society in the world--with a membership of 24,650, an annual budget in fiscal year 2000 of $36 million, and a staff of 225--even this 1,000-pound-gorilla of associations had met its match.
The numerous challenges to the organization appeared to be based on two phenomena: the impact of new generations and the effects of the Information Age. For example, while we were collecting all kinds of information and posting it to the Internet, we were more focused on our members' needs--and not the needs of the members' patients. The patients, in fact, had become quite sophisticated about searching for answers on the Internet and then bringing the information in to the surgeon's office. They had more information than their doctors did.
Meanwhile, in "The AAOS in 2005 Workshop Report," recapping the work of our initial planning group in Chicago, October 29-30, 1999, a significant paragraph appeared in the beginning pages. "...the presidential line approved an initiative to be led by Richard H. Gelberman, second vice president, to begin a 15-month study to address the significance of the upcoming changes for the AAOS. Gelberman is charged with developing strategies and an action plan to position the AAOS to be a leading professional musculoskeletal physicians organization in the first decade of the next century." Following was a hefty list of objectives for the initiative, known as The AAOS in 2005. (See sidebar, "Objectives of The AAOS in 2005 Initiative.")
The 15 months are drawing to a close--and during that time the board and staff of our organization have covered a lot of new and sometimes unsettling territory. We've challenged our institutional culture, redefined our core values, and begun to change the way we do business. In doing so, we've also been forced to confront a decision-making process that was designed for a different time--a time when things did not move as fast, members had more time to give, and technology solutions were in their infancy. We are also figuring out one of the key elements of organizational effectiveness in today's world: Our staff and board are learning how to work together to make decisions in the accelerated time frame demanded by the Internet Age. By the time of our February 2001 board meeting, Gelberman will be prepared to present the results of the 15-month journey: the proposed vision, mission, and organizational model of The AAOS in 2005. Here's how it all came about.
First steps
Our recognition that change was in the wind was not based on one, single, cataclysmic event. Rather, it was a series of things that, as we looked forward, seemed to have the potential to threaten the academy's position as the preeminent provider of musculoskeletal information in the orthopaedic community. Specifically, we recognized trends in three areas.
* Narrowing revenue sources. With only about 25 percent of revenue coming from membership dues, we've relied heavily on revenue from exhibits at our annual meeting and from our various educational products. With significant corporate consolidations among pharmaceutical companies and medical device suppliers, we began asking ourselves if the industry could continue to support the same volume of exhibit space as it had in the past. At the same time, trends in managed care were affecting the decision-making status and the discretionary income of members (both in private practice and in academic …
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