A conversation with Barry Schieferstein, COO of the American Society for Non-Destructive Testing.
Your organization has a decades-old tradition that everyone knows about, but fewer and fewer people actually care about. Maybe it's a ceremonial collar worn by the president. Maybe it's a three and a half hour awards banquet. Maybe it's a governance structure that made sense in 1950 but feels unwieldy in 2025.
You know it needs to change. But the moment you suggest it, you hear: "We've always done it that way."
Welcome to the third rail of association management – those untouchable traditions that feel too risky to change, even when they're holding you back.
The term comes from subway systems, where the electrified third rail powers the train. Touching them is seriously unsafe. In associations, third rails are those traditions and practices that feel equally dangerous to touch:
These traditions often have adamant defenders. Sometimes they're tied to a past leader's passion project. Sometimes they're simply "the way we've always done it." But here's the problem: members don't rebel against tradition, they just quietly disengage.
Recent research from Forj's State of the Member Experience report reveals some critical data points:
The time to evolve is now. Consider Blockbuster. They didn't fail because people stopped loving movies. They failed because they defended the way movies were rented until they became obsolete. Their third rails? Physical stores, late fees, and the belief that familiarity equaled loyalty.
Netflix won by removing friction, not by adding more stores.
Modern boards should be strategic, not operational. Yet many associations still operate with boards of 20, 50, or even hundreds of members who dive into operational details instead of providing strategic direction.
Current research suggests the optimal board size is 8-15 members with some experts arguing the truly optimal size is just 5. Why? Because smaller teams are more agile, more focused, and more effective.
At the American Society for Non-Destructive Testing (ASNT), the board is moving from 20 members to 12 or fewer. When they opened this up for member comment, the only feedback they received was that they weren't going far enough.
The key is role clarity. Board members should provide strategic direction and oversight. Staff should execute. When Barry Schieferstein, ASNT's COO, encounters board members who want to manage operations, he asks: "You're certified as an expert in your technical field, right? Well, our director of events is certified in running events. Why don't you let them do their job?"
Creating an environment where change is welcomed doesn't happen overnight. It requires:
Modernizing the Board Itself
Shifting from Management to Strategy
Rebuilding Staff Culture
When trust exists between board and staff, risk tolerance skyrockets. At one conference session, when asked to rate their board's risk tolerance on a scale of 1-10, ASNT staff members said "15."
Not every tradition needs to be blown up. Some just need to evolve.
Ask yourself: Does this tradition still spark belonging? If yes, keep it—but modernize the delivery.
Evolution Example: Awards Program
ASNT had a traditional three-and-a-half-hour awards banquet that had become a "snooze fest." But awards themselves still had value. So instead of eliminating awards, they asked: "If we were designing this today from scratch, how would we do it?"
Their solution: Spread awards throughout general sessions, spotlighting winners in front of much larger audiences than ever attended the banquet. The tradition remained; the format evolved.
Evolution Example: Membership Model
After nine years of declining membership, ASNT posed the question: "What's the primary barrier to membership?" The answer: cost.
They implemented a freemium model (think LinkedIn) where anyone can join for free and get basic benefits, but premium tiers unlock the "cool stuff." Membership grew by 25% in one year, with 80% of new members never having been in their database before, generating $120,000 in incremental revenue.
When people resist change, it's usually because they don't understand the reasoning behind it. Start with the "why" before presenting the "what."
For the membership model change, ASNT led with the why:
Only after building this context did they present the solution. And when they put it to a vote? Unanimous approval with no discussion.
Dealing with Emotional Attachments
Sometimes traditions are tied to specific individuals. These require extra care:
When ASNT proposed eliminating a membership tier that less than 1% of members held, the board member who had championed it initially resisted. But once they explained the why, including the administrative burden it created, he understood and supported the change.
Don't wait for the perfect solution. Celebrate incremental progress:
At ASNT, no department has gone without major change in the past few years. From membership models to publication formats to conference structures, they're always experimenting. And they've built a culture where this constant evolution isn't scary, it's expected.
Change in associations is not a one-time project. It's an ongoing process that requires patience, persistence, and courage.
Start by asking these questions:
Remember: If you're not changing, you're not growing. And if you're not growing, you're dying. Survival requires evolution.
The third rail doesn't have to electrocute you. With the right approach, you can transform it from a source of danger into a source of power, and an energy that propels your organization forward while honoring what made you great in the first place.
The associations that will thrive in the next decade aren't the ones that protect their past – they're the ones that have the courage to honor their legacy while building their future.
Missed the session or want to revisit the conversation? View the webinar recording here.