Why Wait for the Fire? Breaking Associations’ Habit of Crisis-Driven Change

Why do so many associations wait until a crisis hits before making the very changes they’ve known for years they needed to make?

It’s a common and costly pattern I’ve seen repeated across the nonprofit sector. A challenge emerges, data accumulates, feedback mounts, and everyone knows a change is coming someday. But nothing happens until a financial shortfall, a reputational blow, a board shake-up, a regulatory change, or a membership exodus forces action.

We must ask ourselves: Why do associations continue to operate reactively, rather than strategically and proactively?

1. The Comfort of the Known

At the root is a deep organizational preference for what’s familiar. Most associations are built for consistency, governed by process-heavy bylaws, shaped by long-standing traditions, and driven by consensus culture. That’s great for stability. But it also means that even when leaders know what needs to change, taking action feels risky. The pull of “the way we’ve always done it” is strong, even when it’s no longer serving members or the mission.

2. The Myth of ‘No Time’

“We’re too busy right now.”

This refrain is the death knell of strategic momentum. Daily operations consume attention, particularly in small staff associations. When everyone’s focused on keeping programs running and member expectations met, change becomes a luxury that gets deferred until it becomes necessary.

But if an association can’t afford strategic change before a crisis, how will it find the time during one?

3. Fear of Internal Conflict

Change is hard. It invites questions, challenges authority, and risks disrupting harmony among staff, boards, and members. That fear leads many leaders to kick the can down the road. Ironically, though, crisis-driven change is more disruptive and painful. When action is delayed, decisions are made under pressure, with fewer options and higher stakes.

In one national association I worked with, leadership postponed key governance updates for years to avoid upsetting legacy board members. When a public controversy forced restructuring, the transition was rushed and divisive. The change happened with higher costs and reputational damage that should have been avoided.

4. No Foresight Framework

Few associations make time to look ahead in a structured, strategic way. They don’t run future scenario exercises. They don’t scan for weak signals or emerging trends. As a result, they’re constantly surprised when predictable change—demographic shifts, technology evolution, changing member expectations—arrives at their doorstep.

Foresight doesn’t require a crystal ball. It requires discipline of curiosity, scanning, and dialogue.

5. Crisis as Permission

Ironically, a crisis often gives leaders the permission they lacked before. A financial downturn suddenly makes long-debated cuts or consolidations politically acceptable. A pandemic accelerates digital transformation that had languished for years. The money saved for that rainy day fund suddenly becomes availablein these moments, and resistance melts away. But it shouldn’t take an emergency to do what’s right.

6. The Hidden Costs of Delay

Waiting to act comes with a price. Programs become stale. Staff morale erodes. Member valuedeclines. And when the crisis does arrive, the options for change are fewer and more urgent.

Consider the case of a state-level association that delayed replacing its outdated member database due to cost concerns. When the system finally crashed, they had to implement a new platform with no transition time, resulting in lost data, member complaints, and a blow to the association’s credibility. What would have been a manageable project became a reputational and operational disaster.

7. A Path Toward Proactive Change

Here are a few ways associations can shift from reactive to proactive:

• Schedule Foresight: Set time on the board agenda to discuss emerging trends and what they might mean for your mission.

• Use Scenario Planning: Engage staff and volunteer leaders in imagining future states. What would force us to change? What would we wish we had done earlier?

• Start Pre-Mortems: Before major initiatives or continued inaction, ask: What could go wrong if we don’t act now?

• Reward Innovation: Celebrate experimentation—support pilots. Build a culture where not all change must be perfect to be valuable.

• Anchor to Purpose: Reframe change as an expression of mission, not a departure from it.

Coda: Change Before You Have To

Associations don’t need to wait for a fire to test the alarm. The signals are often clear. The data is usually there. The unease is already felt. What’s missing is often the commitment to lead change before circumstances force it.

If your association has been circling a necessary transformation, whether in technology, governance, member engagement, or strategy, don’t wait. The time to act is not after the storm. It’s while the skies are still clear enough to navigate wisely.

Use this tool to spot early signals, surface overdue decisions, and take steps before a crisis forces your hand.

1. Strategic Signals & Trends

• We regularly scan external trends (e.g., tech, demographics, policy) for impact on our mission.

• We’ve identified 3–5 significant risks or disruptions likely to affect our members in the next 3 years.

• We track weak signals and outliers—not just the obvious headlines.

2. Leadership Conversations

• Our board agendas include future-focused discussions, not just operational reports.

• We’ve discussed at least one “uncomfortable truth” in the last six months.

• We use scenario planning or pre-mortem exercises to anticipate change.

3. Cultural Willingness

• Staff and board are encouraged to raise concerns or propose bold ideas without fear.

• Experiments, pilots, or “safe-to-fail” projects are supported and celebrated.

• We reward curiosity and learning, even when efforts don’t produce immediate results.

4. Known But Deferred Changes

Which of these are already under discussion, but stalled?

• Governance reform or board restructuring

• Outdated technology systems

• Declining membership or relevance

• Unclear or diluted value proposition

• Financial sustainability concerns

• Stagnant or legacy programs needing sunsetting

If two or more are checked, schedule a leadership session to revisit them now, not later.

5. Crisis Preparedness

• We’ve identified who makes decisions during a crisis.

• We have a plan for rapid communication with members and stakeholders.

• We’ve rehearsed or reviewed this plan in the last 12 months.

Proactive change starts with awareness, conversation, and action—before urgency strips away your options.

Use this checklist with your team or board and set one specific change goal you won’t wait to make this quarter.