Association Services

Executive Director     Strategic Planning      Structural/Operational Review      Issues Advocacy

Project Management      D.C. Representation     Strategic Advice     Association Start-up

Associations are unique entities unto themselves. They bring together competitors, personalities, egos, agendas, and characters with the ultimate goal of leveraging the collective to achieve what is in everyone’s best interests, even where that means compromise, collaboration, negotiation, and consensus. This is not easy.

The Hitchcock Group brings experience working with both the human factors as well as the external influencers and drivers. Sometimes even when we know what we would prefer, we have to find common ground. Other times we know the direction that we, and those around us, need to go, and it is up to us to make that happen.

At the end of the day, we must find those common areas, we must work together to establish common positions, to understand the driving forces attempting to influence our business, to develop and implement our strategies for success, and to effectively communicate with our members, external stakeholders, legislators, regulators, and even the general public.

We also know all too well that some Associations simply do not have the resources to hire all of the expert resources they need in order to effectively deliver the return on investment their members deserve. Not every Association needs a full-time staff or even a full-time Executive Director, but they still require the same expertise and strategic leadership that the “big” Associations have.

The Hitchcock Group is poised to work with you to do all of these things and more.  Following are our core services, but we are also open to discussing other ways in which we may be able to help.

Executive Director Services

For those Associations lacking in the resources to engage full-time executive leadership or a full-scale management company, THG is here to help. There is no association too small for us to provide with the same strategic leadership we have a reputation for providing to $10+ billion industries. There is an Association out there for just about everything, and we make it our business to be passionate about your business and to work with you to advance that business. Executive Director services include Board management, ensuring adherence to appropriate organizational and legal requirements (including antitrust compliance), budgeting and oversight of financial management, strategic leadership and guidance, coordination of resources and activities, adherence to Association best practices, implementation of Association initiatives and activities, oversight of membership, meetings, and other operational aspects of the organization.

Strategic Planning Services

Association best practices recommend that responsible Association Boards establish a vision, mission, and strategic objectives, and update those on a three- to five-year cycle, and further it is recommended to use objective third-parties who don’t come to the table with preconceptions or their own agenda. THG is experienced in the entire process, from the front-end research that goes into a meaningful strategic planning exercise, including reaching-out to mapping-out the plan and expected outcomes with Association leaders to session facilitation over a 1, 2, or 3 day window and to a final report including the agreed vision, mission, strategic objectives, and high-level actions to be taken in order to achieve them. We further work with the appropriate staff or members on specific tactics and resource allocation as an additional service.

Structural and Operational Review

Has your Association Board of Directors adapted with changes in the industry or profession they represent, or with the size and scope of membership? Does the committee structure enable collaboration and consensus building, or is it a hindrance? When is the last time your Association took a long, hard look at its governance structure, and made the changes necessary to keep pace with other Associations both in and external to the industry you represent? THG is experienced in examining Associations and they way they are organized both on paper and in practice by reviewing documentation, evaluating organizational performance, observing activities firsthand, and talking one-on-one with the members. From there, we deliver recommendations for improvements.

Issues Advocacy

Associations have issues. That is one of the key reasons for competitors to come together. Some obviously have more issues than others, but that doesn’t negate the importance of effective issues management, especially where these issues are often very specific in nature yet do not require full-time resources to navigate them. Our expertise in establishing common positions and conveying those to the appropriate audiences in a convincing manner ensures that your collective voice is heard by the right people – the ones with the authority or power to favorably decide ultimate outcomes. THG has experience at the local, state, national, and international levels, having worked with agencies including the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Department of Energy, the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission, and many, many more. We know how to find the right people in the agencies and how to get in front of them.

Project Management

Just like Associations may not have the wherewithal to hire full-time executive directors or issues managers, sometimes there are projects that require skilled management knowledgeable in the way Associations work, but without hiring-in new people to manage them.  Often they have a finite life, other times they just don’t constitute a full-time job. Either way, we are poised to help. We know how to work with your staff, your leadership, and/or your key volunteers to deliver results.

Washington, D.C. Representation

While many Associations are affected by what happens in our nation’s Capital, if they don’t have a physical presence here it is very easy to be “out of sight, out of mind.” Located in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, THG is ready and able to be your eyes and ears in any number of government agencies, on Capitol Hill, or anyplace else you need us to be. We are also able to facilitate “fly-in” meetings with key representatives influencing legislation affecting your business and those from the home districts where your organizations provide jobs and bolster the economy. Additionally, we have a number of strategic relationships with K Street-type lobbying shops with whom we can help connect the dots should your specific issues need that level of attention.

Strategic Advice

Not to be confused with strategic planning, sometimes Associations need outside perspectives to help steer them through tricky or threatening situations. More and more industries and professions are being impacted by consolidations through mergers and acquisitions, meaning that where an Association may have once represented 50 companies, it now represents 20. That generally means there is less money coming in to support the same level of activity, and something has to give. That is just one example. Associations have challenges with membership recruitment and retention, non-dues revenue generation, borrowing from next year to pay for this one, rogue members or staff, and the list goes on. We work with you to examine your problems and to develop steps to be taken – sometimes in very much a “crisis management” mode.

Association Start-ups

Above we stated that there is an Association for everything.  That is mostly true. Every day there is a new product or technology, a new way of doing things, or an innovative new business that does not yet have that collective established to take on threats and challenges or to leverage opportunities together. Sometimes it is not anything new, but there hasn’t been a reason to get together heretofore, but there suddenly is now. While we would not recommend waiting until there is a burning issue, we are happy to work with any of these situations to bring together companies or individuals who need to leverage their collective rather than trying to tackle issues alone. We coordinate the meetings, set agendas, state objectives, and carry the ball forward. We also help navigate the murky waters of non-profit governance and legal organization.

And that’s just the big stuff. Contact us today with your specific need, and let us show you how we can help you and deliver results! Call +1 703 862 1147 or email Info@TheHitchcockGroup.com and let’s talk about how to do what you need to do.