Structural changes are taking place in every aspect of the workplace. 

The real estate industry is not an exception.  The way our members sold

real estate 10 years ago is not the way they sell it today and the way

they sell it today is not how they will sell it ten years from now. 

Their market, job description and needs are being transformed. 

Driving forces and concepts affecting and threatening our members and our

associations as they currently function include:

Public access to the MLS

Agency liabilities

Loss of MLS to outside entities, which results in loss of MLS income

Buyer Brokerage/Broker Buyer Brokerage/Broker Compensation

Alternative revenue sources

Decreasing membership as the economy changes when interest rates begin to

rise Professionalism

Staff driven Vs volunteers drive, the dynamics of changing leadership

Added value, more for less

Dealing with the "I want it all, I want it now, and I want it for

nothing" syndrome

Decrease in available volunteer time as time becomes more valuable and

the membership shrinks

But in every threat lies an opportunity, an opportunity to ride the

forces of change in the direction in which it is already headed, and

reaping the benefits.

The time to deal with all this change is now.  The margin for error is

slim.
Association leaders, staff and volunteers, must create the Association of

the future or their Association of the present will perish!  Our industry

is going through nothing less than a "Paradigm Shift." As stated by Joel

Barker, author of Future Edge, when a paradigm shifts, everything goes

back to zero.  Large associations and small, rich and poor, it matters

not, all are in danger of extinction.  Become the creator of your future,

not the victim.

Creating a future by design instead of a future by default requires being

able to deal with massive (and increasing) amounts of information in a

fast changing environment.

Saul