Seth Kahan Spoke on Leading Associations in the Age of Business Disruption

Washington, DC, February 12, 2015 --(PR.com)-- “If you are not disrupting yourself, mining your value with 21st century tools, someone else is,” writes executive strategist, Seth Kahan. On Tuesday, February 10th, Kahan presented, “Leading Associations in the Age of Business Disruption,” for business leaders and association CEOs at the American Association of University Women, in Washington, DC.

Kahan identified the three types of associations he has observed—“transactional, generative, and scalable”—explaining his view that these groups reveal the evolutionary stages of development for organizations, with each type exceeding yet including the primary drivers and stakeholder benefits of the previous group. Scalable associations “leverage member knowledge,” says Kahan, and “co-create value with world-class players for members and others.” Kahan’s belief is that the traits of scalable organizations best position them to embrace the challenge of business disruption, using it as a catalyst for innovation and growth.

“The truth is, you can exploit [business disruption],” says Kahan. “That means you can get it on your side. I’ve discovered from working with over 100 leaders that the best do exactly that; they’re like Judo masters. Instead of seeing it as an annoyance, inconvenience, or an interruption, they use that force to put themselves in a better position when it’s all over.”

Kahan described four sources of business disruption: 1) customer duress, 2) emergence of new business models/new ways to make profitable revenue, 3) when the competition becomes fierce, and 4) the upending of entire industries (such as the introduction of the iPad upending the print industry). He addressed ways organizations can not only stay alive through the process, but grow as a result.

Please contact Seth Kahan at seth@visionaryleadership.com for more information.

About Seth Kahan

Kahan has worked with over 100 CEOs and agency heads in both the private and public sectors. He has lead change initiatives working with the Peace Corps, World Bank, Shell, and Prudential, and has been identified as a Thought Leader and an Exemplar in Change Leadership. Kahan is the author of Getting Innovation Right: How Leaders Leverage Inflection Points to Drive Success and Getting Change Right: How Leaders Transform Organizations from the Inside Out.