--- title: "Industry Disruption: How To Stay Ahead of the Game" id: "14504" type: "post" slug: "industry-disruption-how-to-stay-ahead-of-the-game" published_at: "2012-11-20T12:58:43+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-15T19:11:05+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2012/11/20/industry-disruption-how-to-stay-ahead-of-the-game/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2012/11/20/industry-disruption-how-to-stay-ahead-of-the-game.md" excerpt: "Too often, industries play catch-up to new technology. How can associations do more to keep their industries ahead of the game?" taxonomy_category: - "Organizational Strategy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "disruption" - "Innovation" - "Technology" - "Web Strategy" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Industry Disruption: How To Stay Ahead of the Game If there’s a common thread in many of the topics I’ve covered for *Associations Now* in the past two months, it’s one about disruption. > You don’t have to be a first-mover here, but if you’re running behind, late to the game, it will show. Depending on the industry, disruption can foster a relationship that’s either [favorable](http://associationsnow.com/2012/11/education-association-gives-startup-some-extra-credit/) or [adversarial](http://associationsnow.com/2012/10/auto-dealer-associations-take-tesla-to-court/) . Disruption has the ability to destroy industries or sidestep them entirely, so it only makes sense, really. Last week, [I covered a story about adoptions](http://associationsnow.com/2012/11/how-the-internet-turned-adoptions-upside-down/) which showed an example of disruption in a completely unusual way — one where infrastructures designed to protect people from dangers inherent in private adoption were being sidestepped to a degree through social media or sites like Craigslist. There was a quote in the piece that said it all: “The internet has changed everything about adoption. We will never go back to what it used to be,” said by Denise Bierly, the president of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (AAAA). It’s an apt quote. But you could replace “adoption” with nearly any other industry or profession, and the quote would still explain the situation perfectly. And if you go back a few decades, you could replace the “internet” with some other piece of then-modern technology. The fact of the matter is, this kind of thing is going to keep happening. Disruption isn’t limited to a single industry or a single idea. I came from newspapers, an industry uniquely aware of the effects of the internet, and I saw all this disruption stuff happen in person. In fact, one of the papers I was at awhile ago shut down unceremoniously — right around the time that the news was saturated with phrases like “bailouts” and “toxic assets.” I was fortunate that when I did leave the newspaper industry earlier this year, I left it by choice. A lot of my friends weren’t so lucky. It only makes sense that now, according to the research group Statista, [Google made more money than the entire U.S. print media industry (opens in a new tab)](http://www.statista.com/topics/1001/google/chart/709/google-s-ad-revenue-since-2004/) in the first half of 2012—roughly a decade after the introduction of Google News, a product that [is still somewhat controversial](http://associationsnow.com/2012/10/brazilian-newspapers-say-no-to-google-news/) even though, at least in North America, it’s come to be an accepted part of the media landscape. All this is despite the fact that a newspaper company had [essentially prototyped a precursor to the iPad (opens in a new tab)](http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/for-tablet-computer-visionary-roger-fidler-a-lot-of-what-ifs/2012/02/28/gIQAM0kN1R_story.html) in-house in 1994. Your weapon when fighting or keeping pace with disruption? Simply put, it’s technology. Not just for messaging—but for education, for finding common ground with the disruptors, for organizing an end approach. You don’t have to be a first-mover here, but if you’re running behind, late to the game, it will show. And one other point on the matter: Instead of playing catch-up or defense when disruption arises, why *not* lead the innovative efforts, or emphasize the disruptive ideas at annual events. Start the skunkworks projects. Don’t treat them like unique assets that can’t be shared. Open-source the ones that can be open-sourced. At least, that way, your members aren’t left holding the bag when Google or someone else is eating your lunch. Or maybe you’ll get lucky and make the meal everyone’s eating. (iStockphoto/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#disruption](https://associationsnow.com/tag/disruption/) [#Innovation](https://associationsnow.com/tag/innovation/) [#Technology](https://associationsnow.com/tag/technology/) [#Web Strategy](https://associationsnow.com/tag/web-strategy/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) - [VideoChallenge Legacy Mindsets at MMC+TechApril 17, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/04/17/challenge-legacy-mindsets-at-mmctech/) - [Video2026 Summit Awards DinnerOctober 2, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/02/2026-summit-awards-dinner/) - [ArticleWhile Associations Debate AI, Members Are Moving OnMarch 13, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/03/13/while-associations-debate-ai-members-are-moving-on/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2012%2F11%2F20%2Findustry-disruption-how-to-stay-ahead-of-the-game%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !