Sometimes, the competition you sneer at is the competition you should learn from.

That’s the apparent big lesson from MemberClicks’ Sarah Hill, who tells the story of an association she was a member of. Despite having generations of lead time, the organization disappeared entirely after a clear competitor emerged and started drawing attention from its younger members.

“Instead of discussing what could be making this new group so popular and accepting the notion that perhaps the winds of change were starting to pick up, my association (despite my best protests, I might add) was stubbornly committed to staying the same,” she writes.

Eventually the association’s inability to change led to its downfall. But Hill has a set of pretty good lessons from the story, including this one: “Instead of ignoring or envying the success of the other association, we should have supported it by helping to promote their events and even attending ourselves so they would respond in kind.”

Sometimes the best competitor is a collaborator.

Gone, But Well-Infographicked

Great infographic on the evolution of Windows as XP gets killed tomorrow… http://t.co/NT1481IXZn

— Jordan Wilson (@JordanDWilson) April 7, 2014

#Windows #XP support ends tmw! See our infographic on it and pass it on! #PCIDSS http://t.co/DKT2T3AiB8 #msftsecurity #infosec #PCICM

— PCI SSC (@PCISSC) April 7, 2014

.@thejudeabides merges Windows XP migration with the Oregon Trail http://t.co/IGpP4LiFzd #biztech pic.twitter.com/s1Gnc0l7K5

— BizTech Magazine (@BizTechMagazine) April 4, 2014

Here's a quick glimpse into what the end of XP means to you and its 499,999,999 other users: http://t.co/131l01Nrvu #infographic

— AtomContentMarketing (@AtomCMarketing) April 7, 2014

Today’s the day that Windows XP loses its official support for good. We’ve written a lot about this topic in the past few months, but rather than look back, let’s look at some good infographics—some reminding us of how great the operating system was, others offering tips on what to expect if you plan to stick with it after today. Which one’s your favorite?

Other good Reads

Event Manager Blog ponders whether that event app you’re using is costing you too much.

Speaking of events, Bizzabo has a list of the “20 Must-Read Event Industry Blogs.” Clearly, we’re 21st.

Sometimes, success is somewhere other than the place you were expecting it. Such is the tale of Stewart Butterfield, who has managed to pull two separate success stories—Flickr and Slack—from the jaws of two different failed gaming startups. PandoDaily has the backstory.

(iStock/Thinkstock)