It is always a good time in the lifecycle of your association to clean out programs, services and processes that are no longer relevant, but in the challenging environment we find ourselves in today, getting rid of sacred cows is critical. Members are all asking, “What relevant service does the association offer to me?” If they look at your program guide and see programs that have been around for decades, how inspired will they be?

Before we go any further, let’s define what makes a program a sacred cow. A typical sacred cow program, service, or process was originally established with a valid strategic purpose and likely enjoyed great success in the early years, but over time, things changed. The program itself may have morphed along with the times to remain popular, but the original strategic purpose of the program is no longer valid. Sacred cows also have a core group of dedicated members that believe the program is an essential program to the association and they will work hard to make sure it succeeds.

If you are reading carefully, you should be confused right now. How can a program that is still popular and has a core group of dedicated members willing to support it be a bad thing? Sacred cows are not bad programs, they just aren’t the right programs for continued success. What happens when that core group of members retires? Will there be enough newer members who are vested in the program and see value?

More important than the long-tern sustainability of a sacred cow are the short-term effects. We all have limited resources to operate our association and our members only have a limited amount of their attention they are going to give us. If we are “using” our resources and member’s attention on a sacred cow, we are limiting what we can dedicate to new programs.

I recently tweeted, “If you clean out your closet, you’ll have room for new clothes. If you clean out your business, you’ll have room for new ideas.” The hidden cost of allowing a sacred cow to hang around too long is that it prevents the association from having time or resources to consider new ideas.

Here are six questions I ask during a process I call a Sacred Cow BBQ. It is often hard to let go of a sacred cow, but to prepare our organizations to take advantage of the opportunities that lie ahead, we must clean out the closet and look for a new wardrobe.

Sacred Cow BBQ Questions:

• What was the original purpose of this program/service?

• Has the purpose or circumstances related to this program/service changed?

• What other options are available for fulfilling this member need?

• Home many members does this program touch?

• If this program did not currently exist, would we be willing to implement it now?

• Should we continue this program/service, or are our limited resources better spent elsewhere?