In the Jan/Feb issue of Drilling Contractor magazine, IADC President Jason McFarland discusses the Association’s member-driven, member-led mentality. Early in McFarland’s career at IADC, a colleague and mentor, Ken Fischer, introduced him to an association management magazine article that encapsulates what it means to be a member-centric organization.
McFarland states one of the most impactful ideas from the article is this: “The association is its members, not its staff. Never forget that members own the association.” Another great insight is: “The people who pay the fare decide where the ship will go. Likewise, the people who pay the dues….”
McFarland then provides some tangible examples of these sentiments in action at IADC. He states,
“A great example of how our members guide the association’s course of action is through their influence on the continuous transformation of our well control training accreditation programs.”
He gives a brief overview of how IADC’s well control trainings have changed over the years due to the guidance and efforts of our Members.
After that, he highlights IADC’s member-driven nature by discussing a current initiative to update our Incident Statistics Program (ISP) database. Members that participate in our Incident Statistics Program have given feedback that the process of entering data is repetitive, time-consuming, and not very user-friendly. The ISP Subcommittee has been discussing different options, vetting partner vendors and presenting a plan of action for a new ISP system that will revolutionize the user experience.
McFarland quotes the association management article towards the end of the piece: “You’re in the wrong line of work if you don’t believe what you’re doing makes a difference – to your members, your industry or profession, and society at large. Associations are in the business of working to constantly further and improve something for others.”
He then expresses,
“I wholeheartedly and steadfastly believe that what IADC is doing makes a difference to our members, the drilling industry and society. As an association, it is our responsibility and our honor to continuously advance the drilling industry and to make improvements that will better the lives of our members. We’re grateful for how our members show up for us, so that we can continue to show up for them.”
