Wisdom of Solomon

Despite the investment of six months of consultations, discussions of a merger of PMA and United failed to yield fruit this year. The reasons are somewhat hard to decipher between all the talk of "core competencies" and "collaboration." Suffice to say that the boards of each association see the unique value of having two national associations. PMA is most known for marketing and networking, while United's strengths are government relations and lobbying. While these attributes could be complementary for a unified association, the vision for a common organization failed to win the day. At the end of the day, there are enough differences between the groups that a merger wasn't going to mesh. The good news is that each association appears committed to work with the other on various issues of common concern.

Never say never, but one wonders how long will it take for talks of a merger to resurface. It won't likely be in the next year. That means each association must find ways to thrive in an industry struggling with profitability issues. United needs a strong financial showing with its expo in Las Vegas and beyond.

Did personalities and egos play a role? Perhaps. Did the desire for one organization to exercise the upper hand over the other lead to some resistance? Human nature being what it is, quite possibly. How about the paid staff? How can the president of any association feel about merger discussions that could change his job security?

That selfless industry-first mindset required would be hard for me to possess.

Remember the wisdom of Solomon, whose command to divide a baby by the sword revealed to him who the true mother of the child was. The mother was willing to give her child to a rival to keep the baby alive. In that context, I will twist that story to say that whatever president, board, or association is willing to give up position for the good of the industry should be the one rewarded with leadership.

However, with no Solomon present and no sword in hand, we trust the boards of each association that both two mothers will be better than one.