4 Captivating Companies Hold a Lesson for Associations

Starbucks, Apple, and Amazon jointly headlined an article in the Washington Post (Sunday, Sept 14, Business Section) last weekend. They were named SAGA companies. According to James Ledbetter and Jacob Weisberg these are the companies that represent a distinctive and distinctively American contribution to 21st century capitalism. More importantly — or perhaps more simply — they are the companies many, many Americans actually care about after the company where they or their families work.

What does this have to do with associations? Well, imagine your association was in the top 4 companies that your profession really cared about.

Think about it. Google’s market is about $158 billion, Starbucks about $12 billion. So being a SAGA association would suggest financial viability.

Think about it. Google has transformed how we approach the internet, Starbucks – coffee, Apple – computing and music, and Amazon – books. So being a SAGA association would mean you would have an appreciable impact on your professional’s daily life.

What do SAGA companies have in common? Well you’ll have to read the article for the full details but two characteristics stand out:

  • They are restless innovators.
  • They engage consumers on an almost spiritual level.

And this is one of the eye-openers in the article … they’ve all survived a crisis but even then “they’re still companies we want to read about.”