Many associations and clubs are born out of enthusiasm, shared values, and a desire to contribute something meaningful to the community. Then reality sets in: bureaucracy, paperwork, chasing deadlines, putting out fires, too few people, and too many tasks. Before you know it, the organization is living day to day, without a clear, shared picture of where it actually wants to go.

The book Traction by Gino Wickman offers a simple yet highly practical framework for organizations that want to move from constant firefighting to calm, proactive, and focused operations. At its core is the Vision/Traction Organizer (V/TO), which guides an organization through 8 key questions.

These same questions are incredibly useful for associations and clubs as well.

Below is an overview of these 8 questions, adapted specifically for associations, with explanations and examples.

1. What are your core values?

The first question is: What are the values your association stands on?

These are not just nice words in your bylaws, but the principles that actually guide your decisions in practice. For example:

• Is inclusiveness more important to you, or top-tier results?
• Is your key value preserving tradition, or innovation and growth?
• Do you prioritize a friendly atmosphere, or strict professionalism?

Values help you choose projects, collaborators, and ways of working. When everyone in leadership agrees on 3 to 5 truly essential values, it becomes much easier to say "yes" to the right things and "no" to those that drain your energy and lead nowhere.

2. What is your core focus (mission and niche)?

The second question is: Why do you exist, and what are you best at?

Your core focus consists of:

• mission / purpose / passion — why this activity draws you in,
• niche — who you actually serve and how.

If your focus is too broad ("we do a bit of everything"), the team burns out quickly, chaos ensues, and results are scattered. A clearly defined focus brings peace of mind: it becomes easier to know which projects to take on and which to turn down.

3. What is your 10-year target?

The third question is: Where do you want to be in 10 years?

For associations, this might sound like an excessively long timeframe, but having a long-term picture helps you think beyond just "what do we need to prepare by Saturday."

The goal is not to have every detail figured out or to be perfectly realistic, but to have a direction that motivates you.

4. What is your marketing strategy?

The fourth question: How do people find you, and why do they choose your association?

In Traction, this is broken down into:

• target audience — who your association is actually for,
• 3 uniques — what makes you different from others (e.g., approach, location, atmosphere, tradition, quality),
• proven process — what the journey looks like from first contact to active member,
• guarantee / promise — what people can expect from you.

Associations often do a lot of work but spend too little time thinking about how to clearly and effectively communicate their value to the outside world.

5. What is your 3-year picture?

The fifth question: What should your association concretely look like in 3 years?

This is a closer, more tangible view than the 10-year target. Here you can get specific:

• how many members you want to have,
• how many key events per year,
• what your approximate budget should be,
• what kind of team (volunteers, possibly employees),
• what equipment or facilities you need.

This 3-year picture serves as a bridge between the long-term vision and the annual plan.

6. What is your 1-year plan?

The sixth question is: What specifically must you achieve in the next year to move closer to your 3-year picture?

These are your key goals, for example:

• increase membership by X%,
• execute 1 new major event,
• set up a new website and payment system for membership fees,
• prepare and submit at least 3 grant applications,
• establish an onboarding system for new volunteers.

The important thing is that these goals are not "everything that would be nice," but a few key priorities that truly move the association forward.

7. What are your quarterly Rocks?

The seventh question is: What are the 3 to 7 most important priorities for the next 90 days?

This is where "Rocks" come into play — a concept we also covered in the article Are You Proactive or Reactive in Your Association?

• Rocks are the biggest, most important tasks without which you will not move toward your 1-year plan and 3-year picture,
• each Rock has a clearly assigned owner and deadline,
• everything else (the pebbles, the small tasks) adapts around these Rocks — not the other way around.

When an association has a few clearly defined Rocks each quarter and takes them seriously, an enormous amount of progress happens over the course of a year — without feeling like you had to perform miracles.

8. What are your current issues and obstacles?

The eighth question: What is currently holding you back? What are your biggest problems, obstacles, opportunities, and open questions?

This is a list of everything that is "hanging in the air," for example:

• "Nobody wants to take on the secretary role."
• "We constantly miss report submission deadlines."
• "Communication among members is a mess — some things are on email, some on WhatsApp, some on paper."
• "We don't know how to attract younger members."
• "We have no clear overview of our finances."

Traction recommends that you systematically record these issues and then address them regularly in meetings — instead of just complaining about them while putting out fires.

For associations, this could be a monthly strategic meeting where you do not talk about "what do we need to do this week," but instead focus on how to solve the root causes of your problems.

How can you apply this in your association?

You do not need to implement the entire EOS system from Traction all at once. Simply having your leadership team sit down once a year for 2 to 3 hours and honestly answer these 8 questions can make an enormous difference:

1. Print out or write down these 8 questions.
2. Invite your key people to the meeting (leadership, most active members).
3. First, have each person briefly answer the questions individually.
4. Then compare the answers and collaboratively shape a shared version.
5. Together, select your 1-year goals and Rocks for the next quarter.
6. Agree to reconvene in 3 months to review your progress.

Conclusion

Associations do not always have the luxury of hiring professional managers, but they have something else: people with passion, determination, and a sense of purpose. To keep that energy from burning out amid bureaucracy and constant firefighting, they need a clear framework.

The 8 questions from Traction offer a simple, practical way for an association to define:

• who we are,
• why we exist,
• where we are heading in 10, 3, and 1 year,
• what our priorities are for the next 90 days,
• and what is currently holding us back the most.

Answering these questions will not solve everything overnight, but they will ensure that you start operating proactively rather than just reactively. And that is the first step toward your association becoming what it was created to be: a space for shared vision, joy, and meaningful contribution to the community.