Dear LISA Members and Newsletter Readers,

LISA was predicated on member cooperation. In the early days of the association's growth, everyone encouraged their clients and service partners to participate at forums. This facilitated the "open exchange of information" necessary to upgrade the professionalism of the localization business. Client-partner case studies and operation reviews added considerable value to the forums by illustrating best practices and by sharing important business data.

Today, we are facing a dilemma because members have become reluctant to invite their clients and partners to participate at forums. We risk not meeting our mandate of representing a balance between the supply and demand factions of the industry. Likewise, we are undermining the main objective of the forums when we fail to address serious issues by digressing into poorly camouflaged sales pitches.

Members are complaining about the "wanton selling" taking place at the forums. They do not want to expose their clients to other service vendors for fear of losing business. In spite of the Membership Code of Good Conduct being distributed before events, there has been an increase of spamming and direct mail solicitations following LISA meetings. What are the underlying causes of this behavior? Is the client-vendor relationship so shallow that trust and confidence in each other are not being established? Is the industry price/performance ratio too unstable? Are business requirements changing so rapidly that new clients are becoming impossible to find?

If members no longer have the motivation to "open the Association" by encouraging their clients to participate, by inviting new companies to attend the forums, and by volunteering to share substantial information - then perhaps it is time for LISA to rethink its mandate. Do members really want to exchange business data? Are members ready to dedicate the necessary time and resources to form Special Interest Groups and publish the results of their findings? Is our membership still committed to growing this business sector?

On September 21, at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Annual Meeting of the LISA General Assembly will take place. This will be a good opportunity to discuss these and other important issues concerning the Association's growth and ability to meet the needs of the changing marketplace.

Please express your opinion by sending your comments to mike@lisa.org before August 1 so that we can distribute General Assembly topic items and be prepared to discuss LISA's role in the industry.

Sincerely,

Mike Anobile
LISA Managing Director