Let’s Talk About What Everyone Is Thinking But Nobody Is Saying
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think it is.
It feels harder than it used to. Harder to get people to participate. Harder to get people to engage. Harder to get people to commit. Harder to get people to care.
Over the last several years, I’ve had conversations with business owners, association leaders, contractors, architects, manufacturers, economic development professionals, educators, and community leaders. While the industries may be different, the conversation is often the same.
Attendance is inconsistent. Membership is changing. Employees seem less connected. Volunteerism is down. Succession planning is becoming more difficult. Finding the next generation of leaders feels harder than anyone expected.
Everyone seems to be asking some version of the same question: what changed?
The truth is, a lot changed.
For decades, many of our organizations, industries, and communities operated within a fairly predictable framework. Relationships were built locally. Information was harder to access. Professional associations were often the primary place to learn, connect, and build a network. Communities gathered differently. Businesses operated differently. People interacted differently.
Today, we are operating in an entirely different environment.
The average American now consumes hours of digital media every day. We have unlimited access to information, endless content competing for our attention, and more ways to communicate than ever before. Yet despite being constantly connected, research continues to show increasing levels of loneliness, declining engagement, and growing concerns around belonging.
What’s interesting is that we are still trying to understand what all of this means.
Unlike previous generations, we are navigating changes that have happened at an extraordinary pace. Smartphones, social media, remote work, artificial intelligence, digital communities, and shifting workplace expectations have all emerged within a relatively short period of time. The reality is, there is not much historical data that tells us exactly how to navigate this moment because we have never experienced this combination of factors before.
Three generations are actively working side by side. Many industries are experiencing massive leadership transitions as experienced professionals retire. Younger professionals are entering organizations with different expectations around work, communication, and community. Meanwhile, many leaders are trying to preserve the values and relationships that helped build their businesses in the first place.
It is complicated.
And if we are being honest, I think many people are feeling it. Not because anyone is doing anything wrong, but because the environment itself has changed.
What worked twenty years ago does not automatically stop working, but it does not automatically continue working either. The challenge is not deciding whether the old way was right or the new way is better. The challenge is understanding what remains true regardless of the era.
For me, that question keeps bringing me back to people.
People still want connection. People still want purpose. People still want to feel like they belong. People still want to be part of something meaningful.
The tools may change. The platforms may change. The generations may change. But those needs have not.
Perhaps that is why so many organizations are struggling to gain traction by simply doing more. More content. More communication. More events. More platforms. More noise.
Because information has become abundant. Attention has not. Time has not. Trust has not. Belonging has not.
And maybe that is the conversation we need to be having more often.
Not how do we create more activity, but how do we create more meaning?
Not how do we get people to attend, but how do we give them a reason to participate?
Not how do we get louder, but how do we become more relevant?
I do not pretend to have all the answers. In fact, I think anyone who claims they do is probably oversimplifying a very complex moment in history.
What I do know is this: the organizations, businesses, and communities that thrive in the years ahead will not simply be the ones that adapt to new technology. They will be the ones that understand people.
Because while the world around us continues to change at an incredible pace, the human desire for connection, purpose, and belonging remains remarkably consistent.
And perhaps that is where the real opportunity lies.