The following is a presentation made this past week at the Christian Leadership Alliance's Conference in Dallas, TX. It was part of a summit on Steward Leadership. Portions of what you will find below include input from summit participants.

I recently wrote about the Golden Rule and Franchising. A student at Capella University noticed the post in one of the school's LinkedIn pages and wrote a comment.

In the past couple of posts (but fanchising seemed so simple,  and getting to third with the triple bottom line ) I've paid attention to the problems of leading in an associational system, where multiple smaller entities work together to create a larger one. The ability to achieve together more rapidly and at a reduced cost makes associating an extremely attractive option as one builds an organization. And yet, more often than not, the association is formed and then governed out of a self-centered mutuality that it is as a set of partners in a jointly owned enterprise of the whole.

In short, the participants in the association--whether franchisor or franchisee--advocate for decisions and strategies that benefit their individual bottom line rather than appreciate what it means for the bottom line of their partners, or for all of them together as a united whole. They function as an owner of "my business" rather than as an owner of "our business." I'd add here that this pespective often grows when an individual player cares more for the immediate time horizon instead of seeking long-term value creation of the whole.

Many folks who get started in some sort of associational arrangement, be it a franchise, chartering a club with a national organization, establishing a congregation connected to a denomination, or simply licensing some intellectual property, do so thinking that pooling resources makes sense.

In all likelihood you are part of an associational system in some aspect of your life.