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How the Classic Maya
Lost Their Relevance
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VOL. 7, ISSUE 1
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Permit No. 1205
How the Classic Maya
Lost Their Relevance
>> BY
BY HARRISON
HARRISON COERVER
COERVER AND
AND GREGORY
GREGORY E.
E. WILLIAMS
WILLIAMS
SUMMARY: ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS HOLD A SPECIAL PUBLIC FASCINATION, BUT ONE
Postclassic Period), Maya society was
THING THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON IS THAT NONE OF THEM ARE AROUND ANYMORE.
largely decentralized and its popula-
WHAT WE'VE LEARNED ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE COMPLEX CIVILIZATIONS OF
t
tion was scattered. The construction
of the great monuments had come to
ANTIQUITY CAN HELP ASSOCIATIONS ADAPT TO CHANGE AND STAY RELEVANT INTO
an end, the elite were no more, and
THE FUTURE.
most of the architectural centers were
long abandoned.
he study of the rise and fall of societies large and small satisfies our
curiosity about the past and can help us craft a better future. Bringing
How does this relate to contemporary
this together with modern association management can help us under-
association management issues and
stand why adaptation is imperative for today’s associations to stay relevant.
adaptation to a changing modern
environment? First, simple explana-
Today, associations need to adjust to changing circumstances on several fronts
tions for collapse need to be set aside.
simultaneously. They need to restructure the way they are organized, they need
Archaeology has found that the
to understand their members and markets like never before, and they need to
collapse of large complex societies
take full advantage of available technology. Passively waiting for things to get
usually doesn’t happen for just one
better is an approach that is likely to fail, if prehistory is any indicator.
reason. Sociocultural systems, like
associations, are complex, and they
THE FALL OF THE CLASSIC MAYA
involve an ongoing system of interre-
The Classic Maya are a useful example because they are the subject of ongoing
lated parts and dynamic change.
scientific study, and they have generated a special public fascination ever since
their “discovery” in 1839 by Western explorers.
Second, set aside the model made
popular by Oswald Spengler in his
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David Webster’s The Fall of the Ancient Maya tells us that the Maya were a large
famous work on the Decline of the
group of independent political units that shared a “great tradition” involving
West, in which he suggests that soci-
language, technology (including the wheel), monumental architecture (some
eties inevitably follow a natural bio-
structures reached 18 stories), writing, a calendar and a counting system (with
logical cycle involving birth, youth,
the zero concept), art, warfare, plant and animal domestication, and an elite
maturity, senility, and death. This is a
aristocracy. The Maya covered an area extending from what is today southern
useful metaphor, but, unlike living
Mexico into Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and El Salvador. Maya prehistory
creatures, civilizations do not simply
extends far back into time, but the Classic Period is characterized by an explo-
get old and die. Societies, like associa-
sion of art, architecture, and population that lasted from about A.D. 250 to
tions, are capable of constantly rein-
A.D. 800. By the time of the Spanish invasion in the 16th century (the Late
venting themselves and adapting to
Colorado Society of Association Executives
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Excellence by Association
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Winter 2013
changing circumstances, because they
are not constrained by the biological
lifecycles of the members.
Passively waiting for things to get
better is an approach that is likely to fail,
if prehistory is any indicator.
Third, we must look carefully at the
complex interplay between internal
social structure, the outside environ-
The Maya civilization did not suffer a single, sudden, and total collapse. The
ment, technology, group dynamics,
decline of the Classic Maya was varied and protracted. Some centers were aban-
and even individual actions (which
doned and never repopulated, while others disintegrated slowly over centuries.
do, after all, have consequences) for
Collapse is defined by Joseph A. Tainter in The Collapse of Complex Societies as
a more complete understanding of
a "rapid reduction in population size and density," and the protracted and varied
social change. We know from their
nature of the Maya "collapse" suggests it was more of an irreversible "slump"
carved glyphs and other records that,
than an immediate collapse. If your membership is dwindling and disbursing to
like modern humans, the Maya elite
the four corners, then you are likely experiencing a slump that may be the early
had more than their fair share of
symptom of collapse. Let us look at how the Maya fared in each of these areas
social drama, internecine bickering,
and what the lessons are for associations:
status rivalry, grudges, factions, and
struggles for titles, offices, and honors.
ENVIRONMENT. There was likely a protracted drought between A.D. 800 and A.D.
This should come as no surprise to the
1000. Although the Maya had survived droughts before, population growth had
association manager who has dealt
also likely overshot the agricultural capacity of the landscape. Technological
with eclectic boards.
innovations such as irrigation and water-storage facilities can help societies
expand production and endure droughts, but the Maya agricultural system, based
So, just like sudden death, stable
on slash-and-burn farming of corn and beans, did not change dramatically.
equilibrium in complex societies is
a myth, and civilizations are in a
TECHNOLOGY. Although the wheel was known to the Maya, it was apparently
constant state of change.
used only for children’s toys and not for preparing new fields or for transport of
raw materials or food over long distances. They did not have horses or oxen to
CHANGE (OR LACK THEREOF)
pull carts, but they did have plenty of manpower. This is like an association that
The bulk of the association manage-
knows about the internet but uses it only for light duty purposes, not for heavy
ment book Race for Relevance is about
lifting.
“radical changes” that are necessary
for associations to survive. These
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE. Warfare and competition between regions
changes can be grouped into three
intensified, and critical social institutions like the royal dynasties, which had
main categories that broadly relate
provided leadership and religion, ceased to exist. Desperate kings demanded
to current archaeological thought:
more resources, and desperate commoners turned on each other or migrated to
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adjoining provinces. When things went bad, the question wasn’t about “what”
ENVIRONMENT. Objectively under-
standing your membership and your
the problem was but rather "who" was the problem. This should come as no sur-
market.
prise to the association manager who takes the heat whenever something goes
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wrong.
TECHNOLOGY. Bridging your existing
technology gap and building a framework for the future.
The Maya elite were supposed to do many things, including ensuring
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adequate rainfall and abundant crops. Unfortunately, population density
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE.
Overhauling association governance,
peaked just before the decline, the soils had become exhausted by centuries
overhauling association committees,
of human agricultural activity, a period of drought began, and no major
and empowering the CEO.
technological or agricultural innovations were implemented. This contributed
Colorado Society of Association Executives
■
Excellence by Association
■
Winter 2013
7
Those that don’t disappear
overnight will likely just slowly
fade into irrelevance if they
do not reinvent themselves.
to local warfare and increased compe-
dwindling resources, and there will be continued consolidation. Those that
tition for declining resources, which in
don’t disappear overnight will likely just slowly fade into irrelevance if they do
turn fostered an ideological crisis that
not reinvent themselves.
may have resulted in the extinction of
the elite class.
However, if we challenge ourselves to pay careful attention to changes in our
economic and demographic environment, if we make adjustments to our gov-
What good are kings if they can’t
ernance and management structures, and if we engage and embrace the need-
guarantee rain? In today’s terms this
ed technological change (particularly by taking advantage of the internet),
might be called "managing expecta-
then associations can be optimistic about their future.
tions." The Maya made a few adjustments, and some population centers
In the words of Peter Drucker, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently
fared better than others, but short-
that which should not be done at all.” Dealing with these strategic challenges
term coping failed to solve their long-
while managing day-to-day programs is a tall order indeed. But it can’t be
term problems.
delayed, because the option of hoping (or praying like the Maya) for a silver
bullet or blindly pursuing the “next big thing” in management gimmicks will
FINAL LESSONS
only lead to decline.
What this suggests for associations is
that, without a sense of urgency, the
In closing, we would do well to also remember the words of Pulitzer Prize win-
decline will likely be protracted and
ner Jared Diamond who, in his book Collapse, offered an optimistic outlook for
ongoing. Clinging hopefully to out-
our future and who noted that, unlike civilization today, “past societies lacked
moded or traditional beliefs can be a
archaeologists” (i.e., they had no real empirical knowledge of their past). Let us
recipe for disaster. Associations will
take advantage of our careful study of prehistory and challenge ourselves to
increasingly compete with one anoth-
think about the interplay between social, political, economic, environmental,
er and with the private sector for
and technological change so that we can adapt and stay relevant as we move
forward in this increasingly
complex world.
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HARRISON COERVER IS PRESIDENT OF
HARRISON COERVER AND ASSOCIATES IN
BOCA GRANDE, FLORIDA, AND CO-AUTHOR
OF RACE FOR RELEVANCE: FIVE RADICAL
CHANGES FOR ASSOCIATIONS. GREGORY
E. WILLIAMS IS PRINCIPAL OF REDPOINT
RESOURCES, DENVER, AND ADJUNCT ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ANTHROPOLOGY AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER. HE
IS ALSO PRESIDENT-ELECT OF CSAE: EMAIL
[email protected],
[email protected]
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Colorado Society of Association Executives
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Excellence by Association
■
Winter 2013