There's no wrong reason to join a trade organization, however many miss some great opportunities for leveraging those memberships that really help make your company stronger.  Probably the most common reason for joining trade groups is for networking with our industry peers.  In the construction industry today, there are so many issues - from technical to organizational - that affect our business on several different levels.  Our trade associations help us to better understand these issues.

We see great advantages in having insights into what makes our industry tick, and what the coming trends are that may require a change in our business model.  This is probably the primary reason why we have become active in the local chapters of our trade associations.  To be sure, change is hard, but it's even harder after the fact if you're trying to catch up to a trend you weren't prepared for.  That's where we see the real value. 

There are many ways to keep abreast.  In the most prominent organizations, such as ABC, you'll find opportunities for training and education, and to increase your awareness in legislative, regulatory, and environmental regulations.  It's been said that the best teacher is experience, but if you've ever been blind sided by a regulatory or environmental violation in the middle of a project, you'll vividly remember that pain.