The penny dropped: itSMF "members" are in fact shareholders.

The penny dropped. Finally I understand the gap between the behaviour of itSMF at the International level (and sometimes at the Chapter level), and the expectations of its members. Even though we are called "members", we aren't. We are shareholders [update: "stakeholders" is a better word as shares are not transferrable].

Most professional organisations exist to serve the members or to at least control and certify the members. itSMF does not. We have discussed in the past how the constitutions of the Chapters and of International do not mention representing the voice of members. They seldom talk much about providing a service to members other than networking. Conferences, newsletters, local forums etc are actually more to do with promoting ITSM than they are to do with serving members.

I don't agree with Ian Clayton; itSMF is not the "ITIL User Group" either. itSMF only cares if you use ITIL in a statistical sense not an individual one. Apart from the almost accidental effect of local networking, itSMF has no interest in your personal relationship with ITIL.

Looking at another model, cooperative investment society "members" are actually customers. We aren't that either (except one step removed when we buy ITIL books, training or consulting from someone). We do not join itSMF so we can band together for some mutual benefit (other than book discounts, but itSMF is hardly the ITIL Book of the Month Club).

No, we are shareholders. itSMF exists to serve the industry. itSMF's customers are the owner (OGC), the primary vendors (TSO, APMG), the secondary vendors (EXIN, ISEB, Pink, Fox, HP, CA, IBM, BMC, Marval...), and perhaps the small local and independent consultants like me, though in practice we can be safely ignored.

We invest our annual subscription to be owners of a not-for-profit (no really) company that employs our funds and our volunteer labour to advance the industry from which we derive our income. Nothing wrong with that, once we understand it. itSMF is owned by the "members" but it does not exist to serve them, only to have a common interest with them in promoting ITSM in general and (right now) ITIL in particular.

So itSMF does not need to care about democratic representation of members beyond the letter of the law regarding its obligations to shareholders. itSMF doesn't need to care about vendor domination because vendors are the engines which grow the ITIL industry. Of course itSMF does not criticise its biggest customers even if they do not act in the interests of the end consumer. itSMF can be as deeply commercially entrenched in ITIL as it wishes because it is all part of making a buck from ITSM which is what itSMF is all about. No conflicts there for an organisation which exists to promote the industry.

itSMF doesn't even need to get on board the current fad for "shareholder value" since there are no transferable shares and hence no shareprice or dividend. We shareholders have no right to any return on our investment in membership other than to see ITSM grow as an industry.

All clear now?

See also this discussion of what itSMF need to do to change to be a member organisation.