I never got into DMI for some reason. Seemed almost too far in the other direction to me for some reason? Maybe a little too cut and dry? I’m only basing that on some vague impression. Travis’s testimonial is more of a prompt for me to check it out more thoroughly though.
I like a little eye candy too. “a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down” 
Plus it needs to respond and support to designers of all levels. Technical skills and career networking are more important in the early years. Strategic thinking, cross disciplinary tool kits, and client relationship guidance are more important in later years. As iab mentioned, bringing best practices from other industries should be encouraged, especially with that second set. I’d be more interested in how a lawyer lets say attracts, retains, and bills clients in some ways. Those guys seem to have those aspects of their business pretty dialed.
I don’t see the whole ego angle. It is not like the big names in design are apart of the IDSA, that would be more interesting frankly… if Karim Rashid was president of the IDSA the way Teague used to be, that peak my interest. I think there maybe a lack of ego, and by ego I mean the definition of the word that comprises a sense of self and how that self reacts to the whorl around.