What do the YMCA and a bunch of fairly hoity-toity private country clubs have in common? Not a whole lot, generally. But there’s at least this: Both have been in the news for efforts to loosen things up.

Take a look at this Wall Street Journal story about country clubs dropping their traditional bans on denim – because they’re starting to realize that keeping younger golfers out is the opposite of bringing them in (go figure) – and this one from The New York Times about the Y.M.C.A. making the decision to formally call itself what everyone else has called it for years (that is, just the Y).

“It’s a way of being warmer, more genuine, more welcoming, when you call yourself what everyone else calls you,” Y Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer Kate Coleman told the Times.

It’s also a pretty good way of sending out the message that you get the world you live in. Because, hey, it’s fine to insist on formality and tradition if that’s what’s most important to you. But you can’t do it and sit around wondering why no one’s buying what you’re selling, as country club board members have been doing for some time, If you want to get ahead these days, you’ve got to loosen it up.