There are a number of words and phrases used throughout 2020 that we all want to forget: pivot, new normal, flexibility and change. While the words may make everyone cringe, it is important to look at the positive take-aways from our experiences in the past year.
In a recent blog, Lowell Aplebaum, CEO of consulting firm Vista Cova LLC, describes how the upheaval of 2020 provides an opportunity to re-evaluate the many different ways an association can re-define and re-focus its activities, strategic plans and membership benefits to better meet members’ needs.
Five of the 10 opportunities Aplebaum identifies are:
- Strategic planning renews focus on strategic vision, direction, and strategies. Associations, no matter where they are in the strategic planning cycle, should take a step back in 2021 to confirm their vision and mission still defines their purpose in this new landscape.
- “No” is the secret to impact. Associations have the potential to adopt a systematic programmatic review that recognizes which programmatic output is making fiscal and mission impact in this new environment.
- Governance modernization. This is a moment where associations should take a step back and reflect whether the leadership structure they have in place will be the structures that will lead them their desired future.
- Diversity & inclusion: greater fluency, greater adoption. This is the year to demonstrate the new DE&I statements of 2020, and DE&I committees in general, were not just momentary efforts to respond to a societal focus.
- Intentional design will replace crisis response. Make a list of all that things associations changed in 2020 because of a crisis response. Virtual workforce? Virtual tradeshow? Virtual town halls? Online learning? Now it is time to step back and go through an intentional design exercise with each activity.
To read the full article, click here.
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