Hopefully everyone is recuperating from the holiday festivities that were enjoyed this week!
As the year comes to an end, I’m sure many of you are starting to jot down new year’s resolutions for 2014. I decided to take a look at five popular resolutions and see how we can apply them to association professionals. Here my picks, with questions to ask in 2014.
Lose weight/get healthier. Take a look at your organization’s successes and failures throughout 2013. What are some changes you could make to strengthen your organization’s business processes? Are there any programs you’re organization is benefiting from using, but maybe could learn more about next year, to reach further success? Are there any programs, relationships or processes that are weighing you down that should be re-evaluated, and possibly let go moving forward?
Set financial goals/get out of debt. Many of you are probably reviewing budgets for 2014, if you haven’t started already. This is a great time to look at your organization’s financial analytics, to see how balanced or unbalanced your spending was in 2013. Do you need to cut back on marketing and training budgets in favor of purchasing a new AMS for the year? Are there a few purchases you’d like to budget for that will benefit the organization in the new year?
Spend more time with family. Getting to know your community has been on every organization’s to-do list this year. But let’s now forget the importance of building strong relationships within the organization, as well as within the association industry. Much can be learned from other organization’s failures and success, from industry consultants who frequently visit annual events, and even from co-workers in a different department that you may not see as often. Point is, your community doesn’t end with your members. Go a little further this new year and discover what relationships need attention.
Learn something new. I think this is always a great goal to have, both for careers and recreation. Make it a goal to learn this year, whether it’s how to use a new module in your AMS, or how to engage members on social networks. No goal is too small!
Be less stressed. Keep your goals simple and achievable. Don’t stress so much over complications or failures. Learn from them and use them to grow from there. Here’s a great blog I also recommend by Leo Babauta, creator and writer of Zenhabits.com. “Zen Habits is about finding simplicity in the daily chaos of our lives.”
We wish you a safe and happy New Year!
Published by Melissa Madigan, Marketing Coordinator, ACGI
