There
is an old Greek proverb that says, "Act quickly, but think slowly."
That is exactly the advice the leadership for AAPG has followed
during the last five years.
In 1999
a five-year business plan was developed very quickly for AAPG in
response to budgetary problems and member needs. This was not a
detailed plan, but rather outlined areas of AAPG business that needed
attention, especially the budget and membership.
It let
us act, but also gave us time to think slowly.
As a result:
- In
the 1999-00 fiscal year AAPG decreased expenses through a reduction-in-force
and other cost-saving measures.
- During
the 2000-01 fiscal year, we placed emphasis on revenue enhancement
and development, e.g., APPEX was established that year.
- The
2001-02 fiscal year emphasized intersociety projects and staff
development. That year we hired three new directors for AAPG.
- The
Membership Enhancement and Development Program was established
during fiscal year 2002-03.
This year
was focused on developing a comprehensive strategic plan to replace
the old business plan. The Advisory Council, which is responsible
for strategic planning, met two times this year to develop the plan.
The chair of the Advisory Council, Dan Smith, held many reviews
of the strategic plan with both members and staff.
Two key
components of the strategic plan were the all-member survey and
program assessments.
The all-member
survey gave the Advisory Council a starting point. Several smaller
surveys were made during this year on key focus areas. Assessments
were made of each program within AAPG. Staff and members participated
and "graded" each program against current business climate and members'
wants and needs.
Each program
assessment resulted in a recommendation to continue, build up, jointly
develop with other societies, or divest.
The strategic
plan has five major elements:
- Timeless
elements such as core ideology, core purpose and core values.
- Mega-issues,
which are key focus areas for the future.
- Ten-
to 30-year planning horizon, which includes the envisioned future
of AAPG.
- Five-year
planning horizon that is continually reviewed and includes basic
assumptions about business climate.
- Three-
to five-year planning horizon that includes goals, strategic objectives
and the actual strategic details.
The end
result of all of these strategic "buzz words" is that we now have
a comprehensive strategic plan that will take the place of the old
business plan.
Having
thought slowly, we can now act quickly.
The key
action portion of the plan is under element five — the three- to
five-year planning horizon. These actions are defined in six goal
areas:
- Advance the science.
- Continuous professional
development.
- Public awareness
and understanding.
- Membership and membership
services.
- Financial stability.
- Worldwide presence.
The final
version of the strategic plan was presented to the AAPG Executive
Committee on June 30. On July 1 we entered into the "implementation
phase" of the strategic plan. After approval, the strategic plan
will be placed on AAPG's home Web page (www.aapg.org) for final
comment and review by the membership.
The new
strategic plan is the most comprehensive long-range business plan
ever developed by AAPG. It was developed with such broad member
input, it is truly a "members plan."
We have
been looking forward to this "fifth year" to finalize the planning
that was started in 1999. In the words of the Ghostbusters: "We
have the tools, and we have the talent!"
We are
ready to go!