from the chair
Our Strategic Plan — Refreshed!
Mike Schwenk
The update of AWB’s strategic plan is underway. This important project
will refresh the direction of the organization by taking into account
shifts in the environment within which we operate. Completing this,
and an operational plan to implement it, is a top AWB priority for 2016.
Strategy follows having an objective. Finding that objective by gazing
into the proverbial crystal ball and searching for tomorrow’s reality
is not easy. In today’s and tomorrow’s fast-paced, rapidly-changing
technological world all you’ll see is swirling fog.
Fortunately, AWB’s world is not a technological one per se. It is a
world of people and people interactions. And when it comes to people,
one can argue that “the more things change, the more they stay the
same.” Names and faces may change, issues may grow in complexity,
but our natural human programming remains quite familiar.
So, is the world ahead uncertain? To be sure. But from a people point-ofview, it is a world we have operated in for 100-plus years. We kind of “get
it.” We even find it predictable. And we feel confident operating in it.
But knowing it is a “people game” does not create an objective. Nor
does it chart AWB’s course for the future. To do that, we take a lesson
from Alan Kay, founder of Atari, who said “the best way to predict the
future is to invent it.”
14 association of washington business
Put another way, forget the crystal ball. Start with the preferred
future you want, and then work toward it — relentlessly.
I am pleased to share that 15 of your fellow AWB members who have
agreed to serve on the Strategic Planning Committee wholeheartedly
agree. And they have jumped right in. I have to admit
that this is the stuff that makes for great fun — an
enthused group, excited about the future, willing to
step out, dream a little, and ask “what if.”
To help create the right framework, we started at the
same place most strategic planning efforts start — with
the organizational mission and vision. These are our
statements of intent/purpose (mission), i.e., why we
exist, and our aspiration for the future we will realize in
fulfilling that purpose (vision).
But here is where efforts like this can be so
illuminating. As we reviewed and pondered the
existing mission and vision statements for AWB,
we were unmoved. Somehow, they didn’t grab
us, motivate us, or really convey who we are and
what we stand for. At least not sufficiently, or in a
compelling way.
So we rolled up our sleeves and started to talk about
this. What struck me about my fellow colleagues
was how comfortable, open, and honest they were in
expressing their views and how helpful they were in
suggesting alternatives. Everyone chimed in, everyone
was respectful and appreciative, everyone was positive,
and everyone was on board with landing on something
that struck the right chord for the group as a whole. And everyone was
mindful that outside the committee was a membership to be served,
and a set of stakeholders beyond our membership who would view
and react as well. This was where all the recent branding work helped
ground us. The group wanted to serve as the representatives they are.
We knew where we needed to land.
By the time this goes to press and is in your hands, the
committee’s work will be mostly complete, and the process for
running it up the chain to the executive committee and board will
have begun. In addition, staff will begin using it to prepare budgets
and operational plans.
But let me share the one big thing that has come from this so far:
The new vision for AWB will be about what we want for our state. It
will not be a vision about the organization or institution, but a vision of
our aspiration for a strong, vibrant Washington for all Washingtonians.
It is the future we will invent — watch for it!