PPB August 2016

4 •

PPB

• AUGUST 2016

PERSPECTIVES

Paul Bellantone, PPAI’s president and

CEO, and I began our discussions about this

day 10 months earlier. We pondered ideas we

could employ to make sure it was successful.

We talked at length about what we could do

to prepare the board and staff leaders to

gather information and think outside the typ-

ical strategic plan update.

One thing we both felt strongly about was

hiring a strategic facilitator to help prepare

our mindset and drive the conversation. We

believed it was important to have a strong

partner who had experience with disrupted

industries and had worked with other associa-

tions through changing times. With the

industry amidst disruption and many of our

members experiencing tremendous changes,

we knew the Association needed to learn to

surf on top of the wave of change. We were

pleased to engage the expertise of strategist

Seth Kahan, who navigated us through the

process that began earlier this year.

In preparation for this meeting, the fol-

lowing steps were taken: 1) PPAI held mem-

ber focus groups at Expo East; 2) PPAI cre-

ated a membership task force for input on a

number of topics, and 3) Each board and

staff member was required to read three spe-

cific books on innovation and disruption as

well as countless articles on strategic planning

and association change.

Over the course of the strategic planning

meeting, we worked together to determine

and discuss current and potential disrupters,

examine trends and issues, and think strategi-

cally about how PPAI needs to prepare to

meet the future and best serve its members

and the industry. We scrutinized every word

of PPAI’s vision and mission statements, we

considered, we analyzed, we sifted through

numerous ideas.

At the end of the second day, the board

and staff walked away exhausted but highly

invigorated about what lies ahead for PPAI

and the industry—and we came away with a

new PPAI mission statement supported by a

fresh set of goals:

Vision

PPAI advocates the power and value of pro-

motional products in the marketing and adver-

tising professions to ensure the success of its mem-

bers and the global industry.

Mission

PPAI is the trusted leader delivering essential

knowledge, resources and community to ensure the

success of our members and the industry.

The new mission hinges foremost on the

word “trusted”—a role only PPAI, as the

industry’s trade association, can provide. It also

clearly reflects on the relationship between the

Association and our members, and the confi-

dence they have in us—I like that.

Goals

1. Drive meaningful member value

2. Advocate for the industry

3. Develop and leverage strategic foresight

4. Manage an efficient and progressive

organization

These are high-level goals that will be sup-

ported with a number of strategies and tactics

to round them out and bring them to fruition.

Among the new goals is No. 3 that

focuses specifically on strategic foresight.

With the velocity of change coming at our

members, the industry and our Association,

this goal is a strategic commitment to help

us stay on top of emerging trends, constantly

scan our environment, monitor opportunities

and help our members prepare for and stay

ahead of dramatic changes.

I’m thrilled with the meeting’s process

and its ultimate outcome. We set out on a

journey requiring preparation and two days of

intense discussion, and emerged with an

exceptionally strong three-year strategic

direction for PPAI.

Now that we have a strong framework,

we will build on these goals over the next

several months and present them to the

membership this fall.

The future is waiting. Bring it on.

N LATE MAY, IN A DARK,

smoky room in a hotel basement just outside of

the White House grounds in Washington D.C., a special meeting took

place. Were Paul Ryan, President Obama, Hillary Clinton and Donald

Trump meeting to call a truce to the political drama? Nope, it was our

PPAI Board of Directors and staff leadership meeting to examine and

update the Association’s three-year strategic plan. Okay, it wasn’t smoky

or dark, and we weren’t meeting in a basement—we were in a sunny

meeting room with an inspiring view of the White House—but our

meeting was just as important to the industry’s future. Three months of

intense preparation culminated in this two-day meeting.

OUR BRIGHT VISION

FOR THE FUTURE

Tom Goos, MAS

, is president of Image

Source, Inc. and PPAI board chair. Reach

him at

tom@imagesourceteam.com

Tom Goos, MAS

PPAI CHAIR OF THE BOARD