Preparing for Change – Dodge’s View
by Dodge Johnson, President-Nominee, IECA (Pennsylvania)
I have to say that Mark and I took on a lot of challenges – and that we had a great time gnawing on them.
Our seminar leaders asked us to set an “audacious” goal. So after looking at the member survey, we said, “Okay, why not reshape the world so that families making educational choices ask not whether they should work with an educational consultant but ask instead which IECA consultant would best meet their needs.” I’m sorry to have to tell you that we didn’t get it all done, But we made a pretty good stab at it.
Fortunately, we have Diane’s momentum to build on and her insistence that we plan our future instead of just letting it happen. So we brainstormed about how we might bring our goal to pass. Here are some of our ideas. Members will no doubt have a lot more.
How we can turn our powerful new social networking tools into a megaphone for IECA?
Could alliances with other groups produce not only new friends but also new benefits? For example, schools value how we match clients. That’s why TABS put on their website a search engine where families looking for a school can choose an IECA consultant.
Could advisory boards drawn from colleges/schools/programs suggest how we might establish relationships they’d most like to have with us, get the most out of visits with them, present candidates in ways they find most helpful?
Could we grow more opportunities for consultants to present themselves and IECA to the world – and offer ways to help them make good presentations even more effective.
I’m discovering how important it is for each of us actively to champion IECA as the “gold standard” while championing ourselves. Because the best way to get the world to ask the right question is already to have planted the right answer in their minds.
All this was just brainstorming, of course. The board will decide how we’ll build on our strategic plan and what steps we’ll take to bring us closer to big goals. But I’m excited by the prospect of thinking audaciously.
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Thanks for the word, Dodge. I think of the plan, as stated, to be one based on communication and relationship building. Sounds like the IECA is becoming poised to make some good noise, in the aggregate and individually. Bonus: I have now been inspired to finally complete the Strategic Planning Survey. Everyone, do the same!