by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

“The pace of change in programming within your association must be commensurate with the pace of change in your member’s world.”

This little bit of truth was but one of hundreds of things that IECA President-elect Dodge Johnson and I heard over the last two days. We were attending a symposium for chief elected officers and chief staff officers run by the American Society of Association Executives. Of course the above bit of knowledge comes with further awareness that we live in an era of unprecedented and unpredictable change. Does any IECA member really know what will be the major challenges facing them in their own practice in their own community in the fall of 2013? Yet somehow, we are told, the association must be preparing now for that unknowable reality. The job of officers and staff is to prepare our members for what the future holds and to be sure that we become a significant resource to help our members thrive in whatever challenge arises.

While the times may change and the daily realities of consulting work may change, the basic premise of what makes an association important to its members does not. Associations are about three things: (1) Community (2) Connections (3) Communication. Our commitment has always been for IECA to be the premiere community, widely recognized and respected as bringing together the leaders in the field to share experiences, knowledge, and to understand the changes taking place in admissions, education, and adolescent health. We are well aware that communities of consultants are easier than ever to create: organizations can start up, or gather online, but what IECA guarantees is that those who choose to join in OUR community are also well screened for competence, ethics, and value a commitment to the success of young people.

Over the last year we have tackled the last in that alliterative series—Communication—in new and exciting ways. This blog and social networking have enabled us to assist our members in this new frontier of possibilities. At the same time, we continue to print our newsletter and brochures. We have expanded opportunities for face-to-face networking through our Speed Meetings, and our College Fairs are larger than ever. It is this very diversity—allowing members to share and communicate in varied formats—that demonstrates our great success.

One of the first items shared with our training group was the unique nature of associations, where the primary consumers, owners, and workforce are all the same: the members. Members are indeed the leaders, filling all Board positions. They also serve as the volunteers that steer our committees, outreach to allied professionals, and help spread the word. And unique among all business systems, these same members are the primary consumers: paying dues, paying conference fees, and attending workshops and campus tours.

Of course we were also cautioned not to allow a situation develop in which members feel they are there to be “sold to” rather than “served.” I took this as a great caution and was reminded of the feedback we heard from many, including the Schools Committee to balance IECA’s fiscal needs with our commitment to serving members. It is a message we heard and to which we will respond.

Over the course of our two days, we were asked to identify one “mega” strategic issue that we expect IECA will confront in the coming years. Rather than pull one out of the blue, Dodge and I were able to access the results (so far) of our ongoing member survey of strategic initiatives. There we found our answer. Members overwhelmingly have identified our mega issue: expanding public awareness and hiring of educational consultants in their educational search, with an effort to ensure that IECA members are seen as the “gold standard” in the profession. It is this overriding member concern that will be front and center as IECA looks at what we need to do to ensure our members are prepared to confront the changes that are coming, as they pursue what the field will be like for them personally in the fall of 2013 and beyond.

by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA

I admit to being a person who is rarely satisfied with the way things are. I believe in the need to change and that includes both personal change and actions to ensure that the Independent Educational Consultants Association continues to move forward, developing new approaches, new programs and new initiatives so that we are always meeting member needs. Allow me to illustrate using just one example. Following an IECA Summer Training Institute in Claremont, California, I sat down with Sue DePra and Steve Antonoff to review the participant evaluations. They were off the charts with virtually every attendee giving the Summer Institute nearly perfect scores, and comments from most attendees that it was among the best training sessions they had ever attended. The three of us then spent the next two hours re-writing the curriculum, developing new interactive elements, implementing ‘labs’ and strengthening the program further. The result was taking a great training program and making it remarkable.

Now as I reflect back on 2009, I feel great about the excellent work of staff, Board and committee leadership, and volunteer members who combined to make it a great year. We advanced dramatically in our efforts to use social networking to promote IECA and the profession, and to improve communications. We initiated new program in learning disabilities and adopted our new Standards of Excellence. We implemented significant changes during our conference: from Speed Meetings to Conference Central and from point/counterpoint sessions to master classes. Participation among colleges has never been higher, and despite the economic downturn our membership is up, conference participation is up, and our training workshops were larger than ever.

But as I look ahead, I know what I want to achieve in the coming year for IECA and for my own work as Executive Director: to take IECA from a great organization to a remarkable one. Looking at the success of America’s most lauded associations, I hope we use their example to become an exceptional force for our members. To become ‘remarkable,’ I think Board, staff and volunteers need to meet these expectations:

• Member Service—we exist as an association for one reason: to meet the needs of our membership. That commitment to member service should always be the top priority.

• Align all services, conferences, and activities with IECA’s mission. That mission, unchanged in 30 years, is to help professional consultants to serve the interests of students and families in their educational decision-making.

• Seek feedback and input from members and our related constituencies. In the next several weeks, members will be asked to complete a strategic planning survey and a survey from the Education & Training Committee. These will set our priorities over the next several years. We have now begun to involve schools, colleges, and programs in conference planning and regularly seek their advice on programming.

• Be willing to fail. As we look to be innovative, creative, and dynamic, we must be willing to accept that success require risk-taking and that means we will fail from time to time. Such failure is inevitable and will lead to new successes.

• A nimble, flexible, national office that is able to meet changes in the marketplace and ensure that such changes are quickly and capably brought to our members to help them succeed in their own work.

• Building alliances with not-for-profit and for-profit companies, institutions, and organizations that will help us further our mission and better serve clients and students.

I look forward to hearing ideas from our members, colleagues, and families on how we can best serve each to make 2010 and IECA remarkable in the year ahead. Join us in this effort: volunteer, get involved in committees, affinity groups, or other efforts, and above all, offer your ideas on what IECA should be doing.

By Peter Baron, AdmissionsQuest

By Brian Fisher, AdmissionsQuest

Dr. Nido Qubein, President of High Point University, shared his zest for life and his philosophy during Thursday’s conference lunch. Part tent revival, part comedian, part practical philosopher, part story teller, Dr. Qubein affirmed the importance of education and the transformational experiences that schools and educators provide students.

Preaching to the choir he made the case for the responsibility that educators carry and the great affects they have on their students.

Environment. Environment. Environment. He likened students’ abilities to grow and adapt the adaptive abilities of the Koi fish. An environment rich in opportunities, expectation, and support grows the healthiest students.

Focus, expectation, and modeling drive his interactions and decisions for his students. He’s brought student centered learning to his alma mater, High Point University.

I laughed more during Dr. Quebein’s talk than during any keynote I remember. What I write doesn’t do justice to Dr. Qubein’s public speaking.

By Peter Baron, AdmissionsQuest

Erin Avery, Avery Educational Resource, IECA member, talks about what she enjoys about the conference- from conference sessions to the networking opportunities to the quality discussions with schools, colleges, therapeutic programs & vendors.

Ben Kavanaugh, Bucknell University shares the college perspective on IECA Charlotte:

Cyndy McDonald, College Consultant Assistant, shares her impressions of the conference.

Clint Williams, Maine Central Institue, talks about why he values the IECA conference.

Sharon Laney, Three Springs tells us about the networking opportunities and conversations that happen at IECA.

By Brian Fisher, AdmissionsQuest

I spent a few minutes in Barbara Cunningham’s (Summit Preparatory School) Wednesday presentation “Intellectually Gifted Underachievers: The Oxymoron Unraveled.” She’s done nice work in establishing some correlations and common experiences of kids who fit this profile and developing strategies to move them toward fulfilling their potentials.

In a word, these kids require engagement. They want to be actively involved and benefit from strong relationships. They want their thinking to contribute to the future.

Good work always seems to come back to reaching out and connecting.

By Brian Fisher, AdmissionsQuest

Pink, author of A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Rule the Future made the case for faster changes in American educational structures- arguing that we’re missing the future by basing our school educational models on our past.

It’s tough to shift our thinking, basing our educational approaches and philosophies- not on what worked best in the past- but on our best judgments of what will be best for the future.

Past approaches worked for me; it worked for my parents; it should work for tomorrow. We seem to leave the constant of change out of our educational planning.

Arguing that the abilities of the future mater more than the abilities of the past, our educational system needs to begin looking forward- preparing students for future economic and cultural realities.

Making the case that routine tasks, automation have become commodities and will seek the lowest labor costs, what, then, does the future hold for the US economy and educational systems- complexity, premium design, and new products.

Creative engagement based on looking toward the future.

Education, Pink argued, isn’t moving fast enough to build and support the shift away from the routine production based economy. The tools and approaches that worked in past decades aren’t necessarily the best tools for the future.

What worked for parents in the past stands in the way of updating our childrens’ education for the future.

To prepare for the future we must let go of our past-based assumptions- “myth of metrics,” “myth of math, science and engineering,” and move beyond the motivation of “if-then incentives.”

Our best economic and educational future lies in moving our world and educational view from compliance to engagement- not just doing, thinking creatively about your environment and how to do things differently.

Success in a complex world requires engagement.

“Compliance will get you through the day. Engagement will get you through the night.”

By Brian Fisher, AdmissionsQuest

Everyone on campus or in your office conveys messages and sells the school or your services. We all think we practice pretty good customer service. Do we?

Beth Black, Cherokee Creek Boys School, made the case for service in her presentation, “Everything I learned About Marketing, I Learned from a Mouse.”

In schools we assume our customer service is pretty good. But, in my school experiences, we never sat down and worked through constituent/customer service from beginning to end. What does it mean and what do we need to do make sure that we respond as well as possible in every situation?

Bluntly, we never had customer service philosophy or plan. We just assumed that everyone had good sense of customer service- responding to families in the best, most effective way.

Black took participants through the eye opening exercise of customer service from the customer’s perspective and the ways in which organizations can define and build systems and philosophies that keep the customer at the fore of every employee’s action.

The bottom line, “Quality service lives in the hearts and minds of the staff.”

Schools tend to become wrapped in their routines and daily events. Consultants with solo practices or small shops sometimes forget about a clean parking lot or warm entryway. We let our external connections slip.

Customer service basics weigh heavily in the equation; returning phone calls and returning e-mail matter more than ever.

The best anecdote of the meeting- the school maintenance man who greeted campus visitors and was equipped to provide an introduction to campus. The family- purposefully visiting this campus unannounced- appreciated the warm greeting. Their student enrolled.

Why customer service here and now? It’s a topic/concept that we often let slip in education. Education sells itself right? Not necessarily.

By Brian Fisher, AdmissionsQuest

A new conference approach has enhanced the way educational consultants & schools exchange information. Hello Speed Meetings. Nice to meet you.

The speed meeting approach gives admission officers and educational consultants a quick, defined time to exchange substantive information. It could be a new introduction. It could be catching up on what’s new.

This new approach represents a purposeful exchange. Schools & consultants agreed that it’s an excellent modification to the conference format.

By Peter Baron, AdmissionsQuest

Enjoy this set of photos from the opening day of the conference. You can check out the originals by visiting the IECA’s Flickr pool:

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.