It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Since it’s late July, I know the title is preposterous, but we’re already past the onset of the second half of the year—that race that ends with presents, too much food and resolutions to be better next year.
It’s this time of year that those items left on our plates start to go stale and we’re compelled to determine which of those deteriorating objectives should stay on the list and which are okay to send to the recycle bin.
Our roles as volunteers are no different. During the summer months, many regional associations drift into vacation mode and many regionals forego a Board meeting this month in an attempt to circumvent the drudgery that volunteer service can be during the course of a 12-month volunteer cycle.
FIGHT IT. PRESS ON.
Now is the time to double down on your objectives: review your strategic plan and determine if what you enthusiastically set out to do in January is still worthwhile. I suggest that it is—six months of the calendar have a way of wearing you down more than lessening the potential effectiveness of what you’re trying to get done.
We all know the Fall show schedule is right around the corner and your focus will again turn to the treadmill that is successfully executing your show. Use these next few weeks to retrench your effort, determine if the group is working on their stated objectives and take the steps necessary to ensure that the success for which you planned actually sees the light of the day. Ignore this lull and you run the risk of starting next year planning for the same outcomes you intended for 2013.
I’m no different. I’m launching a new business that has me travelling the country; it would be easy for me to use that as an excuse to let our objective of gathering information from the regional association community drift. To ensure we stay on track, I’ll be working the RAC booth at the SAAC Show the first week of August and welcome the opportunity to talk to you about the ways that RAC can help you in your distributor and supplier businesses. Come see me in the RAC booth either August 4, or August 5 from 9 to 11 am; visit me in the PromoKitchen booth on the show floor; or join me at the PromoKitchen party at the show the night of August 3.
Roger W Burnett 