Forum - January/February 2011

with a strong mandate to adapt the mission statement, provided an important early catalyst to the process.

Adapting to the Environment
Despite efforts to advance the plan
elements using e-mail and conference
calls, the team discovered that most of
the council members prefer face-to-face
meetings. One important milestone was
the approval of the new APA mission
statement. A straw poll of council mem-
bers taken in advance of their meeting
suggested roughly 65 percent approval
with the draft. However, during the
morning session it became apparent
that the mission would not be approved
by a wide enough margin to inspire
confidence in the rest of the planning
process. A quick decision was made to
convene a small group of council mem-
bers during the lunch break to work on
a revised approach. Working with the
lead consultant from McKinley, the
small group quickly crafted a new ver-
sion. As dessert was served, consensus
was reached. Ultimately, this quintes-
sential working lunch produced a new
mission statement that captured the
spirit of APA’s ambitions and passed
with nearly unanimous approval in the
afternoon session.

Mission Accomplished
During a two-year period, APA was able
to successfully move its first strategic
plan through its various constituencies,
as virtually all volunteer groups within
the organization had an opportunity to
contribute to the planning process. At
the end of the process, the plan won
nearly unanimous approval on the floor
of APA’s Council, leaving APA well
positioned to use the plan to align its
various activities to the organization’s
central strategy. Considering the APA’s
structure as an asset, rather than a hin-
drance, and having an objective third
party to guide the process were key ele-
ments of a successful outcome, accord-
ing to Honaker.

Jay Younger is managing partner and chief consultant for McKinley Marketing Inc., an association consulting firm with offices in Washington, D.C., and Chicago. He may be reached at (202) 333- 6250, ext. 303 or jyounger@mckinleymarketing.

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