WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?
A 20/20 Vision of the Future
BY J. KARL WISE, PH.D., CAE
According to computer scientist Alan Kay:
“The best way to predict the future is to
invent it.”
With this in mind, the American Vet-
erinary Medical Association formed the
20/20 Vision Commission as part of a
three-phase planning strategy that began
in January 2010. During the first phase,
the AVMA Executive Board focused on a
short-term, one-year continuation of its
current strategic plan. The second phase
used environmental scanning to create
appropriate strategic goals for the next
two to five years. Phase three was the
actual establishment of the 20/20 Vision
Commission, charged with creating a
progressive and clear vision for the AVMA
that would address the challenges of glo-
balization, technological advances and
the myriad socio-economic changes pre-
dicted for the next six to 10 years, leading
up to the year 2020.
The AVMA issued a request for participation by progressive thinkers from
all sectors of veterinary medicine, plus
those from other fields who felt they contribute. Several AVMA Executive Board
members and volunteer leaders selected
the members of the 20/20 Vision Commission, which includes members from
government, private veterinary practice, a
veterinary medical student, a state veterinary medical association executive and a
senior industry executive.
ians and pet owners think about veterinary care. The mission is to ensure that
pets receive the preventive health care
they deserve through regular visits to the
veterinarian rather than just critical care
when they are sick or hurt.
A new economic vision for the association also was incorporated into the 2012
– 2015 strategic plan so that programs
and tactics undertaken by the association
would reflect goals that would result in
positive economic outcomes. As a significant part of that plan, the AVMA Executive Board approved several bold steps to
meet current and future economic challenges: approval of a new Division of Veterinary Economics, establishment of an
Economics Strategy Committee and the
diversion of $5 million into a reserve fund
to support new programs and plans.
A New Strategy for the Future
The vision proposed by the Commission
is exciting and multifaceted. The execu-
tive summary states that, “The veterinary
profession and the AVMA are being chal-
lenged to reconcile a fundamental shift
of the profession from one that has tra-
ditionally prided itself on its strong inde-
pendence, to now, integrating itself into a
new interdependency that calls into ques-
tion how AVMA works, operates, what
it does and who are its future partners
and members.” The report explains, “The
Commission strongly endorses an organi-
zational transformation leading to a new
vision and adoption of key strategies that
will guide it to achieving the vision.”
The Commission’s vision incorporated
the quality and characteristics needed to
position the AVMA as a dynamic associa-
tion, increasingly relevant and responsive
to its membership and the public by the
year 2020.
Lessons Learned
There were a number of aspects of the
20/20 Commission that helped make its
report a success:
1. The AVMA Executive Board set
clearly articulated goals and expectations and provided the resources and
time needed for the Commission to
accomplish its assignment.
An “appointing body” critically
assessed each nominee to ensure it
was comprised of diverse, passionate, astute and progressive thinkers
dedicated to the advancement of the
organization.
3. A respected leader with a broad
array of leadership experiences in
veterinary education and senior government positions was recruited to
chair the Commission and bring big-picture thinking and practical insight.
An expert facilitator and seasoned
staff drove the Commission’s agenda
and kept the group focused on delivering a substantive report on time.
J. Karl Wise, Ph.D., CAE, is the associate executive
vice president of the American Veterinary Medical
Association. He may be reached at kwise@avma.org.
