Can we change?
5th June 2007 by Michael Zimet
Since we started the Advocacy initiative last fall, I’ve heard comments like “oh, IABC will never change.” That we’re too cautious, too consensus-driven. Last week, those sentiments grew to a small chorus in a thread at my friend David Murray’s blog… capped by the statement, “there’s just too much ‘broke’ there and the IABC culture is just too weak to fix it.”
Gasp!
Is it really that bad? Are we so “stuck” that we can’t change? Could it be that we’re incapable of change? Even afraid of change?
I don’t think so — or else I wouldn’t be here. Let me tell you why.
First of all, I don’t like to dwell in the past. And to those who do, enough already! We can’t rewrite history. Yes, we’ve made mistakes along the way (who hasn’t?). Well, what better time to learn from them? What better time to focus on doing better?
Second, like most people, I find an element of safety and comfort in the status quo. It’s easier to keep things the way they are. Besides, change carries uncertainty and risk.
But the downside is even greater: everything around us is changing — business, society, technology, economies, families, everything — and if we don’t change with it, we’ll all lose.
Third, and perhaps most important, I believe in what we do — and I think most of you do, too. Our profession is filled with incredibly intelligent, talented, creative people who are deeply committed to improving the flow of information… to helping people and organizations succeed in every endeavor. We create meaning and acceptance. We build bridges of understanding. We promote dialogue.
We make a difference.
IABC is where we belong.
I’m not the only one who feels this way. I sense a growing desire to move forward… to build on the solid foundation of the many things we have done right… to raise the bar and then raise it again.
We know what we have to do. We have to be constructive, creative and committed. And confident that we can and will succeed.
So let’s stop dwelling in the past and move forward instead. For IABC, I believe that Change — and the Advocacy initiative — are ideas whose time has come. Fortunately, there are many others who now feel the same way. From the top down.
That’s why we started the Advocacy initiative. It’s an avenue to identify new opportunities that will benefit IABC, its members and the entire communications profession. And to build upon what we already have.
We’re ready.
Let’s not fool ourselves. It may not be easy. But it will be exciting. And I’m in it for the long haul.
Are you?
June 5th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Any member or employee who says of their association or organisation “X won’t change” should carefully think about one thing. What is X? What is IABC? It is a collective of people in which everyone has a role to play in bringing about change.
When enough members/ employees are apathetic, don’t participate, aren’t committed, change will happen only as fast as market forces dictate. If you don’t contribute to a healthy discussion about change, if you don’t make your views heard in the right places, if you aren’t committed enough to keep on at the right people until the change happens it’s unlikely to happen at the pace you want.
If all the members in IABC mobilised for change it could happen almost overnight. So if there’s something you don’t like about IABC, lobby your local chapter, tell the Chairman, email the person responsible. They won’t hear how strong a voice is until they can hear it.
Bring on the revolution!
June 5th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
I agree. Let’s take a lesson from the Appreciative Inquiry people and ask what have we done right? When did we feel we were really getting things accomplished? What would IABC look like if it did change and what would we do differently. Why dwell on the negative.
Or, we could take a lesson from Margaret Mead who said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”
(note: imagine what a big group can do….like IABC!)
Jan Graves
June 6th, 2007 at 3:20 am
“… change carries uncertainty and risk … we don’t change with it, we’ll all lose. … I sense a growing desire to move forward… to build on the solid foundation of the many things we have done right… to raise the bar and then raise it again. We know what we have to do. We have to be constructive, creative and committed. And confident that we can and will succeed. So let’s stop dwelling in the past and move forward instead. For IABC, I believe that Change — and the Advocacy initiative — are ideas whose time has come. … Let’s not fool ourselves. It may not be easy. But it will be exciting.”
Mike: OKAY, we believe you!!!!
Now: What’s going to change? Let’s talk it over in New Orleans.
June 6th, 2007 at 8:19 am
I join the chorus of supporting IABC and acknowledging that the association has to continue changing to meet its members needs.
I also support Mike in the need for movement in advocacy. Unfortunately, I think that movement has not yet gotten us past the “what is advocacy? what is/is not IABC’s role in advocacy? what is the difference between advocacy at the association level and at the chapter/region level?” stages.
We’ve got people on the bandwagon, now start the wagon rolling so that we can get some answers!
June 7th, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Here’s one for free: IABC could use its position as a link among communicators by publishing lots and lots of stories about people who have made progress in raising the profile/credibility/leverage of business communications. Where to get them? Ask the members. Skim the Gold Quill submissions, and where someone seems to have broken new ground, solicit a writeup. Provide a simple template so that the key points get covered and the stories are somewhat consistent. Post them here or on the Cafe (or both) and invite readers to comment. Ask the submitters to visit here regularly to folow up, and ask them to offer to take calls or e-mails of the “how did you do it?” variety.
June 7th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
The paradox about change, and advocacy, is that we are the practitioners who are so often responsible for it in our own organisations, yet we find it difficult to do to our professional one. Yet this is not about apathy, and IABC has very many members that are constructive, creative and committed - more so than I’ve seen in most organisation I’ve belong/ed to. All too often it’s simply about time…..not enough hours in the day (now how old were my children when I last saw them….).
We seem to have drifted here onto change from advocacy - the two are different. Personally, my passion and priority are for the latter. IABC is less needing change than changing how the practice is perceived. And yes, we do have the power to effect that (it’s just the time I’m not sure about).
June 8th, 2007 at 12:53 am
Actually, Russell, Advocacy and Change are closely intertwined; many of the opportunities we’re exploring would represent change in one form or another. To resist or discourage change would limit our chances for the Advocacy initiative to bear fruit.
You’re right, of course, that our focus should be on Advocacy. My point in this post was that despite some people’s “concerns,” I think IABC is both willing and able to embrace the changes that Advocacy may bring.
You’re also correct in noting that time (i.e., the lack of it) may be the greatest challenge we face as a volunteer-driven association. That may make our progress slower than we’d like, but I’m still confident that we’ll be successful.