What better time for an update than the beginning of the new calendar year?

Although this blog was dormant for a while, a lot was going on “behind the scenes,” and I’m pleased to report that we’re making notable progress in some areas…

• The Social Responsibility subcommittee, under the leadership of Michelle Bernhart, has been actively involved in the ISO 26000 process. IABC played a leading role at the recent ISO SR Working Group meeting in Vienna, Austria, thanks to the work of our representatives, Meryl David and Michelle, who was singled out for her contributions. The committee is also exploring several new programs and activities, including sessions developed for the 2008 Leadership Institute and International Conference. In addition, as you’ve probably already seen, the group contributed substantial content to the November-December issue (”The Green Revolution”) of Communication World and is also helping IABC address its own SR performance.
• The Issues Advisory Team (which we originally proposed to the Executive Board as the “flying squad“) is up and running under the leadership of Wilma Mathews, ABC. Heading their agenda is identifying issues and opportunities as well as logistics: how to respond in a timely fashion (within 24 hours) when team members spot opportunities in different time zones.

In the past few months, as IABC’s 2008-2011 strategic plan took shape, we had ongoing discussions with the Executive Board about how we could best proceed to address some of the other facets of the Advocacy initiative.

As you know, we originally planned to form several additional subcommittees to study specific subsets of Advocacy (which I wrote about previously). However, we realized that IABC already has quite a few committees and some of what we were proposing would essentially be redundant. At the same time, we know there are several areas that members have expressed an interest in exploring to identify potential new opportunities for IABC, as part of the Advocacy initiative.

So, having sorted everything out, here’s where we are now and our plans going forward:

1. Our top priority in Advocacy is to focus on promoting our profession. An Advocacy committee will study this topic and explore a wide range of possibilities. Our goal is to present a “first round” of ideas to the Executive Board by mid-year. However, that first round will likely be “a drop in the bucket” as our work in this area continues at least through the end of 2008. Remember, the Advocacy process will be incremental, but I think you’ll agree that as an association of volunteers, it’s not realistic for us to try to do too many things at once.

2. At the same time, there are other areas I identified for which we don’t want to lose interest or momentum. In fact, a number of people have expressed their interest in studying those areas, and we want to take advantage of that interest. It happens that IABC will introduce some new online tools in the next few months. We hope to use those tools to enable those of you interested in such Advocacy subsets as Education, Building Bridges and Social Responsibility to begin to exchange, discuss and evaluate ideas, viewpoints and suggestions that could eventually find their way into the Advocacy initiative. I’ll share details as soon as they’re available.

I know that many of you were excited about the Advocacy initiative, and I hope your enthusiasm, like ours, continues to be strong. Support for what we’re doing is as solid as ever, and I expect to see a lot of progress in 2008. An important first step is reactivating the Advocacy Commons, where you’ll see more regular postings, information and discussion. As I said in my earlier post, I’ll do a better job of keeping you informed and hope you’ll share your feedback, suggestions and questions. (If you prefer to do that offline, please email me at iabc.advocacy (at) gmail-dot-com.)

It’s going to be a good year. Stay tuned…

In a recent interview in Newsweek, Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz made some excellent comments about the value of blogging:

If something happens, I don’t want to rely on third parties to interpret it, I just want to be right there to talk about it. … It would be easier to…never talk to the world, and have somebody else write the letter to the shareholder. But…I think the best way for me to communicate the values of the company is every day and every week.

I could feel him looking right at me as he said those words. Yes, it’s been very quiet here for a while, and the blame is all mine. No excuses. As an Advocacy “evangelist,” I should be keeping you informed about what’s happening in our initiative — not to mention regularly communicating the values of our profession and our association.

So although it may be premature for me to make a new year’s resolution, I’ll go out on a limb anyway…

I hereby commit to keeping you informed about what’s happening in the Advocacy initiative, even if there are no “big announcements” to share. We’re all volunteers working toward common goals, and our progress will be very incremental. Still, we’re working on it, and I hope you’ll join with us.

Stay tuned for an update, to be followed by posts about some of the different issues and opportunities we’re looking at. I’m breaking my unintentional silence and hope you will, too.

PS: My best wishes for the holiday season!

As I wrote recently, we want to open to Advocacy Commons to posts from others. Today’s “guest” post — our first — comes from Michael Klein in The Netherlands…

The concept of advocacy about, by, and for IABC is proving to be a tricky one, as the repartee in the Advocacy Commons has shown through the summer. Some think IABC and its officers should take official stands on external issues, some think IABC should focus its efforts on advocating for and leading the global communication industry, and still others want a focus on satisfying member desires and strengthening IABC as an institution.

It is clear that there is no consensus about which of these IABC advocacy roles should be emphasized. And, in my view, a key reason for this unclarity derives from the indirect manner in IABC’s officers are selected. For the advocacy potential of IABC to be unleashed, the subject of direct election of IABC officers is one that merits full and open consideration throughout the membership, centered around a bylaw change vote in 2008.

Direct election of IABC officers would allow members unprecedented impact not only in influencing the Association’s direction—but in actively determining its advocacy agenda. Those who seek leadership roles would not only have to propose their agenda alternatives, but advocate them with sufficient passion, clarity and lucidity to the membership.

There are some who may say that direct elections would be divisive and destabilising, and that the current system has successfully brought the IABC through some rough times. There are others, including myself, who think that the combination of advocacy and democracy would create a resurgent IABC that makes its message heard—and felt—as the leading voice for our industry in a fast-moving world.

But one thing is certain. The time for this discussion is now. Let it be open and thorough. And let it help us raise our game in the arena of advocacy.