While we should all be looking down the road, most of us spend our time just trying to survive the month. I remember a management negotiator once told me that a contractor’s idea of long term planning was tomorrow’s lunch. While it was meant to be humorous, I was a bit offended as I am a contractor. However, I soon discovered he had a point but it was not limited to just contractors. I empathize with people who feel long range planning is not worth spending an inordinate amount of time on. After all, it is the here and now that pays current bills. Besides, a decade is so far away.
Long term planning is where your industry association should play a big role. After being around many associations, boards of directors and staff, I found some associations are leaders of their industry by thinking forward for the entire group as a whole. The primary job of any association is to represent the membership and industry. What does this mean? A good place to start is to look at their mission statement and code of ethics. Does your association hold those principles to be the guiding light for the group? Can the board of directors take off their company hat and make tough decisions that benefit the group, not just themselves?