Don’t Forget Your Roots – Association Field Report (September 3, 2021)

Hi there everyone, it’s JP Moery with an observation from the field.  Friends I’m going back to 1862, why? Well, last night I read a letter from a member of my family, Rudolf Moery. In 1862, he traveled to this country from Switzerland, and began the Moery American experience. And last night, I read that letter about his journey.
It was challenging, there was illness, uncertainty, and there was this incredible sense of major opportunity to start new and start a new life in the new world. What a great time to visit that note, during this time in my career and my journey.  I want to pass along to you and apply it to the association field right now.
So, here’s my observation. We had beginnings in our associations. What were they? What were the ladies and the gentlemen that put together this organization working for? It’s probably a good time to revisit and use it to kind of balance out the world that we’re navigating right now.
There are options for growth and relevance, and likely to be quite significant. There are challenges that they were probably facing that were immense and the uncertainty around the sustainability of their organizations was true. They started their organizations, they had an idea of what it was about, what it could be for that industry or that profession or that type of business that they were representing in their association.
Now some associations are facing the same thing. My bed is the core mission of your organization is still possible. Focus on that, and you’ll be fine. Right now, some of these first world problems that we’re dealing with regarding the format of the meeting may still be important, there’s just an immediate focus. We’ll get through that.
The idea and the observation for today is to take a look back at your organization, its founding principles, its mission, and its why people put the organization together in the first place.  I think it will have a calming effect and enable you to identify the priorities of your organization, and what you need to focus on for the long term of the industry or the profession that you represent. Go back to the core, and I think you’ll be fine. That’s an observation from the field. I hope it’s helpful to you, so long.
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