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2017 Organization To Do's
It’s Almost 2017, and Here’s What Your Organization Needs to Do—and Not Do—in the Coming Year

By Dustin McKissen, November 08, 2016

2016 is almost over, and it’s not too soon to start thinking about what your organization needs to accomplish in 2017.

Here are a few things that should be on your list—and one that shouldn’t.

1. You need to create a succession plan for your organization’s leadership.

Succession planning is critically important for your board of directors. Do you have someone ready to step in and serve as president when your current president’s term ends? Do they know what leading a board is really like, and how different it is than “merely” serving on a board? Have you created accurate, comprehensive job descriptions to describe what is expected of board officers?

Have you begun identifying candidates to fill future board vacancies?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, you need to make succession planning a priority in 2017.

2. You need to figure out how to effectively reach your stakeholders.

Your website. Your newsletter. Your blog. LinkedIn. Twitter. Facebook. Snapchat. Instagram.

How are you reaching your stakeholders? Are you using the right tools? If you’re a trade association that serves primarily farmers in their 70s, chances are Snapchat is not the most-effective tool to reach your members. On the other hand, colleges that are not using Snapchat are probably missing a great opportunity to reach their audience.

Despite all of the communications tools and platforms at our disposal, reaching your target audience has, in some ways, become more difficult.

That’s why you need a strategy.

In fact…

3. You need to develop a strategic plan.

2016 was a year of change, and there is no reason to think 2017 won’t be just as eventful.

Your organization needs to be prepared. You need to have a strategic plan that is developed collaboratively, with input from all levels of your organization, and can be adapted to a rapidly changing environment.

BoardPaq’s new SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) tool gives organizations the capability to do a collaborative SWOT analysis—which is exactly what your organization needs to thrive in today’s market.

And it gets even better: BoardPaq is the only board portal to offer a strategic planning feature and there's no additional charge.

4. You DON’T need to spend time creating board binders and paper material.

Succession planning. Effectively targeting your stakeholders. Developing the strategic plan your organization needs.

All of those tasks are critically important to your organization’s future.

And they all take time.

Time you won’t have, if you are spending precious hours and resources creating board binders for your next meeting.

Luckily, BoardPaq can help free up some of your time. Our cost-effective board portal will allow you to run paperless meetings, create minutes faster, and communicate with your board and committees faster and more easily than ever before.

While 2016 isn’t quite over yet, it’s not too early to look toward 2017 and what your organization can accomplish in a new year.


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Dustin McKissen is the founder of McKissen + Company, an association management and marketing firm. He is a Certified Association Executive and has served as an executive or consultant to a wide variety trade associations, professional societies, and nonprofits.
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