The late motivational speaker Zig Ziglar taught the subject of goal setting by opining on the story of Howard Hill, who won 196 archery tournaments in a row in the first part of the 20th century. He was the guy Hollywood hired to do stunts like splitting one arrow with another in Robin Hood films. Amazing stuff. Mr. Ziglar claimed he was such a talented instructor, he could teach anyone to hit a target with more proficiency than Howard Hill – provided Mr. Hill was blindfolded and spun around a few times.
“Ridiculous! How can someone hit a target they can’t see?” To which Mr. Ziglar responded “That’s very true. Even worse, how can you hit a target you don’t even have?”
It seems so incredibly obvious. Have a target, hit a target. Have a goal, reach a goal. Duh. Yet how many community associations have clear, measurable goals, much less a plan to achieve them? Shockingly few.
THERE’S YOUR SIGN…
Comedian Bill Engvall made this tag line famous. If you are not familiar, Google it. He will make you laugh. But some signs can make you cry. Does any of this sound familiar?:
– “Surprise” major expenses resulting in special assessments, steep fee increases, loans, or any combination thereof
– Members disenchanted with their community association
– Endless debate on how the association should spend its money
– Crisis management becoming standard operating procedure
– Regrettable history repeating itself over and over again
– All these may be signs that long term planning is lacking.
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
If it so clear that community associations need goals and a planning process, why doesn’t it happen?Through the years, I’ve heard plenty of reasons, none of them good.
– “Our meetings are already 3 hours long. Our agenda is full.”
– “Why should we plan for things that won’t happen until after we are long gone from here?”
– “I’ve been through strategic planning sessions at work. Everybody has great ideas, but nothing ever comes of it. It’s a waste of time.”
– “We are all volunteers here. We just don’t have time.”
– “We have a budget and a reserve study. That’s our plan.”
– “We can deal with it later.”
Failing to plan is absolutely a plan to fail. Ted Ross, a board member for the Washington Metro Chapter of the Community Associations Institute and owner of TRC Engineering frequently preaches, “The longer you defer a capital project, the more costly the project becomes and fewer options are available.” The same principle is true for any facet of the operation where necessary change is deferred. Waiting for projects or situations to become emergencies is never a good idea. Planning for the future is an investment in time, energy, and money.
This is Part 1 of a 6 part series. Part 2 will outline the 5 basic steps of long range planning. Stay tuned!
