As 2018 comes to a close and we look forward to the new year, I find myself reflecting on some of our priority areas at Farland Group — both for the boards we work on as well as my own day-to-day work. While we concentrate on these areas throughout the year, we need to maintain the momentum we began on January 2. Below are a few things that are imperative as we soon start the New Year.
Membership and Recruitment. A strong membership pipeline, as previously outlined by my colleague Anne Taylor, is extremely important for any board or council. Membership recruitment is a vital process that we are involved in with our clients throughout the year, and boards tend to take stock of their membership rosters each December. As we close the meeting cycle for the year, we have a better picture of executives on a particular advisory council who may be retiring from their roles and will need to be replaced, or those whose roles have simply evolved and are no longer able to participate. I’ve learned it’s always better to have a recruiting pipeline in place, rather than start from scratch every time.
Planning Ahead. It’s never too early to plan ahead for the next year, and this includes scheduling monthly checkpoint calls with our client teams and creating yearly program timelines. And although we continuously check the timelines throughout the year to ensure we’re on track, or make adjustments, we need to have a starting place; it’s never too early to think about major milestones and deadlines.
Organizing. Moving and cleaning folders, outlining to-do’s for after the holiday break and tying up loose ends may sound mundane, but it’s an extremely important piece of work. Let me tell you from experience, it helps to have items in an orderly fashion before the end of the year break; it makes life much easier once you return from the holidays to be able to pick up right where you left off.
As I continue getting all of my ducks in a row before end-of-year, what are you focused on? For us at Farland Group, it’s clear that 2019 is shaping up to be quite busy year.