Orientation for Board Members
This spring we’ll celebrate 25 years of being a trusted resource for the Destination Marketing and Management sector. Yeah…we know. It simply doesn’t seem possible as I look back at the “kid” that stepped away from the Greater Madison CVB just days before completing my Executive MBA at the University of Wisconsin.
In the essentially analog world of 1995, launching a start-up was no easy task. Ultimately, I began to publish (and mail) a print newsletter twice a year to gain visibility, identify new trends and share great DMO stories (I’ve always been a storyteller). Today, we publish the now digital Z-News almost monthly.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. One of our first newsletters included a column called “Boards From Hell” in which we would (anonymously, of course) chronicle the pitfalls befalling DMOs that had Board Members that didn’t understand their role or had a significant conflict of interest (and sometimes both). Thankfully, over two and a half decades, we’ve been able to help lots of Boards be bigger and better than they ever envisioned through our Board Workshops, Strategic Planning sessions and the book Destination Leadership.
But, as far as we’ve all come, it’s maddening to see some of the same challenges continue to bedevil DMOs, as effective Board Governance faces diabolical new challenges (and a few of the old ghosts) at what seems like every turn.
Over the holidays, Terri and I had time to reflect on the past year. We chuckled at what a long, strange trip it’s been; at the ideas we began to socialize well over a decade ago (such as “It’s Not Just Heads in Beds. It’s also Cheeks in Seats, Torsos through Turnstiles, Feet on the Streets, Fans in the Stands and More in the Store"). Or the video we had posted on our website home page 5 years ago in which I told an audience in Pensacola that “You do not build a destination for Visitors; You build it for yourselves.” That concept of the residents being our customers and Tourism being the first date for Economic Development is something we’ve been saying for years.
That title on my business card, “Chief Instigator,” isn’t random. We have always stirred the philosophical pot of why DMOs exist and how we should exert our influence to enhance the Quality of Life for our communities.
So what will 2020 bring? The challenges that we see for the decade ahead flow from three insidious pools. And, I use that word intentionally. Most of the misfortune that constrains DMOs is not born through malice of forethought. It is often a well-meaning (or, at least an unsophisticated) action or philosophy that slowly erodes the ability of the DMO to do the critical work its community desperately needs.
The three pools I refer to are; board structure and governance, the absence of a coherent in-market message and a dogged adherence to old-school ideologies. And, over the next three months, we’ll be addressing each one of these in much more detail.
What we will suggest this month, however, is that the lack of a comprehensive onboarding process for Board Members (rookie as well as veteran) is where we most often see some of the biggest shortcomings for both our clients and the DMOs we sadly watch twitch from the sidelines.
I know it can be exhausting. I get that Board recruits don’t think they need more than an hour to get up to speed (that should be a fairly massive warning signal in itself). And, I know that, as a CEO, you might think you have more important things to do.
Ummmm…no. No, you don’t. Placing your Board in a position to lead, influence and protect the DMO is quite possibly the most important thing you can do as a CEO. To use a football metaphor, if you are the QB, the Board is your offensive line and your defensive backfield. These are the individuals that can prevent a sack and pick-off opponents. But they cannot be effective if they have not been properly trained. Yes, think of Orientation as NFL Summer Training Camp.
Onboarding must be more than just a conversation over lunch or assigning another Board member to be their mentor. There must be a dedicated process and orientation that occurs every single year. And, that’s why we’re adding “onBOARDing” in 2020 to the services that we already perform for select communities and DMOs. Wanna know more? Reach out to our High Priestess of Client Services Terri White to get the inside track on this exciting new offering.
And, let’s make these ‘20s roar with Boards that can make a difference, not just sit at a table, rubber-stamping reports. Our communities deserve no less.