How to Define (Your) Legacy?

Abstract

This paper explores and questions the diverse interpretations and understandings of the concept of “legacy” across various organizations and individuals. A recurrent theme encountered is the perception of legacy as the ultimate goal. Many organizations, associations, and individuals aspire to create a lasting impact and indelible influence in their respective domains, a feat equated with legacy. As an instrumental tool for fostering global change and propelling success into the future, association events are asserted to have immense strategic potential. However, they do not provide a legacy in their own right – ultimately and most importantly, the legacy must be derived from the association itself. However, the paper recognizes that events can support association legacy; it highlights that realizing an event’s full potential does not occur in isolation. There is a need for strategic facilitation in various ways across many stakeholders. Whether this involves the creation of the perfect physical environment for individuals to gather, providing guidance, the allotment of necessary resources, or even financial support, crucial groundwork must be laid to ensure the success of these events. Any legacy programme’s establishment and ultimate success should be noticed and appreciated. Indeed, the paper advocates for initiating these programmes from the top level of an organization, as strategic direction is fundamental to their success. Furthermore, given the long-term nature of legacy, measurements should consider a broader perspective and not strictly adhere to typical short-term outlooks. This challenge is how to accurately measure these long-term strategic goals, especially when these goals need to be time-based, a major problem identified in the paper. Thus, careful consideration must be given to the metrics and indicators used.