Planning for the Millennium

Abstract

Today's fast-moving social and professional environments require us, as individuals and as an Association, to constantly reexamine and modify what we do and how we do it. Where are going? How do we plan to get there? Strategic planning gives us the framework to lead and manage effectively, efficiently, and always with an eye to the future. It greatly improves our odds of succeeding in our mission by helping us anticipate the future, providing benchmarks, defining directions, and generating measurements against which our performance can be gauged. I'd like to provide you with an overview of our efforts to date on creating a new strategic plan to carry The American Dietetic Association (ADA) into the next century.Shaping ADA's FutureIn February, the Association launched a process to guide the development of a new strategic plan for the Association. ADA retained Arthur Andersen's Health Care Consulting Group, Chicago, Ill, to help with the process and move it forward— without sacrificing any input from our key stakeholders. All in all, more than 400 people have already provided input— members of the Board of Directors (BOD), House of Delegates (HOD), ADA staff, affiliate and dietetic practice group leadership, past presidents, and of course, membership. The Association has begun the process of shaping ADA's future.The BOD began the process by reviewing the Association's current mission, vision, culture, and values. Examination and clarification of these are critical steps in our strategic management process. Without them, all our best efforts could produce mere action without purpose or direction.ADA's extensive 1998 environmental scan (see the March 1999 Journal, p 347) involved hundreds of dietetics professionals and identified key trends that have importance to our profession. The HOD reviewed and verified the full list, and prioritized the trends that were determined to have the greatest potential impact. To obtain external validation of these trends, the BOD retained futurist Clement Bezold, PhD, of the Institute for Alternative Futures, Alexandria, Va. In his analysis and validation of our environmental scan, Bezold identified several other trends — gaps that ADA and its members could fill with noteworthy contributions. The gaps are:■ customization of health care and nutrition advice on the basis of genotype and phenotype;■ the increasing availability and cost-effectiveness of advanced biomonitoring;■ the growing diversity of the US population and the need for a more diverse dietetics profession;■ the dietetic implications of sustainable agriculture; and■ keeping ourselves—and our clients—armed with the latest nutrition information in an age of ever-changing nutritional paradigms.I encourage you to read Bezold's interesting and thoughtful report, which will be published in the August Journal.Using the trend information, the BOD focused on 5 key environmental trends that will drive ADA's strategic planning:■ increasing competition to provide nutrition information to the public;■ expansion of food and nutrition services into new areas;■ changing population demographics;■ advances in medical and health research; and■ the changing health-care environment.Mission and Vision, Culture, and ValuesThe strategic planning process began in March with a review of ADA's mission, vision, culture, and values. What do those terms mean in the context of our Association's future?ADA's mission reflects the enduring, long-term objectives of the Association. Our mission tells who we are, what we do, for whom we do it, and what ADA's role is in achieving our vision. Our mission, in other words, is our essential purpose and our guiding force.Our vision reflects what ADA will accomplish as a result of its efforts. Think of the vision as the organization's internal goals and focus, spanning a 3- to 5-year period. The vision reflects the impact of our efforts and drives strategy development.An organization's culture consists of articulated values that create the framework for behaviors, including our approach to making decisions, setting priorities, solving problems, and resolving conflicts. Culture and values don't dictate directions or programs. Rather, they illuminate the context within which those decisions will be made and how the organization will operate. No matter how well or how rigorously the strategic plan is developed, nothing will be accomplished without a culture that is able to support and sustain change and the strategic priorities of ADA.Throughout this process, the BOD has been communicating updates on the strategic planning process to members through the HOD, ADA Courier, ADA electronic mailing lists, and the Web site (www.eatright.org). A mailbox was created at [email protected] to receive member input.I strongly encourage you to do what many members have already done—give your feedback. All input to date has been reviewed by the strategic planning steering committee and has contributed to the plan's evolution.In these next few critical months, the BOD will continue to update you on the status of the planning process. A consensus conference is scheduled for August to formulate a new strategic plan. In October, the BOD will present the final plan to the HOD and to members at the 82nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Atlanta, Ga.My goal throughout this process is to ensure your involvement and your support, so that when we move into implementation 70,000 of us will all be pulling in the same direction, all committed to maximizing the excellence and value of ADA into the next century. Today's fast-moving social and professional environments require us, as individuals and as an Association, to constantly reexamine and modify what we do and how we do it. Where are going? How do we plan to get there? Strategic planning gives us the framework to lead and manage effectively, efficiently, and always with an eye to the future. It greatly improves our odds of succeeding in our mission by helping us anticipate the future, providing benchmarks, defining directions, and generating measurements against which our performance can be gauged. I'd like to provide you with an overview of our efforts to date on creating a new strategic plan to carry The American Dietetic Association (ADA) into the next century. Shaping ADA's FutureIn February, the Association launched a process to guide the development of a new strategic plan for the Association. ADA retained Arthur Andersen's Health Care Consulting Group, Chicago, Ill, to help with the process and move it forward— without sacrificing any input from our key stakeholders. All in all, more than 400 people have already provided input— members of the Board of Directors (BOD), House of Delegates (HOD), ADA staff, affiliate and dietetic practice group leadership, past presidents, and of course, membership. The Association has begun the process of shaping ADA's future.The BOD began the process by reviewing the Association's current mission, vision, culture, and values. Examination and clarification of these are critical steps in our strategic management process. Without them, all our best efforts could produce mere action without purpose or direction.ADA's extensive 1998 environmental scan (see the March 1999 Journal, p 347) involved hundreds of dietetics professionals and identified key trends that have importance to our profession. The HOD reviewed and verified the full list, and prioritized the trends that were determined to have the greatest potential impact. To obtain external validation of these trends, the BOD retained futurist Clement Bezold, PhD, of the Institute for Alternative Futures, Alexandria, Va. In his analysis and validation of our environmental scan, Bezold identified several other trends — gaps that ADA and its members could fill with noteworthy contributions. The gaps are:■ customization of health care and nutrition advice on the basis of genotype and phenotype;■ the increasing availability and cost-effectiveness of advanced biomonitoring;■ the growing diversity of the US population and the need for a more diverse dietetics profession;■ the dietetic implications of sustainable agriculture; and■ keeping ourselves—and our clients—armed with the latest nutrition information in an age of ever-changing nutritional paradigms.I encourage you to read Bezold's interesting and thoughtful report, which will be published in the August Journal.Using the trend information, the BOD focused on 5 key environmental trends that will drive ADA's strategic planning:■ increasing competition to provide nutrition information to the public;■ expansion of food and nutrition services into new areas;■ changing population demographics;■ advances in medical and health research; and■ the changing health-care environment. In February, the Association launched a process to guide the development of a new strategic plan for the Association. ADA retained Arthur Andersen's Health Care Consulting Group, Chicago, Ill, to help with the process and move it forward— without sacrificing any input from our key stakeholders. All in all, more than 400 people have already provided input— members of the Board of Directors (BOD), House of Delegates (HOD), ADA staff, affiliate and dietetic practice group leadership, past presidents, and of course, membership. The Association has begun the process of shaping ADA's future. The BOD began the process by reviewing the Association's current mission, vision, culture, and values. Examination and clarification of these are critical steps in our strategic management process. Without them, all our best efforts could produce mere action without purpose or direction. ADA's extensive 1998 environmental scan (see the March 1999 Journal, p 347) involved hundreds of dietetics professionals and identified key trends that have importance to our profession. The HOD reviewed and verified the full list, and prioritized the trends that were determined to have the greatest potential impact. To obtain external validation of these trends, the BOD retained futurist Clement Bezold, PhD, of the Institute for Alternative Futures, Alexandria, Va. In his analysis and validation of our environmental scan, Bezold identified several other trends — gaps that ADA and its members could fill with noteworthy contributions. The gaps are: ■ customization of health care and nutrition advice on the basis of genotype and phenotype; ■ the increasing availability and cost-effectiveness of advanced biomonitoring; ■ the growing diversity of the US population and the need for a more diverse dietetics profession; ■ the dietetic implications of sustainable agriculture; and ■ keeping ourselves—and our clients—armed with the latest nutrition information in an age of ever-changing nutritional paradigms. I encourage you to read Bezold's interesting and thoughtful report, which will be published in the August Journal. Using the trend information, the BOD focused on 5 key environmental trends that will drive ADA's strategic planning: ■ increasing competition to provide nutrition information to the public; ■ expansion of food and nutrition services into new areas; ■ changing population demographics; ■ advances in medical and health research; and ■ the changing health-care environment. Mission and Vision, Culture, and ValuesThe strategic planning process began in March with a review of ADA's mission, vision, culture, and values. What do those terms mean in the context of our Association's future?ADA's mission reflects the enduring, long-term objectives of the Association. Our mission tells who we are, what we do, for whom we do it, and what ADA's role is in achieving our vision. Our mission, in other words, is our essential purpose and our guiding force.Our vision reflects what ADA will accomplish as a result of its efforts. Think of the vision as the organization's internal goals and focus, spanning a 3- to 5-year period. The vision reflects the impact of our efforts and drives strategy development.An organization's culture consists of articulated values that create the framework for behaviors, including our approach to making decisions, setting priorities, solving problems, and resolving conflicts. Culture and values don't dictate directions or programs. Rather, they illuminate the context within which those decisions will be made and how the organization will operate. No matter how well or how rigorously the strategic plan is developed, nothing will be accomplished without a culture that is able to support and sustain change and the strategic priorities of ADA.Throughout this process, the BOD has been communicating updates on the strategic planning process to members through the HOD, ADA Courier, ADA electronic mailing lists, and the Web site (www.eatright.org). A mailbox was created at [email protected] to receive member input.I strongly encourage you to do what many members have already done—give your feedback. All input to date has been reviewed by the strategic planning steering committee and has contributed to the plan's evolution.In these next few critical months, the BOD will continue to update you on the status of the planning process. A consensus conference is scheduled for August to formulate a new strategic plan. In October, the BOD will present the final plan to the HOD and to members at the 82nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Atlanta, Ga.My goal throughout this process is to ensure your involvement and your support, so that when we move into implementation 70,000 of us will all be pulling in the same direction, all committed to maximizing the excellence and value of ADA into the next century. The strategic planning process began in March with a review of ADA's mission, vision, culture, and values. What do those terms mean in the context of our Association's future? ADA's mission reflects the enduring, long-term objectives of the Association. Our mission tells who we are, what we do, for whom we do it, and what ADA's role is in achieving our vision. Our mission, in other words, is our essential purpose and our guiding force. Our vision reflects what ADA will accomplish as a result of its efforts. Think of the vision as the organization's internal goals and focus, spanning a 3- to 5-year period. The vision reflects the impact of our efforts and drives strategy development. An organization's culture consists of articulated values that create the framework for behaviors, including our approach to making decisions, setting priorities, solving problems, and resolving conflicts. Culture and values don't dictate directions or programs. Rather, they illuminate the context within which those decisions will be made and how the organization will operate. No matter how well or how rigorously the strategic plan is developed, nothing will be accomplished without a culture that is able to support and sustain change and the strategic priorities of ADA. Throughout this process, the BOD has been communicating updates on the strategic planning process to members through the HOD, ADA Courier, ADA electronic mailing lists, and the Web site (www.eatright.org). A mailbox was created at [email protected] to receive member input. I strongly encourage you to do what many members have already done—give your feedback. All input to date has been reviewed by the strategic planning steering committee and has contributed to the plan's evolution. In these next few critical months, the BOD will continue to update you on the status of the planning process. A consensus conference is scheduled for August to formulate a new strategic plan. In October, the BOD will present the final plan to the HOD and to members at the 82nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Atlanta, Ga. My goal throughout this process is to ensure your involvement and your support, so that when we move into implementation 70,000 of us will all be pulling in the same direction, all committed to maximizing the excellence and value of ADA into the next century.