President's Corner

While writing recently about some experiences I have had in my career, I was reminded of a particularly difficult time as a brand new business officer. During this time, I chose five words which would serve as touchstones for me for years to come. Sorry, but I’m not going to reveal all five of the words yet. I have several more articles to write for The Bottom Line, so I had better keep them in my pocket for later use. I wrote these words on individual stones, which are actually in my computer bag now, 14 years later. The one that comes to mind at this time in the life of CCBO is growth.

Over the Christmas break this year, I spent time with my wife and four kids looking at goals set together the previous year. Our practice has been to look at various life areas, such as educational, physical, spiritual, relationships, etc. and set goals in each area. We are trying to model to the kids the importance of setting goals and making plans to achieve them. It has taken me a while to learn this, but I’m beginning to realize I cannot seem to grow in every area of my life each year. I can grow in some, though. At work, I have been having discussions with my college president about the need for growth in our college. Organizations are not that different from individuals when it comes to the need for growth. That does not mean organizations and individuals should, or even could, be growing in all dimensions all the time. It would be naïve to think that was even possible. But, we should be striving for growth in some dimensions of our colleges and our personal lives all the time.

The strategic plan adopted by the CCBO Board of Directors includes a goal of growing our membership. We will do this by both growing the institutional members and business partners. Our targeted increase is 10% each year through 2016. We are going to work harder to convince more people that membership provides value. Through our new committee structure, we are addressing all of our goals. You can expect us to provide best in class professional development programs and more use of technology and communications resources to reach you. This will provide the extra "horsepower" we need to accomplish what we set out to do and we are glad so many of you, our members, are participating with us. I wish you the best in 2014!