Oz Report

USHPA BOD items (from issue 10.201)

A somewhat comical look at the upcoming BOD meeting

Jayne writes:

Historical and current Association trends do not support doubling the membership every 10 years or tripling the membership in 25 years.  It's going to require a tremendous amount of effort to reverse the current membership trend because it's not a new trend.

Kinda reinforces what I write here: http://ozreport.com/10.196#2

Stabilizing the long standing membership trend or reversing the more recent decline in membership would be notable achievements but instead, the aggressive nature of the Strategic Plan’s goals may actually have the effect of making the Association’s performance relative to goal appear to be inadequate.

It would indeed appear inadequate just to hold tight.

Strategic Plan Action Items Will They Really Make A Difference?

I don't think so.  These items do not adequately address the goal.  Doing them is not going to help us move the needle.

Even if the Plan’s ten and 25-year membership goals are intentionally overstated and aggressive -- achieving these goals will require transformative change...not just change...  but a transformation in the way the organization works etc.  Organizations are rarely able to hit "on all cylinders" while engaged in the process of transformative change.

And nobody is ready for that.

The real challenge for implementation of the Strategic Plan may include managing transformational change at the same time Plan action items are implemented.  And even if both are managed at the same time, it is highly unlikely that the Association’s active pilot membership will double in 10 years.

I say let's make the changes that are required to meet the goals.

This doesn't mean that the action items in the Strategic Plan shouldn't be pursued – on the contrary -- there are numerous truly worthy action items in the Plan that should be implemented.  But it does mean that Plan action items should be evaluated to determine whether they are likely to positively contribute to the ten and 25-year goals.  If implementation of an action is unlikely to have an appreciable effect on the ten and 25-year goals that action should either be dropped from the Plan or included as contingencies instead.

Cut out the chaff (most of the strategic plan) now.

Membership Expiration Trend - The highest membership expiration rates occur at the Beginner and Novice rating level with the single highest rate of attrition occurring after a pilot has received the Novice rating.  Other aviation-related associations including SSA and USPA report the same trends.

Lack of quality or effective training?  Lack of flying opportunities for novice rated pilots?  Definitional problems?

In fact, mentorship is even more important at this point in the process because most pilots are no longer actively engaged in a training program after they achieve the Novice rating.

Maybe they should be.

Be sure to bring your copy of the Strategic Plan to the Fall Board of Director's meeting.  You will need it!  Committee chairs will receive an email including all Strategic Plan-related action items assigned to your committee.  Committee chairs are asked to evaluate action items that were due in 2005 and 2006 and those actions that will be due in 2007.

This isn't reflected in the committee meeting agendas.

Membership and Development may consider adopting a short term goal that includes reversing the current decline in membership.

This is not on their agenda.

Discuss USHPA at the Oz Report forum