Socratic Questions Regarding the 7 Measures of Success Project
Like many, here at this conference I was really looking forward to Jim Collins' session yesterday. His work in Good to Great and Built to Last has inspired this community (and the corporate community) and still continues to do so. I appreciate the amazing effort of the volunteer committee that worked on the 7 Measures of Success project - big kudos to each of these individuals for their time and commitment. I also want to thank the individual associations that took part in the project and those that submitted information to participate. It takes a lot of foresight to put your organization out there for microscopic examination.
In this day and age of information and data overload, I think it is essential for all leaders to Socratically question just about everything we hear. We need to strive to achieve a deeper understanding of the data, research, and information we gather and receive before placing a value judgment on it. Whether it is data from staff, from our own association, from our field/profession, or research outside our “world”, we need to Socratically evaluate what we are receiving. These questions are not value judgment questions but questions to help clarify and better understand the research. I hope that as you read the 7 Measures of Success book you do so with an inquisitive mind because, in fact, it is simply one-way to look at the association world.
As I do a deep dive into the 7 Measures book over the coming days I know my list of questions will grow. Here are a few of my questions that stem from the Collins presentation yesterday:
- Why did Collins not speak specifically to the 7 Measures and provide, at a minimum, a strategic view of the findings?
- The list of participating associations seems to include all large associations. Is there any evidence that the findings from this book also apply to smaller and mid-sized associations?
- What did the participating associations think about the process?
- Does the criterion used for this project truly compare the associations accurately?
- Is the matched pair methodology the best way to compare associations?
- Were there any issues that the committee feels were left unanswered or were not addressed in this research effort?
I encourage you to add to this list! Feel free to post comments; I would love to hear your thoughts.