Increase MAL Emphasis To Reflect Modern Situations
GOAL: Swim With The Current

As local associations continue to disband and new members continue to sign up, IAIP's MAL membership is growing faster than local association membership.  This participation trend mirrors the experiences of other large organizations.  Unless the Internet and epidemics go away, fighting the flow of this trend is inevitably self-defeating.

I propose that IAIP embrace this trend and expand/emphasize the MAL experience.  Increase the leadership, educational and participatory opportunities for MALs.  Let MALs know, out front and bold as brass, that they are valuable and equal components of a modern IAIP.

Equalizing membership types, MAL and local, would strengthen the appeal of membership in general and resolve our membership trend direction quandry.

Return IAIP To Every Office Lexicon
Goal: IAIP Name Recognition Regrowth

It's a small insurance world and people talk.  It's my experience they are not talking about IAIP.  Have you recently asked a coworker/client about IAIP and then had to explain?  IAIP's name recognition today is a shadow of its towering stature from years ago.  Whatever the cause, this can be fixed.
It won't be easy.

When IAIP bestows recognition of any kind, the recipients naturally "talk-up" IAIP in lunch rooms, board rooms and on-hold conference calls.  These small, verbal reputation bumps are a direct result of IAIP achievement recognition.  So grass roots name recognition can be caused and cultivated using tools we already posess.  There are many books on this subject.

The implementation cost would
be giving this 'reciprocal-recognition' idea additional consideration at every IAIP decision and turn.  It would take a top-down mindset and approach change that would touch everything IAIP does.

Recognition is bi-directional.  I propose making this an official IAIP core principle - living by it and benefitting from it.

Remove Ancient Barriers
Goal: Modernize IAIP Campaigning

The current IAIP Board candidate campaigning process is antiquated.  The rules for running for a Board position, as laid out in the Comprehensive Manual, are jumbled, incomplete, open to some interpretation, and written at the time
of envelopes and mailing labels.

This strange situation is certainly not what the founders intended.

I propose modernizing/clarifying the Board campaigning process by compiling relevant rules and options into a single reference, a Candidate's Resource.  I want to empower future IAIP board candidates with electronic assets and specific competition guidelines.

Only someone on the IAIP Board can light the fire to make this happen.

Remember to vote.

   
"With so many changes and at such speed we are forced to find new ways to navigate to our goals and to recognize that we don’t need to think outside the box... because there are no boxes.

"21st century thinking doesn’t require boxes.  This business model focuses on goals rather than obstacles in order to reach goals via alternative paths.  There are companies now that are leading the way with this new business model; Apple, Google, Progressive Insurance.  They recognize that they have resources beyond the typical executive business board and work to incorporate those resources back into their companies.

"I joined this association during a crisis of declining membership.  Some might view this as discouraging or may even wish to throw in the towel.  I believe that I couldn’t have joined at a better time.  Change inspires me.   There are opportunities everywhere."

- excerpt from Martha Elliott RVP acceptance speech, 2015