When do you do your best thinking and planning? For me it is when I am on the ‘long run’ – or as runners say, that time after 3 or 4 miles where your mind and body go into auto-pilot and your thoughts start to wander. I’ve taken several long runs lately as I’ve contemplated what it means to step up into the President role within the DAA. I’ve got some big shoes to fill, but I have a great team around me to provide both the support and guidance to help our association hit our goals this year – especially with respect to Professional Development and the initiatives that we are tackling to help our members achieve their own goals with respect to digital analysis, product management, optimization and leadership development.
As we roll into June and head into enjoying vacations with family and friends, this is a great time to rethink your intentions for 2014 and what your goals are professionally and personally. Are you on track? Have there been changes in your business or career that makes you pause and think about your professional development or strategic initiatives for this calendar year?
This year the DAA is focused on Professional Development – for you, your staff and your company. If you haven’t ever read the mission statement of the DAA, and perhaps wonder why we are all in this organization together, take a moment to read below.
“The DAA exists to help organizations illuminate and overcome the challenges of data acquisition, exploration, deduction and application. The DAA is a not-for-profit, volunteer-powered association, and strives to help individuals become more valuable through education, community, research and advocacy.”
Striving to help individuals (yes, that is you, me, your team, your company) become more valuable is a tall task. Valuable is a strong word. Personally it means indispensable, promotable, dependable and “rock star.” For your company it means competitive, differentiated, better than the competition, higher market cap and stronger EBITDA.
Your Board of Directors has spent considerable time developing a product roadmap that delivers on this mission statement. In addition to many of the resources that we already offer, including Certification, our projects this year include:
If you are not already tapping into these resources and getting involved, now is the time to do so. You can volunteer your time or simply utilize these resources and incorporate them into your own development plan or that of your staff.
I encourage you to take the ‘long run’ this month and think about whether you and your teams are on track for what you set out to accomplish this year. Whether that is an actual run, a bike ride or a walk along the beach this summer – take the time to reflect on the first half of this year and what you need to do in order to achieve your goals for 2014. Don’t just reflect, set your course redirection and take action – own it!
Never have I been more excited to be a part of the DAA! I look forward to working with many of you this year and delivering on the promise of our association as we head into another growth year for our membership and industry.