Eyes Front...and Back

In my preaching about the importance of having an organizational vision one of my favourite sayings is, “If you keep looking in the rear view mirror, you’ll never see where you’re going”. This has been a quick and easy way for me to tell organizations and their leaders that looking forward is more important when you’re leading an organization than looking back. The danger in catchphrases like this is that it makes it sound like looking back is not important.  Looking back is not only important; it is essential. Every association should carefully consider why they should keep track of their history; understand why they don’t and then deal with the what, how and who will do this tracking.

Our speech abounds with pithy statements about the importance of history.  One of the most common is: “Study the past if you would not repeat it” - which means that very little happens that is new in organization life. If we just took a look back we might be surprised at what is applicable to our current situation. The main reason why organizations should consider their history is so that they don’t repeat their mistakes – particularly if they are planning strategically.

If ever you want to remember and correct your blunders, it would be during your regular planning sessions. Yet, most strategic planning does not include an historical perspective as if anything occurring before today is of no value. Generally, strategic planning will include a look inside the organization, identifying the strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats that are external.  If an organization is serious about its strategic planning, it will also look around through environmental scanning.  But when it comes to looking back as part of looking forward, most organizations just do not do it.

Looking back can offer a balance to looking forward that makes a difference to what is remembered from the past and how it is remembered. When you look back it is valuable to not only consider what has happened but also consider the context and differing perspectives around the events. It is amazing how different this can be with our memories. In one provincial professional association, a crossroads had been reached several years previously which was very important. Unfortunately, there were also noteworthy differences in what both the senior staff and a director remembered about this event. Even more unfortunate – there was no written record. The two different memories led to confusion and conflict among the Board and staff and interfered with the organization moving forward successfully.  When there is significance in memories, and when these memories are not written then organizations may have difficulty moving forward.

So why don’t organizations consider their history more often?  The biggest and simplest reason that organizations don’t refer to their history as they plan is because they don’t have their history written down. When you look at the common development of organizations, there is a clear connection between the stages of development and what they do with their history.  Organizations in beginning or early stages don’t write their history down because there is so little history and because it is so close in memory that everyone knows it anyway. By the time an organization has developed into the “going concern” phase, there’s no time to take note of the past because the crises of the present are so encompassing. As an organization moves into the “status quo” phase, the history is more often considered. At this time there is much more history; likely there have been mistakes that have been corrected, and just more to tell.

Organizations don’t keep their history because it seems like a lot of work, a project that no one wants to do. But in a couple of Alberta based associations have proved this wrong. The Alberta Association of Electrical Contractors spent a summer gathering their 40 year history into a gold lettered hard cover book. This was accomplished by the Executive Director, Sherri McLean, and one association volunteer who solicited specific people for their stories, ploughed through newsletters and minutes over the years and gathered anecdotes. The result is 135 pages brimming with information that the Association was proud to unveil as their 40th anniversary project.  They will share it with the public through donations to libraries and with government officials.

In the Alberta Registered Nurses Association, a staff person is designated to manage and maintain the association’s corporate records, as well as a museum. This wonderful set of rooms was set up when the Province’s hospital schools were relocated to colleges. With outside funding, this collection of the history of nursing in Alberta was started and continues to be maintained, even with virtual exhibits on their website. It wouldn’t be surprising to hear that Executive Director Donna Hutton includes a historical background piece for every issue that comes to her Council for discussion and decision.

These are two truly inspiring and overachieving associations when it comes to preserving their ancient history and keeping constant the reminders of their recent history.

Many organizations have a great time brainstorming all the wonderful things that they could do to keep track of their history. One local branch of a national association got excited about some of the ways they could make keeping their history a project:

• Developing and maintaining a website as a way to post a virtual museum of artefacts, milestones, anecdotes.

• Producing video clips of the history from past Board collections, recollections, minutes, newsletters and office information.

• Soliciting stories via the internet from members

Then they thought that they might:

• Appoint an Honorary Historian

• Sponsor social events whose purpose is to collect material and interview attendees

• Solicit stories with prizes for the best entries

• Publish articles about the history in the newsletter

• Feature a 5-minute anecdote at selected membership meetings.

Coming up with ideas like this is a wonderful first step to acknowledging the value of your history. The second step, putting the ideas into practise, is much more difficult.

As with most activities that happen in organizations, one person is needed to internalize the organizational need and do something about it. Finding that one person and offering encouragement and support may be all you need to get a history project begun.  Here are some steps you might discuss with your Board, members, and staff to begin developing your history:

• Declare the value of your history and decide which parts you’ll start on.

• Discuss all the varieties of history that you have – the anecdotes, the memories, the archives

• Decide the priority in time, money and effort you will give to the project

• Consider your history as part of your strategic planning

• Designate someone  – a curator – to be accountable for keeping the history

• Honour past members and key stakeholders in a special designation

• Celebrate the milestones of your past to keep them alive and known.

Even if you don’t publish a book or keep an archives room, aim to keep your history current and consider it carefully as it applies to all that you do in the future.  Philosopher Francis Bacon said that:  “Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep; the moral, grave; logic and rhetoric, able to contend”. Organizations that strive to be wise will consider and keep their history as much as they consider their future.

Carol Humphries is passionate about helping organizations learn how to use good governance. She created Good Governance™  which includes a best practise of regular Environmental Scanning. As a consultant, Carol has worked with international, national, provincial and local organizations.