Letters.

Strategic Score-Keeping

Let me compliment you on the June 2002 issue of ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT, which I believe exceeded even the high standards we have come to expect of the magazine. I found several of the articles to be most helpful and appropriate to my needs. The article that first caught my eye upon opening the magazine was "Strategic Score-Keeping" by Jim Dalton, CAE, and it is about this article that I am writing. have read the books on this topic by Robert Kaplan and David Norton and have made some attempts to adapt the balanced scorecard to my own association.

While Mr. Dalton's article is well written and very helpful, it did not address a question that continues to concern me. The four dimensions of the balanced scorecard are financial, customer, internal process, and learning. My question is this: What should be my viewpoint for developing the balanced scorecard? Most of the writing I have seen on the subject, including Mr. Dalton's fine article, seems to anchor the view in the association itself. How do we use the scorecard to improve the association?

At the end of the day I have to ask, "Is the profession better off tonight because of what my association and its members have done today?" If the answer is yes, then, and only then it seems to me, I can say my association has been successful. How does one build this viewpoint into the balanced scorecard approach? It helps to use the association's mission in place of the finance dimension of the scorecard, acknowledging that the profit motive is not the prime driver as it is in the private sector, What I seek is a way to include a dimension relating to the association's most fundamental purpose: to make the profession better. The best-managed association in the world is not an end in itself; it is only a means to an end, the end [being] the success of the profession, trade, or other group it serves. Without the profession dimension, I hardly see how the scorecard can be balanced.

Elbert C. "Hutch" Hutchins, CAE Executive Director, Texas Veterinary Medical Association, Austin: [e-mail]

There is so much potential in the balanced scorecard for developing organizational strategy and identifying success measures that I welcome any article describing how it may be applied in the association setting. So I thank you again and applaud your efforts to bring us outstanding articles such as this on topics essential to sound association management.

Volunteer Leadership

I just want to applaud the cover story article "Leadership Gets a New Look" in the June 2002 issue of ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT. With each paragraph, I found myself nodding my head in agreement and silently shouting, "RIGHT...that's exactly what is missing and what needs to happen" in order to recruit, encourage, lead, sculpt, and maintain a vibrant volunteer base.

As a young, 30-something Gen X-er, I've had my share of volunteer experiences, and I must admit most have been lacking, Why? For exactly the reasons pointed out in the article. An organization's aversion to being open to fresh ideas; a stale "old boy" atmosphere; taking advantage of the volunteers' good nature by over-working them; lack of direction and guidance with regards to expectations, deliverables, and purpose; neglecting to tailor the organization's volunteer needs to the appropriate volunteers, etc. For example, I recently served on a committee because I believed (based on their description) that their purpose was one thing. It was three months into my yearlong commitment that I came to realize the purpose was nothing I thought it was. To top it off, the committee chair and other members did not seem to understand exactly what their purpose was or how to coalesce their thinking and actions around a purpose. Needless to say, I'm not itching to sign up for another year.

Again, thanks for the article on this important subject. Kudos to the author and contributors.

Amy L. Cole Executive Vice President and COO, The Forbes Group, Fairfax, Virginia; [e-mail]

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