Davidoff Communications is proud to support the American Association of Museums in the development of a strategic partnership program. We recently attended their Annual Meeting in Houston. Here are some highlights that extend beyond the museum sector and could be applicable to your organization:

The American Association of Museum's 2011 Annual Meeting in Houston brought together over 5,000 museum professionals from around the world—delegates from coast to coast, as well as China, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and countless other countries were in attendance.  The theme of the meeting was "The Museum of Tomorrow." Participants were challenged to broaden their focus from the typical two-to-five year strategic plans, and to envision ten, twenty, or fifty years into the future.

Discussions focused on how cultural institutions can think outside of the boundaries of their current walls, collections, programs, and roles in their communities to ensure their relevance and critical role in educating and enriching lives into the distant future.  Many of the practices discussed are applicable to institutions in any sector interested in better anticipating and responding to change.  

This type of "futurist" thinking can ensure that mission-driven organizations are able to make short-term course-corrections in response to events and trends, while maintaining their overall long-term course in pursuit of their mission.   

Key Concepts from The American Association of Museums' Annual Meeting

Cultivate institutional foresight
Foresight is the ability to anticipate change.  It is not wishful thinking.  Rather it is a focus on the signals that hint at what's ahead.  Recognizing and reacting to these signals as they happen can give your organization an advantage in staying on course in the long run. Here are some key things you can do to develop foresight.

Cultivate the ability to identify and monitor change

• Become adept at scanning the environment and marketplace
• Analyze issues to understand the drivers of change
• Consider the S.T.E.E.P. sources of change: Society, Technology,Economics, Environment, and Politics

Expand your ability to explore the implications of change

• Forecasts extend the present into the future based on identified trends
• Scenario development synthesizes different conditions to imagine alternative futures

Communicate the need for change

• Articulate incremental versus structural change
• Build coalitions of support

Use specific strategies to develop foresight skills

• Socialize "big ideas:" encourage discussion of major trends and game-changing events.  Think beyond the present state and be creative
  
• Get ahead of buzz words: stay current on new ideas, products, and technology to discern between fads and trends.  Leverage the opportunities that come from spotting trends early, and avoid chasing fleeting fads
• Ask "killer questions:" challenge assumptions to envision alternate futures