In the classic 1996 movie Jerry Maguire, the lead character, played by Tom Cruise, experiences a moment of clarity in which he recognizes that the way he and his peers have been operating their business is fundamentally flawed. He writes and distributes a 25-page memo entitled “The Things We Think and Do Not Say: The Future of Our Business.” The next morning, as he walks into the office he helped create, fellow agents and support staff stand and applaud his words, vision and passion. Within hours, he’s fired. This moment in time feels a bit like Jerry Maguire for us at DMOproz. We may be congratulated and called visionary by those who read the manifesto we release today. And, hopefully we won’t be shunned after rocking the sacred boat called “The Way We’ve Always Done It.”

As the protests raged last month, I had a serendipitous conversation with Searchwide Global’s Mike Gamble. We were discussing some of the current CEO searches they were managing and we began talking about the Boards with whom we both engage; his firm with Executive Searches and ours with Strategic Planning. As we discussed what we saw that worked (and what didn’t), we began to zero in on Board Diversity…or, indeed, the lack thereof.

If I had a Franklin for every pundit who has suggested that strategic plans are now worthless, I could buy a boat. Indeed, I was beginning to get sucked into the vortex, pondering what I should do for my clients who had completed their Strategic Plans with us over the past year. In preparation for just such a phone call a few weeks ago, I pulled out one of the Plans we had facilitated earlier this year. Interestingly, most of the goals and objectives still rang true. Indeed, some more loudly demanded action than in the pre-COVID world. I started pulling other clients’ Plans and found the same thing. Most of the goals were as relevant now as when the Board approved them. Maybe not the "Destination Development" Goal... but the rest cried out for action.

For years, DMOs have been viewed as acquisition bait for opportunistic Chambers of Commerce and Economic Development agencies searching for new revenue streams. Under the guise of streamlining like-community development functions and eliminating duplicative administrative waste, it always sounds reasonable on the surface…but, in practice, the advantage is rarely realized in the end.

Those that have seen my presentations on Political Advocacy know that I typically invoke the classic Bill Murray film, “Groundhog Day.” For the handful who may have never had the experience, the movie revolves around Murray’s character being forced to relive Groundhog Day over and over in a never-ending loop. I use the concept behind the picture to drive home the point that Advocacy is never a one-and-done thing. One needs to believe they are in Punxsutawney and realize that what they said yesterday is lost to the wind. The message needs to be repeated over and over…like Groundhog Day.