Great organizations view their journeys as a marathon, not a sprint. I look back on my 36 years with this organization, and I see substantial growth and improvement. We were better this year than last, and certainly much improved over 10 years ago.

In an era where every person and organization is judged a success or failure in real time, it is hard to create a culture that values learning and growth as a part of who they are.  While I am proud of what we’ve done over the last few years, I also expect us to be better in the future.

If an organization demands incremental improvement for itself, then there also needs to be an accountability that is brought to its work. We’ve done that over the last few years by setting goals for ourselves, and letting you and our Commission know how we’re performing.

If you click here you can see our three year goals. I am pleased that we’ve been able to move the needle on all except three. Our changing market conditions have required us to modify our goal of constructing 14 single family homes per year, and two others – creating a local construction loan source, and starting 5 “green” businesses – will take a bit longer because of the economy. We’re not home free yet, but we’ve been able to move in the right direction.

So, what’s next? While we are going to hold steadfast on our previously set goals, here are some other goals we’re going to add:

• Continue to emphasize internal learning and growth.  It is our intent that our professional development efforts have a beginning, a middle… and no end. Constant learning and growth requires continuing emphasis on this effort.
• Re-examine, and reboot, if necessary, our approach to economic development.  Dave Hengel keeps saying that we need to re-examine our strategy, with innovation a potential new key central operating principle. We’ll see what that looks like a year from now.
• Help our customers take advantage of the emerging area of wellness. Our Active Living effort in Bemidji, and our SHIP (State Health Improvement Program) initiatives throughout our Region, have created a foundation on which to build. We’re going to find ways to add value in several parts of our Region.

What is your role? Well, every person, and organization, needs someone to lean on if growth is going to occur. We invite you to be our training and accountability partner. Ask us how we’re doing on our goals, and let us know how we do with your projects. If we’re not better next year than we are now, then we’re not good enough.