Well, here we are with the next iteration of the AAPA House of Delegates (HOD). From what I’ve seen, there will be plenty of action. This includes a boat load of resolutions, many of which will come from the board of directors. These resolutions appear to continue the trend of concentrating the AAPA’s power within the staff leadership and the board of directors, a move that has been in the works for several years now. It’s is based on the “let the experts (association professionals) do their job; get these annoying volunteers (members) out of the way” bent of the book Race for Relevance.
Give it a read if you want to know more about where AAPA is headed, which will be a gradual and increasing concentration of decision making and control at the board/executive level — kind of like the opposite of democratic and transparent organizational structures that seem to be on the way out.
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One thing you are sure to hear at HOD from the board members is the word “nimble.” Nimble this, nimble that, we must be more nimble, etc. Last year the board Nimble-O-Meter topped 452, which comes out to about 22.6 nimbles per hour. I expect to see them surpass the 500 mark this year. Also look for increasing use of corporate-think words now in vogue, such as “granular” (possible use: “I think that depends on the level of granularity you want to look at.”) and “30,000 foot view” (possible use: “We really need to take a 30,000 foot view of this problem.”).
Also look for these phrases to pop up: boots on the ground, moving target, moving parts, ecosystem, core values, swim lane, best practices, robust metrics, hit the ground running, drill down, and eat the shrimp. I just made the last one up and doubt it will come up, but I do urge any of you who are going to look for a way to say it on the house floor.
For example, if it looks something is just going to need to be accepted as a compromise, you might say “Really, in the end, we’re just going to have to eat the shrimp.”
So I offer you this Nimble-O-Meter for your use at HOD. Anytime a board member rises to speak, start it up, and see if we can’t top 500 this year.
Jim Anderson, MPAS, PA-C, ATC, DFAAPA, is a physician assistant in Seattle, WA.
