| Plexus Consulting Group | Success Stories | ||
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International Bone & Mineral Society |
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Situation Founded in 1968, the International Bone and Mineral Society (IBMS) is made up of medical doctors, teachers, and researchers who specialize in the study and treatment of diseases of the skeleton. IBMS has approximately 700 members from all over the world. It holds conferences every three years and also co-sponsors conferences with affiliated associations in the bone and mineral field. In addition, IBMS sponsors the publication of a medical journal. Together, the conferences and journal produce just over $100,000 in revenue annually. Besides a reduction in registration free for the worldwide conference, the principal benefit of Society membership is the member discount subscription to the medical journal, at a cost of fifty percent of the non-member price. Membership dues are very low, with the cost savings realized through the journal subscription fully offsetting the cost of membership in IBMS. IBMS overhead costs are minimal since all administrative functions are out-sourced on an as-needed basis. For a number of years IBMS has realized only slow membership growth. As members and Board members saw new and dynamic organizations growing, they voiced increasing complaints about the lack of direction and purpose at IBMS. The board and president agreed that the time had come to conduct a complete reevaluation of the society and its goals. Action IBMS retained Plexus to facilitate a two-day strategic planning retreat for its Board of Directors. The Plexus strategic planner led the Board through a discussion of the critical internal and external factors affecting IBMS now and in the future. From there, and after much work, the Board succeeded in reaching a consensus on the organization’s vision, mission, and goals. The session concluded with the completion of an outline of the specific business plan needed in order to re-energize the association. The plan, whose elements were organized in order of priority, was ambitious enough to direct and mobilize the entire association for the next three years. Results The IBMS Board came to the conclusion that there was a market niche for their organization, in spite of the inroads made by other organizations. Having confirmed the appropriateness of their mission and the usefulness of their goals, the Board developed a list of strategic objectives, in order of priority, to be incorporated into a three-year business plan. In addition, the Board recognized that the organization’s greatest need was for a full-time, professional infrastructure capable of driving the society’s programs. It was agreed that the newly-formulated mission, goals, and strategic objectives could not be realized by volunteer Board members who had many other professional commitments. |
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