President’s Message

Have your say on guiding the future of the profession

REBECCA SANDFORD, PRESIDENT

As any sports fan would be well aware, strategy is a key element of success, and having a strong knowledge of the unique positioning and experience of each important element of the team is what grants a club or player a competitive edge.

But what does this strategic focus actually look like in ‘real life’? If we take the AFL as an example, it’s apparent that each club takes a different approach to strategy development. Some AFL clubs will opt to release parts of their strategic plans to the public - for example, Hawthorn have (some might say ambitiously) released their plans to achieve winning premierships up until 2050. Teams like the Adelaide Crows like to keep the lid on their strategic documents, whereas Port Adelaide has released part of its four-year plan (titled ‘Chasing Greatness’) to the public noting, amongst other things, goals to obtain commercial growth within the club. The Western Bulldogs kept their strategic planning document (which spanned 2019 to 2022) under wraps, although it’s fairly apparent that the Doggies are gunning for a 2021 premiership. Whether they opt to publish their strategies publicly or otherwise, I think we can probably pretty safely assume that all clubs had the same strategic goal of keeping Richmond out of the top 8 in 2021.

In business, as in sport, similar concepts apply. To be effective, an organisation needs to have a clear vision for, and understanding of, its purpose and future direction, and an important function of the governing body of any organisation is to anticipate and explore the business’ desired future direction, and develop strategic plans to guide staff and members to achieve identified objectives. Engagement with members and relevant stakeholders about priorities and expectations in the course of developing those plans means that everyone involved can have greater clarity about what is driving future change in the organisation.

On that note, and as many would know, one of my priorities for my Presidency this year is to develop the Society’s next strategic plan, which is due to commence at the start of 2022.

The approach to the new Strategic Plan, proposed in light of significant discussion by the Society’s Executive earlier this year and as approved by the Council at its meeting in May, involves moving to a new, two-tiered structure, comprising an overarching Strategic Objectives document (covering the timeframe 2022-2025) which will then be supplemented by annual Strategic Plans.

Consultation on the Strategic Plan therefore involves two phases - firstly, consideration of the higher-level Strategic Objectives which will guide the next few years, and then secondly, consideration of the individual annual Strategic Plan, which will contain the detail of strategies to be implemented and pursued by the Society in line with those Objectives. Each individual strategy will need to come within at least one of the Strategic Objectives - this approach means we can more effectively allocate resources, be responsive to rapidly changing environments and the needs of the profession without straying from the organisation’s core mission, and be confident that steps taken by the Society align with our overarching intentions and objectives.

Phase 1 of the consultation process has now started, and involves seeking feedback from Members generally, via the Bulletin and InBrief. The Strategic Objectives (which can be viewed on pages 34-35 of the Bulletin) will also be considered by each of the Society’s Committees, raised with Members at my upcoming meetings in regional areas and at Small Practice gatherings, and input will also be sought from managing partners of large and medium sized firms.

I am keen to have engagement from as many Members as possible into the development and finalisation of the Strategic Objectives (and, in turn, the 2022 Strategic Plan), so we can ensure the actions and resources of the Society over the next few years are appropriately concentrated towards the outcomes that you, our Members, want to see us achieve. It’s very important that this consultation process be as broad as possible to encourage diverse viewpoints and contribution. I strongly encourage you to use this opportunity to participate in the future direction of the Society and have your say on the matters you believe we should be prioritising.

Comments and feedback on the Strategic Objectives is requested from

Members by no later than 31 July 2021. Once the consultation process in relation to the Strategic Objectives is complete, phase 2 will be to consider the specific strategies for inclusion in the 2022 Strategic Plan. The initial development of those strategies (having regard to the current consultation draft of the Strategic Objectives) is already underway, but when reviewing the Strategic Objectives document I encourage you to also give thought to specific strategies or ideas for actions which could come within those objectives and which you would like to see us focus on - ready to contribute to phase 2 of the consultation process later in the year.

Looking to the future, it will be interesting to see which clubs’ strategic objectives pay off in 2021, and if the clubs that have boldly publicised their future premiership targets, like Richmond successfully did, kick their strategic goals. B June 2021 THE BULLETIN 5