Welcome back from the CSEG summer break. I hope you had a safe and memorable summer and you are ready for what the CSEG has in store for its members.
Did you get some time to read something interesting this summer? I’ve got a couple of books in progress and I’ve been reading quite a few articles lately on strategy for non-profits and charities. The readings have been encouraging, educational and they present some ground truths for a professional society such as the CSEG as we progress through the current environment.
Some pearls of wisdom have popped out of all this reading and here is one worth sharing. “As organizations on the ground continue to deliver, advocate, and innovate, there is much to be gained from banding together and developing better and more effective ways of carrying out their important work. The resilience and innovative spirit of nonprofit organizations on the ground is truly impressive, and it will be important for umbrella organizations and networks to support and assist in these new directions”. (http://thephilanthropist.ca/original-pdfs/Philanthropist-23-1-400.pdf)
I’ve previously written about the collaboration the CSEG is doing internally and with other professional societies and some of the innovative ideas that have come forward from a multitude of sources. A delightfully surprising and new innovation was the Board Game Night at the May CSEG Mentor Program wrap up. The games were unfamiliar to me but each of us were pulled together to figure out how to play the game successfully. There was lots of joyful noise and buzz in the room as teams mastered the game and celebrated success. The games created an atmosphere of collaboration and a moment to forget the challenging times that both the professionals and students face. The future of geophysics resides with these students and helping them and the society to flourish is what came out for me from a simple Board Game night at the Mentor Program wrap up party! Thank you to all the Mentor Program volunteers and for Connect-More for your innovation! If you would like to learn more about Connect-More and team building through board games, please visit www.connect-more.ca.
Another new direction for the CSEG was exemplified by the SPE Breakfast series with presentations by the CSEG VIG committee in April. Cross pollination of ideas, technology and innovative techniques will ensure that value added geophysical technology is recognized for the benefit of any project. It was a successful series and one that continues to be a focus for the VIG Committee.
Another pearl of wisdom that resonated for me with regard to the CSEG is that “hard economic times make good risk management especially important to a nonprofit’s short-term survival and ongoing mission fulfillment. Prevailing in the long run requires surviving – and hopefully thriving – in the short run, despite its many uncertainties”. (http://www.nonprofitrisk.org/library/articles/strategy09002003.shtml)
Surviving and thriving! That should be our new brand.
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