I have always known that the word “champion” means a winner or a victor of a competition or a contest. Recently, I came to know another definition of “champion” in an ideological sense: an evangelist or a visionary who advocates for the triumph of an idea or a belief.
I came to this realization when my organization, the Philippine Council of Association and Association Executives (PCAAE), organized the webinar, “A Champion’s Mindset: How to Win in a Time of Crisis,” featuring Bo Sanchez, a bestselling author, ministry builder, preacher and entrepreneur.
Sanchez presented these eight actions (with my own insights about associations) in order to have a winning frame of mind of a champion, especially during a crisis such as this pandemic. These actions can apply both to you as a person and/or to your organization:
1. Give yourself a gift. You may have very little control over what happens to you, but you have total control over what you do to what happens to you. How you look at a situation
changes that situation. In short, everything is about perspective. In the context of associations, this pandemic has caused pains and disruptions on how they do things. Associations that have gifted themselves by adapting well to these challenges came out as winners.
2. Dream your dream. One of the most glaring differences between successful and unsuccessful people is the frame of their thinking. If you find a big enough reason to change something, you can change absolutely anything. Associations are purpose-driven organizations. Staying on course with your purpose and mission ought to be the dream that you should pursue despite all odds.
3. Rise to a rhythm. Have magnificent mornings. Mornings are the best times to meditate and to reflect. Associations that exude positivity and caring at the onset of any crisis will win over their members and stakeholders.
4. Manage your media. Choose what you receive each day especially from social media. Associations need to filter and curate news and resources that are only relevant and useful to their members and to their mission.
5. Build your body. Work on four basics: sleep, water, sun, and movement. Associations and their staff need these essentials, too, to operate effectively and efficiently.
6. Focus on your family. Create patterns of connection and be kind. Associations are communities that constantly link people, ideas, and other organizations. Engaging members in the most meaningful way is how associations survive and thrive.
7. Serve the suffering. A crisis brings the best in people and organizations, associations included. During the pandemic, associations which looked after their members in terms of providing them information and education they require, solving their problems, or being there when they need them, go a long way to be known as caring organizations.
8. Let your spirit soar. Spirit connotes the courage and determination that help people and organizations to survive in difficult times and to keep their beliefs intact. Associations that uplift the sense of community, caring and camaraderie among its members are poised to be “ahead of their game.”
The column contributor, Octavio Peralta, is founder & CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives and, concurrently, president of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Association Organization. Peralta’s views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect those of the BusinessMirror’s. E-mail: obp@adfiap.org.
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