The VIP Table was front and centre at the CAPS 2015 National Convention in Halifax: Are you registered for 2016 in Edmonton?

We Are One! One National Professional Association. One Community. One Place for Experts Who Speak Professionally…to Learn, Share, Grow, and Belong.

Professional associations such as CAPS are – like all organizations – systems; they are constantly moving and changing, being impacted by who, what, why, where, when and how they go about their business. Changing one part of a system, impacts all other parts. Another way of describing organizations is to think of them as organisms; as entities that are alive and constantly evolving.

More accurately, I think, we are all a part of an ‘ecosystem’ that is CAPS. In an ecosystem, the parts are interconnected by nutrient cycles and energy flows. We all contribute to, and are affected by, the nutrition and energy of the larger ecosystem. In other words, we all affect the energy and health of the CAPS ecosystem by our individual thoughts, feelings and actions… every day. CAPS is part of a larger ecosystem that is Canada, and beyond that is part of a global ecosystem. Do we matter? Do you matter?

Absolutely! 

Think about how many other people you impact as you go about doing the good work that you do. On the conservative side, you likely speak at 50 events a year to audiences that average 100 people each. That is 5,000 people a year; touched by you, impacted by what you say and how you say it. Each of those 5,000 people are likely part of an organization, a family, a community (other ‘human systems’), and what they learn from you will impact what they think, feel and do as they connect with all those other people in their lives. The impact from just one CAPS member – again, conservatively – is in the range of 25,000 people per year, if each person (the 5,000) impacts just 5 people in their broader ecosystems.

When we consider all of our members across this great country, the number of people we impact in aggregate every year is in the millions.

That looks, feels, and sounds like impact to me!

I believe that each and every member of CAPS has chosen this life and this work because you want to contribute to the world in a positive way. You want the impact you have, the mark you leave, the learning you instil, and the energy you inspire to be something that is good for the broader ecosystem of which we are all a part.

So start right here. Start with your professional association. Contribute ‘on purpose’ to be sure that the CAPS ecosystem is healthy, energized and productive. Choose to connect with your CAPS colleagues and look for ways to add ‘you’ to the ecosystem. Look for opportunities to refer each other, to collaborate together, and to partner with organizations who purchase the services of Experts Who Speak Professionally.

You Matter.

We Matter.

We Are One.

(In this year that I contribute as National President, I will be in my office and available to you on the first Monday of every month. You can call me at 204-999-4863 between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Central. I look forward to hearing your ideas about how we can all continue to enhance the CAPS Advantage. Beyond those times, I am also available, and can be reached via email at [email protected] to schedule a time to connect.)