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Depositions


Executive Director's Message


David B. Walls, CAE, CMP


“If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.”


- Yogi Bera T


he New Year always brings a clean slate and opportunity for promise -- a fresh calendar to create new “To Do” lists, set priorities, and schedule


vacations. It is a road map to guide us through the next twelve months. To that end, the MAJ Board of Governors met in October 2010 for its bi-annual Long Range Planning Retreat aimed at helping members and the Association be even more successful in 2011 and beyond.


A New Mission Statement Emerges Armed with the data from the membership survey, new


lawyers survey and sponsorship survey, the Board was able to work together to identify key issues which were then transformed into the goals for the MAJ 2011 Strategic Plan. While MAJ continues to experience a strong and stable


membership even during the recent economic crunch, the leadership recognizes that in order for the Association to continue to grow and meet the needs of its membership, realigning strategic priorities is important. Tis is why the leaders of the organization meet every other year to assess the direction of the organization to better position the Association to assess and, if necessary, adjust to the changes in the internal and external forces that affect members. Te morning started with a quick overview of the trends of membership, transitioning into a quick lesson on the components of strategic planning. Te first step in planning is to assess the organization’s mission. After analyzing information from member input, the group developed a new mission statement to better communicate its reason for being:


6 Trial Reporter / Winter 2011 “Te Maryland Association for Justice is dedicated to


improving the civil justice system through legislative advocacy and the professional development of attorneys who represent the injured.” As you can imagine, this was a huge undertaking albeit, a very important one.


It is the mission statement


of any organization or firm that drives the direction of the organization or firm.


Why the Need for a Mission Statement? A mission statement drives your business decisions. A


strong mission statement builds innovation. Innovation


builds momentum. Momentum builds business. If you haven’t visited your firm’s mission statement, take


time to do so. You may find that it may be a great collection of prose, but I would venture to say that if it has not been visited in the recent past, it may not be serving you or your practice the way it could. Your statement may need some adjustment in light of the recent environmental and economic changes. Or it may not adequately express the expansiveness of your services. If you have modified your practice or management in any way, you may want to update your mission statement so that everyone in your firm is moving in the same direction. Tis works for the smallest of firms to the largest. If you do not have a mission statement, one can be made


by asking three questions: Who are we? What do we do? Who do we serve?


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