Look ahead to get ahead.

• Author: Coan, Terrence J.
• Position: From The President

Even in times of change there is consistency. That may sound impossible but it isn't. ARMA International is a perfect example.

Over the past several months, ARMA's vision of the future for records and information management professionals has prompted some to ask if the association is wavering from its current mission and target audience. In actuality, ARMA is doing exactly what it must to appropriately and effectively serve its members and the profession at large: It is looking ahead to help our members get ahead.

One of ARMA's primary responsibilities as a professional association is to continually scan the business community in an effort to under stand the trends that are affecting how organizations operate. That insight is then incorporated into ARMA's programs and services to help our members build the skills, knowledge, and perspective that will enable them to help their organizations succeed in today's dynamic marketplace.

This directly ties to the association's mission to provide education, research, and networking opportunities to information professionals to enable them to use their skills and experience to leverage the value of records, information, and knowledge as corporate assets and as contributors to organizational success.

Recently, the association articulated its target objectives as being to:

1. Define the profession

2. Build the skills of the professionals

3. Increase awareness at the executive level of the importance of the profession

These objectives may seem new because they may have never before been publicly stated, yet they are anything but new. These objectives are basic to the association -- to any professional association.

Defining the profession (of information management) is about bringing together all the related information management disciplines, such as traditional records management, knowledge management, information privacy and security, content management, customer relationship management, workflow and business process analysis, intellectual property, business continuity, and mergers and acquisitions. The goal is to define what it truly means to manage information as a strategic, organizational asset. Among other things, this requires a thorough knowledge of the various technology tools that can enable this to...