September 2018 - Message from our President

The Why Vs. The What
At our last member meeting, I threw out a few questions for all of us to ponder. These were some of the questions: “Why are we here? Why does the LAA exist? Why are you and I part of the LAA?” So why do I ask these questions?
 
The answers to these questions might seem obvious to you. We have a mission statement, so I guess that’s why LAA exists. We are all here because we are artists. And we each have various reasons why we are part of the LAA. I began with the LAA to enter a show, then I enjoyed the workshops, and now because of my involvement, I see the big picture. So… What is the big picture? Why does the LAA exist? And where do you fit in that big picture?
 
I recently listened to a TED talk, where the speaker spoke about the companies that thrived and moved forward vs. those that stayed the same, stagnated or went backwards. Guess what? The difference between progressive companies vs. stagnating companies was not for the reasons one might think. The difference was that the companies that were growing and thriving were not asking themselves “What should we do next?” They were asking “Why? Why do we exist?” Once they were clear about the “why”, the rest of the pieces fell into place. The “what” then came more easily and made more of a difference.
 
On the board, we frequently return to that question: Why? This helps us to set goals, to decide directions to head in that will benefit the LAA. I would love to hear from our members why you are part of the LAA. How does it make your life better and how can you make the LAA better? - Anne

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