Back in 2015, the NWFA conducted a series of meetings to develop a 2020 Vision Strategic Plan. Three years later, all of the major objectives of that plan have been completed or are in progress ahead of the five-year plan. And thus, the association set out in January of this year to develop an updated plan for the next three years.
Given the competitive landscape of wood lookalike products, it was imperative to engage a leader in the larger flooring market to help develop and protect our market. Fortunately for us, Bruce Zwicker, the former President and CEO of Haines, was available as a consultant to help us navigate the process. Bruce helped shape and grow Haines into the largest floor covering distributor in North America, and brings the knowledge of the other flooring sectors making him uniquely qualified to drive our process.
To date, we’ve conducted three focus group meetings of flooring and hardwood executives, worked with the multiple NWFA Boards of Directors to discuss objectives, and held a meeting at our recent Expo for the general membership to provide feedback into the process.
The groups concluded that NWFA’s mission statement and directives are current and that NWFA’s education and standards are at the heart of the organization’s purpose.
However, there are four elements that need further clarification:
- The NWFA’s role in promotion
- The NWFA’s participation in the international community
- The NWFA’s role in defining and enforcing standards
- The usage of NWFA’s brand for member promotion
Conversations will continue through the summer, and NWFA is on target to have a new 2019-21 Strategic Plan in place by the next Board of Directors meeting in October.
Based on member feedback, the Board of Directors have thus far identified and created committees and task forces to address the following three priorities:
- Define what is real wood flooring
- Promote real wood flooring
- Develop the NWFA brand and logo for membership usage
The Board of Directors appointed task forces for the first two priorities and assigned the branding development to the NWFA Emerging Leaders group. Three groups were formed for two reasons: to engage as many leaders in the process as possible, and to identify future leaders for the industry.
If you have feedback on these three goals, or additional ideas for what the association should address in the future, please share your thoughts with me at michael.martin@nwfa.org or 636.519.9663, and I will get your input to the appropriate task force or committee as we complete the plan over the summer.