Chairman’s message: How we strategize

By Russell Berry

July 01, 2022

We start where we always start — with our members. We send a survey to learn what REALTORS® want from our association, what current services you value, and where we should point in the future.

I wish you could see our association through my eyes. From my vantage point as chairman, I get to witness how much work goes into all the activities, services, and programs designed to benefit our members. I’d like to share just one example: our strategic plan.

Though some organizations create strategic plans they never use, that’s not the case for Texas REALTORS®. Our plan establishes the guideposts for the work by our committee members, Leadership Team, and staff in everything we do. We constantly ask ourselves how this idea or that initiative fits into our strategic plan. So, how do we get there?

We start where we always start—with our members. We send a survey to learn what REALTORS® want from our association, what current services you value, and where we should point in the future. That’s a crucial piece of what we consider when crafting the strategic plan but by no means the only one. We seek out real estate industry experts, demographers, and economists—people who can share data and insights to help make better decisions. We also conduct member focus groups to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities REALTORS® face. Staff provides input as well.

This process takes many months, with the members of our Strategic Planning Committee processing the information as we go. Finally, the committee members meet for several days to shape the plan. The work and discussions during the meeting form the basis for the plan.

Next comes refinement of the plan, review, revisions, and committee approval. The plan still has two steps to go through: approval by the Texas REALTORS® Executive Board and, finally, a vote by the full Board of Directors.

Our next strategic plan has been through all these steps except the last one, which will take place at the Texas REALTORS® Shaping Texas Conference in Fort Worth in September. Once approved, we will have our road map to take our association to even greater heights.

I thank all of you who answered the member survey, those who participated in the focus groups, every REALTOR® who gives input at meetings, and the members of the Strategic Planning Committee for the tremendous amount of effort that goes into this. As I said at the start of this column, this is just one example of how we approach everything we do. It’s a lot of work. But it’s what makes Texas REALTORS® the member-focused organization we are.

Russell Berry is 2022 chairman of Texas REALTORS®.

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