Problems With Status Quo
ByISA is no different from most volunteer based organizations. Every election is for those who are willing to ‘try’ and do the job, with the best of intentions. Or it is a beauty contest, for ego gratification and a line on a resume.
ISA has consistently had good people in management positions. But, as Glenn Harvey stated, there is no innovative thinking. Your other management article said, don’t play for the future by using today as a starting point, because you are only extrapolating; determine what the future should look like, and find the best way to get there.
Unfortunately, the ISA membership is probably the worst group to ask ‘what is the ISA of the future?’ because the bulk of those who are left are ‘status quo’ people. The innovative and progressive have left long ago to find more fitting forums where they can bounce around their ideas.
The paradigm of learning, advertising, marketing has changed in the past 30 years. ISA has not. Why go to the ISA website to find something when a Google search is much quicker?
When was the last time ISA was marketed to the managements of manufacturing or engineering companies? They all know UL, IEEE, AICHE, ASME; but when you mention ISA they get a blank look. This makes discussing S100, S84, and any other standards much more difficult; getting money to attend shows is impossible; training dollars, don’t go there either.
Great strides have been made in recognizing ISA as a standards-writing organization. Unfortunately, the political forces (marketing lobbyists) have cause substantial disruption of the processes. When standards are written by those who support their own interests, the process gets corrupted to the point of irrelevance.
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