Looking back 15 years

By now, you are aware that PRISM International will hold its 35th annual conference May 17-20 in Hill Country, Texas. Today, I took a few minutes to stroll through some PRISM historical documents to put the upcoming conference in context. Specifically, I looked at some of the materials we used to celebrate our 20th annual conference in 2000.

Let’s flash back to that year and imagine we are listening to the annual report. Among the things we are hearing:

• PRISM had a budget of $670,000 and lost about $50,000 during the previous fiscal year. The unrestricted net assets sat at $160,000.
• PRISM had just completed its first Business Across Borders workshop, which drew 70 people.
• The group was anticipating its first conference outside the U.S. and its first president from outside the country.
• We had approximately 270 members, 56 of which—about 21 percent—were from outside the U.S.

Heading into our 35th annual conference, let’s preview some of the great news you’ll hear this year:

• PRISM now has a budget of $1.5 million and netted nearly $100,000 in our recent fiscal year, all of which will be used for future projects to benefit the industry. This growth of 123 percent since 2000 represents an average annual growth rate of about 8 percent, about four times the U.S. Gross Domestic Product average annual growth rate for the same period.
• PRISM held six conferences or workshops in five different countries across the world in the last year, a number we will again hit in 2015. We will continue reaching into expanding markets with a new workshop in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at the end of 2015.
• We currently have approximately 440 members, just missing the goal to double membership by 2014. However, of these 440 members, 148 (34 percent) are outside the U.S.
• We have had three presidents from outside the U.S. since 2000 and our next vice president is in South Africa.

PRISM International has not succeeded at everything we have tried. But, I hope this conference provides an opportunity for our past leaders to remember where we were 15 years ago and feel good about the progress PRISM has made under their leadership. Success may in fact be a lousy teacher, as Bill Gates has famously said, but that doesn’t mean I mind being its student every once in a while.

Dave Bergeson is executive director of PRISM International, Chicago, and can be reached at dbergeson@prismintl.org.