International Membership Association - Growing Internationally

CLIENT

Project Management Institute (PMI), an international non-profit membership association based in the U.S., with over 100,000 members in 125 countries.

CHALLENGE

As an increasingly international organization, the Client is challenged with meeting the needs of a diverse membership dispersed around the globe. With more than 15,000 members and a third of their board coming from outside of North America, their staff must regularly engage with or travel to meet members, volunteers and customers from the world’s fastest changing markets. The Client's leadership has decided that its board and corporate headquarters staff require skills for global business, in order to appreciate living and working outside North America.

SOLUTIONS WITH HEADQUARTERS STAFF

LCW has been contracted to implement our Building Bridges intercultural education sessions for the full cross-section of functional responsibilities among staff. The sessions focus on the regions where the Client's membership is growing most significantly: Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. The sessions are particularly important for the third of the Client's staff who respond to phone calls and e-mails everyday, originating from points worldwide. With their highest concentration of foreign-born members in the European Community, the first sessions, focused on Europe, were delivered in January 2003 with sessions on Asia & the Pacific taking place in November 2003. LCW is working with the client to schedule a session on Latin America in early 2004.

SOLUTIONS AT THE BOARD LEVEL

LCW was contracted to assist with the design and facilitation for a mid-summer Latin America Immersion Workshop for the Client's Board of Directors. LCW also developed a panel with knowledgeable experts of stature, to provide the Board the best possible information and strategic insights during the workshop. The predominant focus of the meeting was to:

1. Raise awareness of sociopolitical, business, academic issues facing the Latin American region;
2. Raise awareness of the state of the Client's industry in the region; and
3. Identify key strategic questions for the Board to help them shape a value proposition for the region.