With the darkest days of a challenging year behind us and light that is just peaking over the horizon, things are looking bright. At TMA, we are ready to emerge to take on the new normal just as we did the “normal” that the last year thrust on us.

Taking a page from the darkest days of the pandemic will be instructive for what lies ahead. As in those dark days, when TMA became the mother of invention, the renaissance that is upon us will motivate us to do the same.

When uncertainty defined us, we redefined it with certainty that caused us to stand out. We innovated and iterated. We found new ways for our members to connect and interact. And we found a road to empowerment through innovation and imagination. That is not just how we survived—it is how TMA thrived.

Now on the other side of those challenging days, new and perhaps greater challenges lie before us. How we manage those challenges through what lies ahead will, like the year behind us, define TMA and how we lead in providing new opportunities for our members.

The return to a “new” normal is wrought with challenges, some born in uncertainty and others created in figuring how to unlearn living one way while creating a balance that supports the best of many worlds.

The virtual environment created opportunities most never saw coming. And when we seized upon the opportunities presented by the challenges we were facing, we redefined the model of our organization.

Our conferences were more experiential and, in many ways, exceptional. We brought new demographics into the fold. TMA saw some of its best and most consistent engagement this past year, and we built sustainable momentum despite the odds.

With all of this knowledge, and having survived the war, what does a new normal mean, and how will we best manage this emergence? This, too, is unchartered territory, but one that, with balance, will again allow us to thrive.

Achieving the proper balance is no easy task. It involves taking what we knew before and what we learned during the pandemic and bringing both together to create the story of TMA Tomorrow. In-person events and the sheer excitement of returning to face-to-face programming and networking are unquestionably welcomed. But so, too, is the magic of connectivity among our North American chapters and those around the world that the virtual environment supported, allowing us to thrive.

Unlike any other organization in this space, the power of the people and purpose of TMA lie in the optionality available to our members and the ability to connect with opportunities throughout the world. That became profoundly evident this past year.

The balance we will create in our journey to TMA Tomorrow requires us to look behind and look ahead. And in the mix of what we will create as we move forward, know that the best of many worlds awaits us. It will take a tad more innovation and a bit of patience and balance to optimize the invigorated organization we are, one that remains in motion and actionable every day.

Scott Y. Stuart, Esq.
TMA Global CEO
sstuart@turnaround.org
@TMA_CEO