ABC EastFlorida

“The Obvious Podcast” is a production of ABC Florida East Coast Chapter. Unless otherwise stated, all content reflects the opinions of the guests and hosts. If you like “The Obvious Podcast,” you can subscribe in all the major podcast platforms, such as Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, or Spotify, among others. We encourage you to leave us a review so other listeners can find us. You may also follow “The Obvious Podcast” on Instagram and Twitter. ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theobvious_podcast ►X: https://x.com/TheObv_podcast ►Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/TheObvious_Podcast ► TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/@the.obvious.podca ►Email: theobvious@abceastflorida.com

In this episode of the Obvious Podcast, titled 72 – Raising Arizona, Peter Dyer and Sunny Min from the ABC EastFlorida chapter discuss their recent experiences at the Institute for Organization Management (IOM) in Tucson, Arizona.

The IOM Experience and Professional Development

• Program Overview: Sunny and several staff members recently attended the IOM, a prestigious four-year certification program run by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that focuses on nonprofit and association management 02:12 Opens in a new window .
• Historical Context: The Tucson campus at the University of Arizona has been hosting this program for over 100 years 02:49 Opens in a new window .
• Organizational Culture: Peter emphasizes that the ABC Florida East Coast chapter has a long-standing commitment to professional development, often scoring high in board assessments regarding its support for staff training 05:08 Opens in a new window .
• The “Raising Arizona” Title: The title is a nod to the team spending a week in the desert for the program 06:53 Opens in a new window . They describe Tucson as a unique mix of beautiful mountain scenery and excellent regional cuisine 08:05 Opens in a new window .

The Strategic Value of Government Affairs

• McKinsey Study Findings: Sunny shares a key takeaway from a government affairs class citing a McKinsey study which found that government relations impact roughly 30% of earnings for most businesses 14:16 Opens in a new window .
• Chapter Investment: Because of this high impact, the chapter heavily invests in both internal government affairs directors and external contract lobbyists to advocate for its members at the local, state, and federal levels 16:03 Opens in a new window .
• Member Engagement: They discuss how veteran members are increasingly encouraging younger professionals within their organizations to join government affairs committees because of the real-world impact they see on the industry 18:35 Opens in a new window .

Leadership Philosophy

• Investing in Employees: The hosts reflect on the common fear of training employees only for them to leave. They conclude that the only thing worse than investing in an employee who leaves is not investing in them and having them stay 21:09 Opens in a new window .
• Call to Action: The episode concludes with an invitation for members to join the upcoming Legislative Conference (LegCon) in Tallahassee to meet the lobbying team and engage directly with the political process 19:43 Opens in a new window .

The podcast wraps up with a reminder that all links and contact information can be found in the show notes for those interested in joining the association or learning more about their initiatives 22:14 Opens in a new window .