12/12/2022

How Inflation Impacts Organizations' Operations

We must treat inflation as a constant, ever-changing factor

Inflation has always been present at some level. When inflation is low, it lurks quietly in the corner of our minds. But when inflation is revving, the ringing in our ears will not go away. During periods of uncertainty and economic volatility, inflation tends to draw attention, often triggering regressive non-thinking reactions. Inflation needs to be treated as an economic reality to be confronted and a challenging obstacle to be solved, not as a call to action by itself.

Do not wait for inflation to drive change. This only causes narrow reactive responses that will be too late to be truly impactful and game changing. Typical kneejerk responses include raising registration fees, scrambling to search for additional funding, and, as a last resort, instituting general, across-the-board cost-cutting measures. These can be somewhat effective in the short run, however, in the long run, delivery on the organization's value proposition will suffer.

Instead, we must learn to treat inflation as a constant but ever-changing factor to consider. Anticipation and planning are the keys to getting ahead of inflation and responding to it in a way that helps to drive assertive positive change.

Please select this link to read the complete article from ASAE’s Center for Association Leadership.