Research Perspectives Will Go On

By Jim Prevor, Editor-in-Chief, Produce Business

“Americans of all ages, all conditions, and all dispositions constantly form associations… Wherever at the head of some new undertaking you see the government in France, or a man of rank in England, in the United States you will be sure to find an association.”
— Alexis de Tocqueville
Democracy in America

Trade associations provide a quintessentially American response to the question of how businesses ought to deal with the challenges of the day. As with most things worthwhile in life, though, it is easier to found an association than to maintain one as they are often established in the midst of a furor over some governmental action and often dissipate as the anger dies.

When associations are small, they typically do not have the resources to provide great value to an industry, yet when they get large they run the risk of being more interested in perpetuating the association than in helping the industry. This is not solely a challenge for industry associations. It is why, for example, the March of Dimes keeps marching, even though polio, its raison d’être, has long since been vanquished.

This column was founded when PMA undertook a new consumer research program and it represented something rare and precious and wholly commendable on the part of PMA: A willingness to subject one’s work to withering scrutiny.

Most associations — for that matter most people and organizations of any type — are hesitant to state their views in a forum where they will be critiqued. The executive team at PMA, including CEO Bryan Silbermann, was shrewd enough to recognize that research is meaningless unless its lessons are accepted and acted upon, and acceptance depends crucially on the notion that the results have been scrutinized by third parties.

Another thing that PMA has long done well is to work hard at anticipating and changing to meet that future. This is a strength that many organizations lack. This author remembers attending a PMA Board of Directors meeting many years ago when PMA distributed to all board members a copy of Robert J. Kriegel and Louis Patler’s book If it Ain’t Broke… Break It! This book gave a different perspective from the oft-repeated saw, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” We recall Dick Spezzano, at the time the vice president of produce for Vons and the chairman of PMA, pulling us aside, handing us the book and saying, “You see what a great association this is?”

We’ve been around long enough to have watched a series of strategic planning processes with PMA and, so far, each has kept the association strong. This is no small accomplishment in this day and age. When PMA’s show in Anaheim this past October broke attendance records, it spoke volumes about the strength of the show and the organization in a year when many shows were seeing drop-offs of 20 to 30 percent or more.

Not fearing change is a big part of preparing for success in the future. This is true in associations, in the produce industry, and in publishing. With PMA’s consumer research project being completed, we finished up a number of other outstanding topics and now it is time to move on.

When I spoke at the Produce Solutions Conference this year, I was asked to discuss ways in which businesses should approach the recession. One of the most important ways was to reassess what activities each business undertook and to concentrate resources where they can do the most good.

The genius of PMA and its board has really been the discipline of methodically evaluating and undergoing strategic planning on a regular schedule, so it can make decisions about what to pare, what to keep and what to plant, without financial pressures. There is a valuable lesson there for companies throughout the industry.

Publishers have to change, too, so we have launched digital operations such as that at PerishablePundit.com and thus moved into cyberspace. Yet many questions stand the test of time. Starting in January, we will be inviting different organizations each month to submit their research. We hope to help publicize it, assess it, understand it and lay the groundwork for future research. If your organization has been conducting some research and would like to participate, please e-mail us at Research@PhoenixMediaNet.com.

I would be remiss if I didn’t close by thanking Bryan Silbermann for undertaking this project for the last four years. Writing an article is difficult, and committing to do one every month, inspired or not, healthy or sick, busy or on vacation, is a formidable commitment. He didn’t have to undertake it, and he deserves my thanks and the industry’s praise for doing so.

Bryan and I have been friends for many years and I knew him well before we began this project, yet through these four years and 48 columns, we argued the problems of the industry like Yeshiva boys debating the holy texts. This has given me an insight into his intelligence, background and belief system that one man rarely gets of another.

I think we gave the industry a small gift and I am proud we had the chance to do it together.