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by Peg L. Smith, Chief Executive Officer
Many view—and describe—the camp community as
an organized community with defined boundaries—both tangible and
intangible. When camp is in session, the world around us can often blur
into the distance. Yet, we are a vital part of today's business
world; we are a 20 billion dollar industry. In his book The
World is Flat, Thomas Friedman says, "This era is shrinking the world from
a size small to tiny, and leveling and flattening the playing field at
the same time." This book is a challenging one—and has caused
me to question possible implications for both the camp community and
tomorrow's camper.
As a camp business, we have already witnessed changes that challenge
our values. The digital revolution has forever changed our relationships
with the public, including parents and the media. Our systems for staff
and camper recruitment have drastically been altered. We have learned
the importance of "plug and play," as well as "connect
and collaborate," as Friedman describes these in his book. We have
learned that parents are not a homogenous subset of our population but,
instead, individuals each requiring, and often demanding, a customized
approach and response. Our marketplace is very much driven by individuals—one
at a time—all of the time!
The digital world has exploded our opportunities and given us an audience
of billions. What does it mean to have a one-on-one opportunity with
a billion individuals? Friedman introduces the concepts of outsourcing,
off-shoring, open-sourcing, supply-chaining, insourcing, informing, and
steroids (not at all what one would think . . . I suggest you read the
book)—all of which in total create a "global platform for
multiple forms of collaboration and sharing knowledge." How will
those things shape our marketing, media relations, recruitment, purchasing
habits, and our services? I believe these are important questions to
ask—and answer—for our camp community. And, I wish I had
the answers.
As for today's campers, we also find we continue to have a very
important job in the world as described by Friedman. Our children are
increasingly living in a world that truly functions as a hologram—three
dimensional. It is a world that goes up and down and back and forth while
concurrently gaining in context and depth. It is a world that creates
great intensity in both action and emotion.
How we help young people increase their ability to adapt and develop
resiliency is critical for their success. How we help young people understand
that their world may be one driven, altered, and changed by individuals
is important since we want them to understand their individual choices
need to reflect positive citizenship and contribution to a greater good.
I can't say I agree with everything Friedman suggests. You will
have to decide that for yourself, as a stakeholder in our camp industry
and as a citizen dedicated to enriching the lives of children, youth,
and adults. Nonetheless, I believe, provocation is good—if constructive
dialogue follows.
Originally published in the 2006 September/October
issue of Camping Magazine. |
