I am very excited to be the new AAPG president for 2017-18. Thanks to past presidents and Executive Committees, whose dedicated work we build upon. Welcome to the incoming Executive Committee. It is an honor to serve with this great team of professionals and headquarters staff.
In my first column for the AAPG Explorer, I want to lay out strategic goals for the year.
I call my overall strategic goal “Going Where the Energy Is,” which entails an enhanced focus on petroleum-based content in publications and conferences.
Petroleum is our lifeblood. Where oil and gas flow, so do the fortunes of our Members. Our industry and way of life depend on hydrocarbons. We must lead the way to find and produce energy. We must, in the words of Marlan Downey, “Think like oil.”
The Bulletin is the flagship of the AAPG publication effort. I have the support of our current Editor Barry Katz on our shared observation that AAPG Publications would benefit from efforts to proactively enhance high interest content to today’s (and tomorrow’s) energy professional in hydrocarbon prone areas. We want to revitalize the AAPG publication system so that we can showcase that “Geoscience Matters.”
I have found through my organization of AAPG Discovery Thinking Forums and DPA Playmaker Forums in the past few years that the best way to a “standing room only” audience is by inviting experts on new discoveries, hot plays, significant field studies, and integrated case histories of success. We plan to enhance valuable technology transfer though articles in the Bulletin and special publications, web posting of multimedia video presentations and slides.
Here is where AAPG needs you!
Thanks to the Global Business Group headed by Alan Wegener and his team, AAPG annual conventions are clearly working well for the society. Future plans involve building business cases for timely, impactful meetings. AAPG conferences are greatly sought after by geoscientists because they combine networking with technology transfer. We are investigating a new conference idea for 2018 to highlight global “super basins” and to facilitate best-practice sharing of transformative technology in Houston, a venue with easy travel accessibility and many indigenous geoscientists.
Details will follow in future columns.
Membership Engagement
We are looking at ways of engaging experienced and future leaders. We are looking for volunteer leaders who can help AAPG step up our game. Members vote with their feet. They will participate (or not) based on their perception of valuable content. When I was president of HGS during the turn of the millennium, we had a very successful membership drive. This was in large part because we also had a major revitalization of technical program offerings. Membership engagement leads to greater membership recruitment, involvement, and enrichment.
Balanced Budget
Budget balancing efforts require new revenue growth ideas and strategic partnerships.
Another quote from Marlan: “Geology is a science, exploration is a business.”
For AAPG to meet its mission of delivering science and professionalism, we need to be business-focused in our activities.
AAPG has more than 30 committees, 10 special and technical interest groups, four divisions, six sections and six regions. These are all content engines (CE) that need to optimize both impact and financial outcomes. We will showcase the best each CE has to offer at a September leadership conference. This will be an opportunity to share best practices, benchmark bright spots and set goals to improve impact and profitability.
In the last four fiscal years we have dramatically cut costs and prioritized programs. We also thank the AAPG Foundation for their continued support. These efforts continue today.
But, as the saying goes, “you can’t save your way to prosperity.” Therefore, we need serious efforts to increase revenue. This might involve looking for strategic partnerships. Rather than reinventing the wheel, perhaps we can form alliances with Tesla dealerships?
This is an analogy of course, meaning that perhaps we can raise revenues for AAPG by working with industry partners and commercial interests who provide best-in-breed geoscience services and products. This way AAPG Members benefit from synergies and AAPG shares in incremental revenues.
By combining needed efficiencies (evolutionary) and innovative revenue growth (revolutionary), AAPG is setting a three-year course to long-term sustainability.
We call this 20/20 vision for 2020!
Innovation 101
This is a historical bridging year between AAPG’s first and second century. Officially, AAPG will continue to celebrate its 100th year until Febuary 2018. Plans are under way to celebrate our continuing centenary this Oct. 15-18, 2017 at the International Conference and Exhibition (ICE) meeting in London.
Kudos to conference organizers for an outstanding program. Thanks to Paul Weimer and Jonathan Craig who will help me chair the 20th Discovery Thinking Forum celebrating giant new discoveries.
Our first Annual Convention and Exhibitin (ACE) in our second century will occur May 19-23, 2018 in Salt Lake City, Utah, known for great outcrops (Thrustbelt, Wasatch Range, Canyon Lands, Lake Powell and Grand Canyon) and its geologic innovation in fractures and resource assessment of petroleum systems. I hope you make plans to attend.
AAPG will continue our mission to deliver top quality geoscience and professionalism, and to boldly “Go where the energy is.”