Misunderstanding
Bobvanhook
Description
Collection
Title:
Misunderstanding
Creator:
Bobvanhook
Text:
Yesterday I wrote:
The Almanac is a magazine, and serves a very different purpose from O&P
Business News. I wish I had been here before O&P Business News existed. It
filled a void that shouldn't have existed if AOPA had had its ear to the
ground. Actually, I feel that the same is true with NAAOP. What I'm trying
to say here is that we are trying to earn your confidence back. It will take
time, but at least you can be sure that we're working on it.
Someone brought it to my attention that the above quote sounded disrepectful
of AOPA's staff or elected leaders during the time periods to which this
comment refers. I truly meant nothing of the sort, and I apologize to anyone
who was offended. I think that reliving the past or feeling regret for it is
a waste of time. I believe that people mostly do what they think is the right
thing to do at the time given the resources they have. Naive? Maybe, but it
saves a lot of time fretting over who shot John and why.
We can learn from the past, but in rapidly changing times, history is not a
very good predictor of the future. My learning from the period of AOPA's
history to which I referred is that in the future AOPA needs to be more keenly
aware of our members needs and move quickly to meet them.
The complaint from the offended person reminds me that email has its
limitations. It conveys neither subtlty, nuance, inflection, body language,
facial expression, tone of voice or any of the other very important ways we
communicate. It just says what it says in words and people will interpret the
words their own way. Sorry.
Bob
Robert T. Van Hook, CAE
Executive Director
American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association
1650 King Street, Suite 500
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703/836-7116
Fax: 703/836-0838
Email: <Email Address Redacted>
Webpage: www.theaopa.org
The Almanac is a magazine, and serves a very different purpose from O&P
Business News. I wish I had been here before O&P Business News existed. It
filled a void that shouldn't have existed if AOPA had had its ear to the
ground. Actually, I feel that the same is true with NAAOP. What I'm trying
to say here is that we are trying to earn your confidence back. It will take
time, but at least you can be sure that we're working on it.
Someone brought it to my attention that the above quote sounded disrepectful
of AOPA's staff or elected leaders during the time periods to which this
comment refers. I truly meant nothing of the sort, and I apologize to anyone
who was offended. I think that reliving the past or feeling regret for it is
a waste of time. I believe that people mostly do what they think is the right
thing to do at the time given the resources they have. Naive? Maybe, but it
saves a lot of time fretting over who shot John and why.
We can learn from the past, but in rapidly changing times, history is not a
very good predictor of the future. My learning from the period of AOPA's
history to which I referred is that in the future AOPA needs to be more keenly
aware of our members needs and move quickly to meet them.
The complaint from the offended person reminds me that email has its
limitations. It conveys neither subtlty, nuance, inflection, body language,
facial expression, tone of voice or any of the other very important ways we
communicate. It just says what it says in words and people will interpret the
words their own way. Sorry.
Bob
Robert T. Van Hook, CAE
Executive Director
American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association
1650 King Street, Suite 500
Alexandria, VA 22314
Phone: 703/836-7116
Fax: 703/836-0838
Email: <Email Address Redacted>
Webpage: www.theaopa.org
Citation
Bobvanhook, “Misunderstanding,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 26, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/210471.
