Michael Robinson: Creating the future of business

“The future is not some place, but something we are creating now,” said Oliver Wendall Homes.

The Vail Valley Partnership, realizing corporate evolution is a way for a business to realize its full potential, is creating the future as we speak and in doing so, paving a better path for our organization’s future and serving our partners more efficiently, effectively.

Evolution is a gradual process, and the Partnership’s evolution is no different.

Toward the end of 2006, we introduced a new set of bylaws and governing body which essentially changed the structure of the organization. The next change was one to better define and reflect the organization’s present and future identity.

Knowing we had outgrown our title as the Vail Valley Chamber and Tourism Bureau, we announced a name change in late January and soon our new business cards read “Vail Valley Partnership.”

Next week, the Partnership is about to embark on stage three of our corporate evolution when we open the doors to our new Traer Creek office in Avon.

While I could boast about the building ” from its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification to the generous interior design efforts of Beth Slifer and Jim Dawkins with Slifer Interior to assure our office is dressed to impressed ” I’d rather step back and look at the overall picture.

Our new office space will allow the Partnership to be more accessible to partners ” more so than our current location in Vail Village. The new space is also flexible enough to handle organizational expansion as we grow hand-in-hand with the valley. The new office will also enhance the guest experience, as a concierge desk will be placed at the front of the office to welcome and educate visitors on the many attractions our valley offers. Traer Creek’s proximity to Interstate 70 will allow signs to easily direct and attract visitors to this concierge desk. These are all signs of evolution.

Today, business intelligence is not defined by return on investment alone but the ability to adapt to change. Globalization, information technology and increased competition demand that a business adapt to stay on its edge. We ask you to embrace our new space, which we hope will encourage more partner visits.

Our move is only a physical one. Vail will remain with us in spirit, as Avon, Edwards, Gypsum, Eagle and Dotsero currently do. Regardless of location, it is our duty to cheerlead what is best for the business community valley-wide.

Recently, the Partnership experienced a huge win on behalf of our lodging partners in Vail. The win was celebrated with a special Task Force comprised of Vail property owners ” the majority of whom also belong to the Partnership’s Lodging Committee. Together, we asked the Vail Town Council for a serious reconsideration of an effort to reallocate funds that were originally collected by lodges and business in Vail for the purpose of building a Conference Center.

As a result, the Vail Town Council unanimously voted to delay until 2008 any ballot initiative relative to reallocating the conference center funds. The delay will allow full discussion of options for the funds, including Open Hospitality/Hillwood’s Lionshead Parking Structure redevelopment. Thanks to all who contributed to this effort.

If you’re asking what’s next for the Partnership – there’s plenty. Keep your eyes open for coming events and even more changes.

So, as I cap my pen for one of the last times at my desk in Vail writing this column, keep in mind that the Partnership’s move is not a good-bye but a hello to new opportunities. The Partnership is an evolving organization ” our hearts and minds are in the game. In the spirit NBA playoffs, think of this as coaching from the sidelines while slam-dunking that winning basket for the team.