Future-Proofing with Resilience - with Travis Allison - Camp Ahead #9
Welcome to Season 2 of Camp Ahead! - Let’s talk resiliency.
Join host Joe and guest Travis Allison, co-founder of Go Camp Pro, as they explore into The Resilient Camp Blueprint. In an industry facing increasing demands, staff burnout, and an uncertain future, resilience isn't just a buzzword - it's essential for survival.
Travis shares his framework for future-proofing your camp, arguing that camp leaders need to create space to think, plan, and enjoy their jobs again. The solution isn't one massive overhaul, but a commitment to small, daily improvements and embracing new tools like Augmented Intelligence (AI) to clear the deck of busy work. This conversation is a must-listen for directors and boards seeking sustainable success and long-term vitality.
Key takeaways include:
The High Cost of Burnout: The industry is losing senior leadership at an alarming rate, taking irreplaceable institutional knowledge with them. Resilience is about creating systems that capture this knowledge and reduce executive burden.
The Power of Small Steps: Avoid feeling overwhelmed by focusing on two-second improvements every day. Big changes start with small, actionable steps—a principle mirroring the "one next action" from the Getting Things Done philosophy.
AI as an Augmentation Tool: Use augmented intelligence (AI) to save significant time on administrative tasks like email, transcription, and data analysis. The goal is not to replace people, but to free up time for human connection with staff, parents, and donors.
Prioritize Connections Over Clicks: While social media has its place, the most effective ways to secure campers and staff remain: Repeat, Refer, Rally the Community, and Relationships. Use your newfound AI-fueled time to focus on these high-impact connections.
Actionable First Steps: Start by adopting a voice-to-text transcriber for rapid communication, and use AI tools like Gemini or ChatGPT to refine and respond to emails, thereby creating the time and space needed for big-picture, resilient thinking.
The Digital Twin Concept: Explore the possibility of creating a "digital twin" of your camp's institutional knowledge—a repository of processes and insights that remains even when key staff members move on.
Travis encourages all camp leaders to take the next step: Go to camp.mba/ahead to access the Resilient Camp Diagnostic and begin building your blueprint for a sustainable future.
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Our Guest:
Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - Go Camp Pro
Our Hosts:
Jess Elfring-Roberts - Executive Director, Episcopal Camps & Conference Centers
Joe Richards - Executive Director, Pearce Williams Summer Camp and Retreat Facility
KJ Williams - Camp Director, Phantom Lake YMCA Camp
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Sponsor:
A huge thanks to our sponsor for making this possible.
Meet Campttendance — the first app that makes attendance active. Parents update transportation and attendance instantly, staff greet campers confidently, and administrators see it all in real time. Less tracking, more connecting. Learn more at campttendance.com