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WHEN MEMBERSHIP DWINDLES DOWN4/27/2018 Service clubs around the world are endangered. Membership is dwindling down.
This is across the board of many service clubs in North America and other parts of the world. I talked to the local Lions club here and they reported that from 25 members they are now down to 5 members. The guy I talked with is I believe in the 60s to 70s age range. The rest of the members might be there somewhere in between. I asked what is their strategy for recruitment and retention? And they answered newspaper ads. If this is not working, they need to work out a different strategy fast. Slow and painful death is inevitable unless the leadership takes ownership of what is going on and commit to turning it around with the help of all the stakeholders. I have seen several clubs suffer from this problem. There is no one solution. There are many solutions and that they have to begin to embrace that this is going to be their top most priority in the next couple of years. They have to understand that the competition for attention is the most difficult part of the game. Youth, parents with young kids, retired people with ageing parents, and other demographics are just simply difficult to attract for participation in a regular structured organization. I asked about the social media and how they can attract following and possibly new members. The guy retorted that he does not want to be in social media the whole day. I guess there is still a lot of misconception about the use of social media up to this day. While there is no need to convince the inconvertible about social media, the whole community suffers when a service club suffers. That is simply a fact. While service clubs remain relevant because of their service orientation and unselfish dedication to community building, their structure, practices, and culture must go with the times. When they ignore the changing societal dynamics, they risk extinction. Stupidity is expecting a different outcome using the same approach over and over again. What are your thoughts? How can we build up robust and dynamic service clubs in our communities?
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I heard a lot about this and I think this needs a blog article in the first place.
Managers, entrepreneurs, directors of organizations fall trap into this thinking. They sell the idea that somebody might be making a donation. Some body, some where, some day! This is utterly useless from a management point of view. Unless money is in the bag, don’t count it. Don’t even mention it because it creates a false sense of hope. Hoping that things will be better. If it doesn't come, then what? Reverse-engineer it, period. It is not coming. Hope is good but when it comes to running a business. Don’t count hoping and wishing as good strategies. Create good strategies that will take you from where you are right now to the next 5 years-10-15. You will thank yourself from acting on the basis of what can be done with the resources that you have. Being pragmatic and realistic will win day. Lots of organizations and starts-up hope and wish for a big donation, a successful JV partner, a huge funding, a media exposure, etc. Well these things take time. Relationships and connections are the best investments. Now, go and make good strategies. Between your vision and the strategies that you employ, the rest is implementation. Give me a thumbs up if you agree:)
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GET OUT OF THE LINE4/23/2018 Are you wanting to stand out from the crowd?
This is what I say I say “don’t fall in line like the rest of the people.” Get out of the line. Don't believe the people telling you can't do that or you're not good enough. Get some good skills and invest in yourself. Nothing and no one can take that away from you. Adversities are like stones along the way. They can trip you but you can jump over them. Try different things. Taste different things. Some things will fall into place for you. If you care so much about something. Do something. Don’t over think about it. Don’t wait to get anointed by somebody – to get picked. Anoint yourself. When I was young, I used to think that I need to fall in line and wait for my turn to lead. No body will hand you the baton. Leadership is not only for the old, experienced, and well-resourced. It's funny when you hit a certain level of success, people only see the success, not the tears, sweat, and lonely grind that go along with it. Do not care about what other people will think about your life. If you put your miseries in one basket and compare with others. You would be ashamed of thinking about it as miseries. Mental tenacity is what keeps you getting started and in the race for the long haul. I say 80-90% of the obstacles are mental. Keep your state of mind in good health. The rest is just execution. What lessons and words of wisdom can you impart today? Share your thoughts here.
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STOP ROMANCING THE SECTOR4/15/2018 Yes, you all have noble intentions working in the social sector. As insiders, you all know that that is one of the reasons why you are volunteering, fundraising, giving monies to, and spend enormous amounts of time working for your favorite cause-oriented organizations, campaigns, and networks. That is good. But when you deal with people that are not steeped into the non-profit sector, be real and very practical. Stop talking about how it will change the world, the situation, feed the hungry, clean the environment, support the homeless, etc. Drop the romancing, idealistic notions. You need to talk about how it works for other people. What is their return on investment by participating in your programs? They are moved not by feeding the hungry but my monetary gain or other important considerations. Employee retention, brand recognition & awareness or domination in the community, more sales, positive association/CSR, customer engagement, to name a few. Think about how the other person will get their interests served. Human beings are very simple. While they get moved to tears because of the tragedy happening in the lives of other people and moved to take action, the first thing that they would do is to cover their own needs. Are you communicating value for them? If you are being salesy by just pushing your agenda, it will not work. Get their interests served and you won't be treated like a spammer. What do you think about this? Did I miss an important point? Join the conversation.
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BUT FIRST, DO NO HARM4/11/2018 Service clubs around the world are endangered. Membership is dwindling down.
This is across the board of many service clubs in North America and other parts of the world. I talked to the local Lions club here and they reported that from 25 members they are now down to 5 members. The guy I talked with is I believe in the 60s to 70s age range. The rest of the members might be there somewhere in between. I asked what is their strategy for recruitment and retention? And they answered newspaper ads. If this is not working, they need to work out a different strategy fast. Slow and painful death is inevitable unless the leadership takes ownership of what is going on and commit to turning it around with the help of all the stakeholders. I have seen several clubs suffer from this problem. There is no one solution. There are many solutions and that they have to begin to embrace that this is going to be their top most priority in the next couple of years. They have to understand that the competition for attention is the most difficult part of the game. Youth, parents with young kids, retired people with ageing parents, and other demographics are just simply difficult to attract for participation in a regular structured organization. I asked about the social media and how they can attract following and possibly new members. The guy retorted that he does not want to be in social media the whole day. I guess there is still a lot of misconception about the use of social media up to this day. While there is no need to convince the inconvertible about social media, the whole community suffers when a service club suffers. That is simply a fact. While service clubs remain relevant because of their service orientation and unselfish dedication to community building, their structure, practices, and culture must go with the times. When they ignore the changing societal dynamics, they risk extinction. Stupidity is expecting a different outcome using the same approach over and over again. What are your thoughts? How can we build up robust and dynamic service clubs in our communities?
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5 TIPS TO STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD4/4/2018 I have the privilege to mentor young professionals and graduating students wanting to enter the social change sector. Most of the questions relate to differentiation- being able to win the job, get attention from recruiters, get the foot on the door so to speak! I have 5 tips on the get-go but this is not exhaustive nor it pretends to be.
Standing out in this field is very important. With any profession, early differentiation should be done even while you are studying. It is the commitment to rise above average and be the best you can be. 1. Showcase what you have done in the field of practice that you want to get into. Showcase the internships that you have done, the projects and writings that speak for that, and the interests, hobbies, and interactions that align to that sector or work. Your gig should also point to something concrete, long-term, and purposeful. 2. Showcase the personality that you have. While skills can be learned and over time, master, your personality & character might be the one that will get you noticed. Are your personality, traits, and outlook match the sector or the employment you want to be considered for? Are you comfortable with non-linear, dynamic and fluid environment (not to say, messy!) of the social sector? Do you have the grit to stand up, brush yourself up each time your fall? 3. Network, network, network. Seek out mentors, influencers, and peers in your sector and how they can help you get more information about the work you wanted or the types of new jobs being created on a yearly basis. Do not be passive about your achievements. Let them know you are looking for work, looking to be involved in special projects, or volunteering your time to worthy causes that show your leadership skills and initiative. Get out there and show up! 4. Create a compelling CV and objective for employment. Try new forms of resume that speaks not just the degree you have but the extra-curricular roles that you have in the course of your studies. Also provide references and testimonials from professors and professionals that knew your work. Get information interviews and try to seek out people who have interesting career adventures/twist and turns. 5. Know the sector very well. Research about the rules of practice, the current challenges, pain points, and trends and opportunities. This information will be very handy come interview time. Showcase what you know about the sector in your writing, blogs, and social media interactions. Keep learning and sharpen your perspectives. What do you think are the must-haves or must-do's to get a competitive edge in the social change sector? Why not add to this initial list?
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WHOSE RESULTS ARE WE TALKING ABOUT?4/2/2018 If you are reading the blog posts, you might have read the previous blog on What results? This blog is a continuation of that perspective. A good question to ask is, whose results are we talking about?
Traditional evaluation would look at the organization that is the one who have put the motion into place, therefore they own and control the evaluation process. The evaluation is geared towards understanding their pathway to achievement of their program results through a series of activities that are implemented by the sponsoring organization. The knowledge that will come out of the evaluation will be managed and enjoyed by the organization including the information, lessons learned, and as a requirement its accountability to its funders, donors, and partners. They can ask partners to participate in the process only as information sources to verify and validate their results hypothesis. At the end of the day, they are the ones responsible to their donors and funders in terms of how monies and resources were spent efficiently and effectively. Most of the time, the practice is that they would hire an external evaluator to do this process and most often the case, the reports are shared only to those that matter to the organization, to the Board, staff, and funders that funded the particular program/project. While there will be sharing of post-evaluation findings, they control how the performance story will spin and who and where it will land. If the result of the evaluation is lack luster, probably the report will just be shelved for further information sharing at a later schedule. Recent evaluation practice has evolved significantly that are more developmental, context-based, gender-informed & participatory in nature. They account for the dynamic, fluid, and unpredictable environment where evaluation is rendered, mostly appropriate in the social change sector. The approach to solving social problems are such that it is developmental, where no one single organization can account for moving the needle, and that countless interventions would be more iterative, than one-off intervention model /silver bullet approach to solution. Participatory evaluation takes evaluation at the next level. It is rooted in the understanding the evaluation is not just for the sponsoring organization but that partners are very much part and core of the evaluation process. They just don’t extricate information from them but are co-owners, co-controllers, and co-partners in learning and knowledge sharing. Participatory evaluation has higher forms of utilization, relevance, and potency for transformation. When this happens, local partners get the most bang for the buck so to speak, because learning is not deposited in the head office but in the lives of communities who are living and breathing laboratories of change. Is your evaluation process aware and using newer evaluation approaches? What challenges did you face along the way? What evaluation questions are not being asked? If you enjoyed this blog, there are related topics that you might also enjoy;) Related Blogs: Results.. What results? The Perversity of Measures Community education ensures sustainability |
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