March 2012
DG Maureen's Notebook
15 Brilliant Weeks Ahead
Thoughts from the Presidential Rev-Up Sessions
Dear Club Presidents,
The uphill sprint continues as we realize that we anticipate a brilliant 15-week future to create - one we'll never have again, with the chance to finish our Rotary Leadership year by giving it all we've got. (Just in time to take a 4th of July week off!)
Almost all of you attended our Presidential Rev-Up sessions. Great discussions ensued, and you inspired me to make the most of every step ahead. The two biggest ideas:
- Your presidential term will be remembered in great part by the high quality of your meetings.
- It's a perfect time to renew your focus on individual members
Lots of talk about focusing on members -- celebrating them, appreciating them, and taking a greater role in improving THEIR relationship with your club. This happens through personal communication AND through your members' experience at weekly meetings.
Some highlights of effective practices recommended by your peers and by recent Presidents:
- Add NEW stuff. Especially, something that puts the spotlight on members. Member interviews, increased craft talks, Rotary moments, impromptu brainstorming or discussions. Nothing wrong with letting members talk fine-free about their businesses, or trends in their industries and professions.
- If you have a rolling screen or PowerPoint, change the look or order of it. Put in short videos, or more member photos and names. These rev up the 'fun' elements in your meeting.
- If you don't yet have a screen up . . . get one NOW!This is possibly the best meeting innovation of the last decade, adding focus, pizzazz, and color - with the considerable added benefit of emphasizing your announcements (which easily slide by the attention span) and accomplishments (which can't be repeated too often.)
- Boldly rev up your speaker list.(Skip this paragraph if your attendance is super and your meeting speakers consistently great and irresistible.) A continuing frustration for some leaders: the programs get soft; the most common complaints being too many outside NFP's (especially if they're dull) and too many PowerPoint-reading, blah, incompetent speakers. Yikes, so many times I've heard from Past Presidents: "I could have been tougher about the speakers." Resolve that all of your remaining programs will be terrific - even it it means canceling, changing, and demanding! You are waaaay better off with a collection of short craft talks, freewheeling discussions, joke contests and club assemblies than you are with a dull speaker. Ultimately, your year will end better for it.
- Follow up with absentees. Attendance stats are your first bellwether of member loss. Assure that a responsible leader in your club is (sensitively) on top of who is missing meetings and why. Members want to know that someone cares. Many simply will not think to mention that they have an illness or emergency to cope with. Your best retention strategy could be making sure that a call, an expression of interest becomes part of your
- of your regular way of doing things.
- Another area of concern was with orientation and ongoing Rotary education. It seems that when this piece is well in place, clubs consistently do well. On the other hand, clubs that let it slip are sure to see an erosion in vitality. Frequently remind your Rotarians of the benefits, advantages and opportunities of their membership - as well as Rotary history, policies and responsibilities. All of this is more effective if framed with the amazing accomplishments of the world's premiere service organization - and of your own club.These upcoming 15 weeks are the future of your presidency . . . and they will finish shaping your legacy. The achievements and lessons of the last 37 weeks, now in the past, will help launch you on this final quarter. I'm with you and wish you the very best.Thank you for being wonderful presidents. We're having a terrific year and I'm thrilled to be working with you.Yours faithfully,Maureen
