Innovate Rotary!

Does your club have a growth mindset?

My question is not whether you want your club to increase its headcount.

I am asking what kind of culture you have in your club, especially among your leaders. Is it a fixed mindset or a growth mindset?  Let me explain.

I remember taking on the role of District Membership chair a few years ago.  As I was learning about clubs in the district, fellow district leaders would describe clubs using fixed labels.  For example, they would characterize a club as a:

• Fun club
• High impact club
• Struggling club
• Older club
• Elite club
• Etc.

As I learned about the character and culture of these clubs, many of the labels were accurate.  As I really got to talk one on one with the leaders of these clubs, even if they were given a positive label, many of those clubs were dying.  New members weren't willing to breathe new life into the old projects.  Members were more willing to write checks than to pitch in.  Financial discipline became lax.  In hindsight, I now see what was holding many of those clubs back from growing and thriving:  many of those clubs had a fixed mindset. 

Now, as you see above, many of these clubs were described with positive labels.  And these clubs rightly celebrated what had made them special and what had helped them grow and succeed - in the past.  So how were these clubs strugglling despite their positive labels?

The problem is that many of them believed the positive label and stopped there.  They celebrated winning the trophy and stopped putting out the effort to win the next one.  Unless a club is focused on where its next success will come from, it can get stagnant.  For example, if the leaders of a “fun club” are not willing to discuss challenging issues, people disengage.  If an “elite club” does not offer a unique and special opportunity for members once they get recommended and inducted, members start to ask, “What was the point of this?”

Fixed mindsets limit people’s willingness to hear criticism, even if accurate and well-intended.   Leaders in a club or district with a fixed mindset want to be reminded of how terrific they are.  A fixed mindset celebrates the glory years and wishes things could be like that again.  However, In a changing world, a fixed mindset can bring success to a halt.

Now, let's think about a truly struggling club.  If that club has a fixed mindset, it is in big trouble because it tends to see its challenges as permanent and outside of its members’ control. It will blame its lack of growth and impact on the economy, their meeting location, their legacy projects or some other reason. As our district team would share growth efforts that were highly successful elsewhere in the district, we would hear club leaders say things like, “We can’t grow like the suburbs; our population is not growing like theirs.” Or, “We tried a membership drive, but it did not work.” Another told me, “Young people are just not interested in community service anymore.” That one is far from the truth.

So what is the solution?  Adopt a growth mindset.  Carol Dweck’s research tells us that people who adopt a growth mindset:

• Embrace challenges
• Persist in the face of setbacks
• See effort as a path to mastery
• Learn from criticism
• Find lessons and inspiration in the success of others

Think about your own successes. Which ones do you treasure the most, the ones that came easy or the triumphs that came from hard work, despite near disaster?  A club's culture is no different. Your club is defined by how it handles challenge.

I often hear people talk about how they love the book, Good to Great, by Jim Collins.  Collins' research revealed that leaders of great companies were not trying to prove they were the best.  Rather, they wanted to improve.  For great companies, it’s not about past success.  It’s about where their next success will come from.  That also explains why there are no permanently great companies.  You have to keep working at it.

For Rotarians, The Four Way Test does not mean you do not confront tough issues.  It does not mean you tolerate inappropriate jokes.  It does not mean you allow challenges to be accepted as permanent truths.  The Four Way Test simply provides guidance on how to approach those challenges.

So what are some of the ways you can begin to embrace a growth mindset in your club?

• Acknowledge your past success.  Your club formed and thrived at some point because someone made the effort to do something special.  Tie your future success to its past.
• Create a vision.  Decide what your club is going to be about in the future.  What is your purpose in your community?  Use a consensus-building process to create your club's inspiring and challenging future vision.
• Communicate the change.  People need to know what the change means and does not mean. What efforts will need to take place and how will it affect them?  What will you stop doing in the future, even if it was encouraged in the past?
• Reshape your stories.  Rather than only celebrate only your accomplishments, celebrate the efforts to make your club better and stronger, even if they were not successful.  For example, if you held a fundraiser, talk about some of the challenges and how you overcame them.  Call out members who got through challenges, who learned from mistakes and created a platform for further success and growth in the future.
• Take action.  As you recite the Four Way Test each week, remember it is a test of the things you think, say and DO.  Experiment.  Test.  Play.  Inspire.  Gitterdone! 

At a district level, reward and recognize clubs that are changing and succeeding because of the efforts of their members.  Numbers alone don't tell the story of whether a club has a growth mindset.  Don't give rewards for efforts that took place years ago.  A club that works hard to rethink its mission and gets its members to embrace the new vision is likely a lot stronger in the long run than a club that stumbles into success and does not dare to try something new.  Reward what you want more of in the future.

• Think about where you want to be as a club.  
• Say words that celebrate efforts more than accomplishments. 
• DO something positive that will take your club closer to its vision.  Do something this year that will be worthy of your club’s purpose.

 And as a person, a leader and a Rotarian, keep growing!

How do you create an ideal experience for prospective members?

I am in the thick of a client project, in which we are exploring the questions:

• Which "Moments of Truth" matter most to clients?
• What is the "Ideal Client Experience" at each moment?
• Where should we focus first to make the biggest positive difference at each moment?

As I think about Rotary membership, I wonder what are the "Moments of Truth" that matter most to prospective members?  How do you make joining Rotary as easy as riding a bike (assuming that is easy!), especially if they are just a little reluctant?   For starters, take on their point of view.  Put yourself in their world.  Imagine what they are going through as they try on the idea of becoming a Rotarian.  Then imagine the Ideal Experience you could create.

So how do you figure out how to create the Ideal Experience?   Use the client profile diagram on the right to get started.   Answer the questions from all four perspectives - what do they think, see, say and hear?  (This tool comes from this book by the way).  

Let's say someone is thinking about joining your club.  One moment of truth could be the first meeting they attend.  Take two passes.  In the first pass, imagine this moment does not go well. For example:

1. Think - what is running through their mind as they think about attending that first meeting?  For example, "Will I fit in?" "Will I know anyone?" "Will this be worth my time?"
2. See - what do they see that gets in their way?  As they read your website the night before, look at your intro materials or walk into their first meeting, what do they see?  Is the website designed to help non-members or is it focused on current members?  If you have a brochure, is it well-written and visually appealing?  Does it tell a compelling story?
3. Say - what are they saying to you, to their friends, to others? When someone asks them, "How was the meeting?", what will they say? What do they say to you, when you ask them if they are interested in moving forward?  Are you hearing them talk about themselves and their interests?  Or are they saying little because your members are doing all of the talking?
4. Hear - what are they hearing from your members, from their spouse or employer?  Are they hearing members complain or do they welcome the new member?  Are they hearing clear answers about what your club is about and how they can fit in?  Are they hearing concerns from a spouse about whether they will have time to participate?

Next, take stock of what you learned.  Is there anything about the prospective member experience that really stands out?  What would you want to change?

In the second pass, imagine that the experience goes exceptionally well.  What will the prospect think, see, say and hear? 

As you compare the "bad" with the "ideal" what is the difference?  From your prospective member's point of view, what is it like to experience your: 

• Website
• Newsletter
• Brochureware
• One on one conversations
• Meetings
• Follow up correspondence

What would you need to do right now to make the ideal happen?  Where are the biggest hurdles?  How can you knock down those hurdles fast?  How can you make it easier for your current members to create the Ideal Experience?

A great member experience starts by thinking about what it is like for the next member you are trying to attract.  How great could it be?  It's not usually about "what we have always done."  It's rarely about what is easy or convenient for current members.  And with more organizations competing for people's time, energy and talent, "good enough" is rarely "good enough."

Creating a great experience is about appreciating what it is like from the other's point of view, imagining how good it could be and then taking actions, no matter how small, that will move you toward that ideal.

When you go through this process, it may surprise you, as it has for my client, that by creating a great experience for new members, you might just improve the experience you offer for current members, too.

Where are your biggest opportunities to create a great experience for your new members?  What have you learned by taking a non-member point of view?  How have you made quick positive steps?

A great club is all about energy

Yes, I am back - and with new energy.

In fact, energy is a new theme, a new focus for me in Rotary.  You can tell the difference between great clubs and others the moment you come in contact with them by their energy.  Whether it is the first time you view the club web page, the first time you walk in to a club meeting or when you have the opportunity to ask a member, "What is it like to be a member of this club?"

Great clubs have tremendous positive energy.  They celebrate wins, recognize contributions, express gratitude for hard work and for financial support.  They also laugh and smile a lot - usually for good reason.  You don't need to look up membership reports to know whether a club is growing.  You can tell the moment you walk in.

Great clubs also practice fair process.  Fair process means giving members a chance to get involved in decisions, to shape the vision of the club and to put their stamp on programs and projects.  Fair process means that even if a member's wishes are not part of the path that is chosen, so long as they feel they have been given a chance to offer their ideas, have been heard fairly and that the decision process is open and honest, then they will be more likely to support the direction that IS chosen.

Great clubs make it easy for members to contribute their energy - their time, their talent, their money.  And therefore, great club leaders know that their job is to help keep the energy going.  They remove barriers.  They make their mission and vision clear.  They are focused on impact, not just keeping people busy.

Great clubs also capture the energy of the people they serve by bringing their stories of impact and gratitude back into the club.  This is often when members get a bit wet in the eyes.  They are touched to find that because of Rotary, the kids stop dying.  Because of Rotary, I will graduate and will try to practice the values I learned from my Rotary mentor.  Because of Rotary and ShelterBox, thousands more kids and their families do not have to sleep outside tonight.

And because great clubs tell their stories so well, they attract positive media attention, attract new members, attract new donors and sponsors.  People like to be part of success.

What can you do as a Rotary leader to help people unleash their energy?  If you notice people "voting their energy" elsewhere, are you a confident enough leader to ask them what's up - and then take the time to listen?  Are you putting positive, energetic people in charge of your most important projects?  Are you courageous enough to talk directly to those who suck energy from your club and address the issues head on? 

Who are the positive deviants in your club?  Who are the people that other club leaders feel comfortable going to for advice?  What are you doing to keep those people engaged?

Great clubs are all about positive energy.  And they know there is no energy shortage when important work needs to be done.

Chanhassen Rotary July 4th Parade Video

In a volunteer organization, recognition and .genuine gratitude are your most valuable currency.  Here is a video recap of the Chanhassen Rotary July 4th Parade 2009.  When you look at the credits, you realize just how many volunteers contributed to the success and smooth running of this event.  Thanks to all!

For best viewing, get your copy of U2's Joshua Tree album and start "Where the Streets Have No Name" and the video at the same time.  Enjoy!

Serve, don't help

My wife recently decided to volunteer for a hospice center that is opening soon in our area.  One of the valuable lessons of her training so far is the notion of serving, not helping.

When we feel we need to help someone, it assumes that people lack something that somehow we can provide - strength, intelligence, wisdom, experience or something else.  When we help, we tend to look at ourselves as superior to the person we help.

When we truly serve, we see the other as an equal, with dignity regardless of their circumstances.  When we serve, we see each other's strengths and assets, not their failings and deficits.  We respect the other's circumstances and have empathy for their struggles and share their aspirations.  There is nothing to fix.  Sometimes, especially when people cannot communicate well, personal presence alone has a big impact.

Each of us is on a unique path.  How could serving versus helping make a difference to those we serve (and transform ourselves in the process)?

I now truly understand why the phrase, "I am here from the District and I am here to help" always seems to generate a kind of nervous laughter.

Forget title, status and position.  Show up.  Serve.  Make a difference.

Thanks for the opportunity to serve

On June 30, 2009, I will complete 3 years as District 5950 Membership chair.  It has been a privilege to serve the clubs in this district and beyond.

During the past three years, I have met some incredibly talented and giving people.  I have learned about projects with exceptional impact.  I have also experienced a great deal of challenge and fun.  So what have I learned?

One of the most important things I have learned is that clubs that grow are led by people who choose to grow.  More specifically, growing clubs have one or more leaders who decide that growing their club matters and choose to do something to make it happen.  They take actions that are unique to their particular club and that leverage their talents.  Some reach out for help, some survey their members and take action on what they discover.  Many launch a campaign of some kind or they organize their stories so that new and prospective members can understand what they are about.  The really good ones make it fun and easy to join Rotary and make it easy and rewarding to create meaningful impact.

Clubs that grow set high standards for the kind of member they seek.  That does not mean that they exclude people.  I think that it goes to the core of what Rotary is about - ask successful professional people to represent their professions with high ethical standards.  Ask those same professional people to apply their time, talents, influence and resources to make a difference locally and globally.  So setting high standards is about finding people who are a bit more successful than most because these are people who can have more impact than most.   What that means to each club is a function of its community and its purpose.

Clubs that grow create peak experiences for their members.  One of my favorite exercises with clubs and at district training events was to ask members to recall their peak experiences in Rotary and to share words that describe those experiences.  Across many groups, you consistently hear words like effort, teamwork, passion, excitement, gratitude, courage, hope, learning, connection, impact, focus, quality and yes, fun.  These are not words that describe most people's average day, are they?  The growing clubs create meaningful experiences that keep people coming back for more.  It's a kind of positive addiction to impact!

Growing clubs create enough trust to get through the tough stuff.  Every club faces challenges from time to time.  Whether it be a few old guard members that refuse to consider change, projects that are no longer relevant, programs that are no longer compelling enough to get people to show up for breakfast or a feeling of entitlement that slows innovation and collaboration.  The successful clubs get past these obstacles because they have an important purpose and enough trust developed over time to get through the momentary obstacles.

There are too many people to thank to name them all here.  If you have helped me along the way or given me an opportunity to serve you in some way, please consider yourself on the list!  I am most grateful to you.

One of the wonderful results of my work as Membership Chair has been this weblog.   I started writing Innovate Rotary! as a way to reach out to district members on a range of Rotary topics.  I quickly learned that this medium is instantly global.  And I am happy that the messages and conversations here have had an impact well beyond District 5950.

As I pass my membership responsibility to others, I will be refocusing my efforts on soccer coaching, as my two daughters learn to play the sport that I love, second only to golf. 

As for future posts, let's see what inspires me from here!

Serve, smile, set high standards, make an impact, express gratitude and have fun!

Inspire, don't recruit.

I had a really valuable experience this weekend.  I was hired to deliver a keynote for a service club state convention - that was not Rotary.  I was struck by so many similarities between Rotary events and this one - passionate people doing unbelievable work, enthusiastic members who really enjoyed meeting each other and gathering to celebrate their accomplishments.

Both talk often of the challenge to attract new members, improve retention and add younger members.  I listened to several presentations as I waited for my turn to present.  And it struck me how hard we all work to find the next new member of our respective clubs.  And sometimes we try so hard with all of our tactics and techniques that we forget that it is not about the numbers.  It is about, as I have written many times, connecting people with their passions.

So I had a sudden insight that I offered to the audience yesterday:

What would it be like if we had conversations with prospective members that inspired them to live out THEIR individual passions in community service?  What if we were more committed to that person finding THEIR true outlet for service, even if it did not mean joining our particular club?

If you think about it, this kind of committed detachment might be just the thing that brings lots of new members to Rotary.  If we elevate the conversation, what might be possible?  The key is making sure that people serve somewhere!  And if Rotary is the right answer, and the timing is right, and if WE ARE TALKING TO QUALIFIED PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS, then maybe, just maybe, they will decide to join Rotary after all.

There are too many opportunities to make a difference in the world that, worse than not joining Rotary would be not serving anywhere at all!  Let go of the notion that everyone needs to join Rotary.  Play at a higher level.  We need more people serving our communities in all kinds of service - Rotary and otherwise.

What do you think?

Help Rotarians experience FLOW

The most committed Rotarians are not those who listen to great speakers every week or who have leveraged their Rotary network to grow their business.  That’s not to say that networking and great programs are not important.  They are critical to creating satisfied members.  The most committed Rotarians, however, have experienced something beyond that.  The most committed Rotarians have experienced FLOW at some time in their Rotary career.

 

Flow is when a person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing, with a feeling of energized focus as they create success in some activity.  Whether in Rotary or elsewhere, many of us have had that feeling of flow, where you get so absorbed in an activity that you lose your sense of time.  Can you remember a time like that?

 

Most of us experience flow in Rotary when we are engaged in worthwhile projects.  Great club members help fellow members create flow often.  So how do you create flow in your club?   Here are some starters:

 

1.    Set clear goals and expectations.  What are you trying to accomplish?  What are you doing to define what your club is about?  Do you have a goal and are you committed to it, or is it just a number on a page?  If you don’t have a clear vision for your club or your projects, start now.

2.    Focus.  Create opportunities for people to dive deeply into a project or club activity.  Balance “done in a day” activities with projects that require planning and time.  Think of Edina’s bike parade or the Safe Water initiatives.  People who get the most joy from these projects tend to be those who were most involved.

3.    Provide direct and immediate feedback.  When teams work well together, successes and failures are apparent, so team members can adjust as needed.  Are you creating trust in your club?  How do you learn from your successes and failures?  Are people still talking after a project is complete?

4.    Balance between ability level and challenge.  A walk around the block is not significant to you unless you have had a cast on your ankle for six weeks.  Although a slow economy can make it tougher to raise money or increase membership, many clubs find that they succeed anyway.  They succeed because they strike a balance between setting goals that are not too easy and not too difficult.  Are you stretching your members just enough?  Focus on what you want to achieve, not the challenges, reasons and excuses.

5.    Provide intrinsic rewards.  When activities have meaning, actions become effortless.  Are your projects meaningful to your current members?  What is the impact of your work?  What would happen if your club did not do that project?  That doesn’t mean that projects need to address a grave or serious issue.  Keep it fun, too.

6.    Lose status.  People who experience flow report that they found themselves working together where there seemed to be no leader, but the group was well-led.  People just rolled up their sleeves, contributed their gifts and stepped in where needed.  This explains why many people who are recognized for their great work simply respond by saying, “oh, that was nothing.”  How easy do you make it for new members to step in and contribute their talents?  Do you know what their talents are?  As a leader, are you committed enough to the impact of your project that you are willing to let someone else shine?

 

When trying to achieve goals, sometimes you need to hold course and sometimes it helps to shift the focus.  If you are attracting the kind of people you want in your club, keep it up.  If members are staying in your club, despite the economy, despite the fact that their employer no longer pays their dues, keep doing what you are doing.  If, however, your focus on inviting new members and keeping new members is NOT working, expand your focus beyond the act of recruiting and asking.   Help your members create flow.

 

This is how people who join Rotary become committed Rotarians.  How will you know one when you see one?  When you see the shine in their eyes!

Solving the Worldwide Problem of Flying Debris

Ok, time for a little Friday humor.  Here is the story of a new movement created to stop the senseless killing of people worldwide.  Flying debris is a serious problem, folks - and you can help!

Saving the world does not have to be serious all the time!

From:  theonion.com

Forget the statistics. Start talking with live humans.

Sometimes people hide behind a mask.  What happens when WE put the mask on others?

There has been a lot of discussion about generational differences - differences in orientation toward service, willingness to work hard, willingness to respect experience, etc.  And there have been plenty more about what that might mean for Rotary membership.  We have come up with labels like "next generation clubs."  Did people in their 30's choose that term, or was that a brainchild of an AARP cardholder?

Here is one simple way to sort out fact from perception:  start talking with live humans. 

Novel idea, right?  What if we stop excluding, assuming and prejudging because of what a professor's statistics suggest abou the average 34 year old's likelihood to serve?  What if we talk with qualified people, one at a time, about their interests, their best service experiences and how there might be a good fit with Rotary?  What if we saw qualified people, regardless of age?

You are not a statistic and don't like being labeled.  So don't assume a person's values based on the date on their driver's license.  Keep your curiousity about people! 

A great conversation is somewhat of a luxury, in our days of 140 character tweets and text messages.  Take the time to enjoy a good conversation with someone, no matter how young or old.  See what you discover about their ideal service experience.  See where it leads.