Rotary
International (R.I.) is defined, not by what senior leaders say it is or by
what it does, but by who existing and potential Rotarians are and the wants and
needs they satisfy by connecting with Rotary!
The prime reason R.I. and its member clubs exist is to create Rotarians. Therefore, the question of what defines R.I.
and the business it is in can only be answered by looking at R.I. from the outside; from the points of view of its member clubs, its
existing and potential Rotarians, and regional conditions. Every human being in the world lives within
their own personal reality. For this
reason, and this reason alone, any serious attempt to identify the business
R.I. is in must start with Rotarians' realities and values.
Rotary
leaders should have asked and come to unanimous agreement on the question, "What business are we in?" when
membership was growing; when it kicked off its polio eradication campaign. This is when R.I. was at its pinnacle; when
it was most successful. But success almost always makes obsolete the very behavior that achieved it, so to change R.I.'s membership fortunes, it must seriously examine not only the business it is in but the business it wants to be in. To do so, it must look
outside of itself and examine changes in the structure and demographics of the
populations from which it wishes to create Rotarians. In today's marketplace, this begins with being
innovative in leading the way to help its member clubs retain and attract
members. This includes creating and sustaining a holistic marketing program that includes re-educating staff and leaders, assisting member clubs, and developing new clubs. These actions alone will
reveal many yet-to-be-discovered opportunities for R.I. to deliver value to its member
clubs and Rotarians.
Is R.I. capable of preventing itself from being buried by commonplace in 20??. It is, but only if it
takes a critical look at itself from outside of itself and commits to making what
will be some very difficult decisions and changes.
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