Rotary International's Vision of the Rotary Network's Future

ROTARIANS MAKE THE WORLD BETTER

ONE COMMUNITY AT A TIME

Rotary has come a L-O-O-O-NG Way, but It Can't Stop Now!

The 2016 Council on Legislation delegates saw a *Strategic Plan presentation that contained this graphic:

  

This was an outstanding public admission, a necessary step in order to make progress.

This was the next graphic:

  

This was no doubt a necessary compromise in order to get agreement that membership is Rotary International's operational priority. 

But

  Advancing the Object of Rotary,

Rotarians Make the World Better. . .

One Community at a Time!

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The more Rotarians, the better the World.

*The PowerPoint presentation can be downloaded by clicking here providing you are registered on My Rotary:

Rotary International is not a Worldwide Service Organization!

Rotary International (RI) has ONLY one purpose:  to create and support Rotary clubs throughout the world.  Rotary clubs have only one purpose:  to create Rotarians.  The worldwide network of Rotarians adopt the ideal of service in their personal, business, and community lives.  They serve by creating and utilizing attributes locally and internationally advancing the Object of Rotary.  Unfortunately too many Rotarians, including many leaders, do not understand, or know how to communicate, the Object of Rotary's importance.

     Had leaders been talking about, and accurately measuring clubs' effectiveness in, advancing the Object of Rotary, fewer clubs would be struggling today!  It is a natural tendency for humans and institutions, as they age, to be comfortable with existing lifestyles and practices; to not adapt to changing times and technologies.  But if Rotarians know and accept that Rotary's objective, its Circle of Life, is to advance the Object of Rotary, they, regardless of generation, gender, or ethnicity, should continually seek to develop new acquaintances; to accept and appreciate new businesses, professions, and practices.  Therefore, any reasonable person would conclude that dying clubs were not effective at advancing the Object of Rotary.  In all likelihood, they had simply forgotten it.  After all, nobody talked about or accurately measured it. 

     Accurately measuring clubs' effectiveness is easy - the RG (Retention Growth) Index.  And here is another *BFLOB: without jealously adhering to and advancing the Object of Rotary, the Rotary network will continue to be in danger.  North American membership has been telegraphing this for decades.  Actions in the recent 2016 Council on Legislation indicate that the message has finally gotten through.  Maybe, just maybe, leaders will start delivering the perception that without Rotarians, the Rotary network cannot advance the Object of Rotary. 

Is there any chance RI will communicate the perception that it considers membership its top operational priority by offering special training for district membership chairs like it did for District TRF chairs??  Is it possible that The Rotarian and other regional magazines could publish articles on the meaning of The Object of Rotary?  That Rotary leaders could encourage districts and clubs to sponsor Object of Rotary speech and/or essay contests with appropriate awards for contestants and their teachers?

 * Blinding FLash of the Obvious

Rotary International's Updated Membership Development Report Card

In November, 2015, Retention Central published the first Membership Development Report Card.  Rotary International has achieved another major milestone - a standing membership committee.

1. ESTABLISH PRIORITIES - Grade:  100%.  See November, 2015 Rotatorial.  

2. CREATE A POWERFUL GUIDING COALITION.  Grade: 100%.  The 2016 Council on Legislation approved Enactment 16-90, creating an influential, standing membership development committee.  This committee should prevent future leaders from diverting resources from Rotary International's established priority - creating and strengthening clubs, encouraging and assisting them in creating Rotarians.
3.  ESTABLISH AN ATTAINABLE VISION.  Grade: 50%.
Thanks to President Ravi the importance of retaining members has been brought to the forefront; President-Elect Germ has eliminated interim cutoff dates.  Great actions, but until the standing membership committee comes up with an attainable vision that includes retention and growth elements, this grade remains the same.  In membership-based organizations, such indexes are the only measures that accurately appraise success that are fair to all concerned. 

4. CREATE A SYSTEMATIC STRATEGIC PLAN WITH SHORT-TERM, ATTAINABLE MILESTONES.  Grade: 30%.  No improvement.  A workable strategic plan can only be completed when the standing membership committee establishes an attainable vision and an easily understood means of measuring the plan's success is in operation.

5.  COMMUNICATE.  Grade:  20%. Please see the November, 2015 Rotatorial for a more detailed explanation on why this grade continues to be the lowest.  It has improved from 12% to 20% because some district governors are delivering the perception that membership is Rotary's internal priority.  Unfortunately leadership and support regarding starting clubs and assisting weak clubs is still lacking. Many leaders as well as regular Rotarians have embedded mentalities that continually surface. Internal Marketing is badly needed because these outdated mentalities will not be easy to eliminate and/or overcome.  RI must not trivialize the importance of the perceptions delivered by the non-verbal, verbal, and written communications of Rotary, TRF, and all officers and staff.

Rotary future is getting brighter.  The Rotary network has the underpinning in place that should enable it to create more Rotarians. If Transitional Leadership continues, the Rotary network will be better able to create Rotarians who can utilize existing attributes like TRF and spawn new attributes to help them advance the Object of Rotary throughout the 21st century.