Rotary's Culture

Rotary and Strategic Plans - Part III of IV Parts

Every organization, be it a large multinational, small business, or local social club has a culture which plays an important part in its operations.  Rotary International (RI) headquarters in Evanston has its culture.  Each regional RI office has its culture.  Each of RI's 17 zones and over 530 administrative districts has its culture as does ever one of RI's over 35,000 member clubs.  And every one of these entities have sub-cultures.
     RI is revising its Strategic Plan.  If someone wanted to stall the plan, all they have to do is insist on pinpointing and addressing each ingredient of RI's culture.  Some "experts" say that an organization's culture contributes to its overall health.  Some "experts" say it reflects the organization's health.  More "experts" say that an organization's culture represents the collective values, beliefs and principles of the organization's members.  Still even more say that a corporate culture is a product of the organization's history, leadership, employees, members, and the social fabric in which it operates.  Other "experts" add to the mix that an organization's culture reflects, or is reflected by, its market, strategy, employees, customers, supporters, and management style.  Still others add that an organization's culture includes its vision, values, norms, systems, symbols, language, assumptions, environment, location, beliefs, and habits. 

  Confused?  Join the crowd. After doing much research, it appears that successful organizations, those said to have strong and healthy corporate cultures, have three commonalities: (not necessarily in priority)

·       a corporate purpose,

·       consistency in leadership's pursuit of the corporate purpose, and

·       a differentiating identity. 

  

    These commonalities might make someone believe that identifying and addressing RI's culture would be simple.  It doesn't, but, let's get serious: Who really cares about trying to define a corporate culture as long as each of its components thrives?  If each component thrives, then the whole thrives. And all components should thrive if they pursue a common corporate purpose, deliver its differentiating identity, and sustain a continuum in leadership that understands and promotes these commonalities.  And this clearly points out why, with its multitude of components, cultures, and sub-cultures, the only true measure of success that is fair to all concerned and supports RI's purpose and objective is the ability of each club, district, and zone to develop Rotarians - regardless of their gender, generation, or ethnicity.  Success in developing Rotarians will breed strong, healthy cultures throughout.  Any measures or goals that any Rotary leader anywhere in the network communicates verbally or non-verbally that is even close to appearing equal in priority to developing Rotarians will be a diversion that could have long-term, negative affects.

We should hope that RI's strategic plan will address the importance of consistently acknowledging and recognizing successes in retaining and attracting People of Action.  To do so, the strategic plan should be clear on RI's purpose and objective, the means of delivering its corporate identity, and fostering leadership consistency through communication, education, and training.  This would make it much easier for RI to project unifying images, which will be addressed in Part IV of this strategic planning series.

Rotary's Identity

Rotary and Strategic Plans - Part II of IV Parts

An organization's identity drives its performance; it's the organization's DNA; its fingerprint, and is supported by its central and enduring attributes. Acknowledging that Rotarians are People of Action can be a major development.  Will it be?

    In January, 2012 Siegel+Gale reported to the Rotary International (RI) Board of Directors that it had a critical identity issue.  Organizations without strong identities tend to scatter their resources instead of centering on delivering a differentiating value proposition to those who keep them in business, often until it is too late to recover. 

  RI's acknowledgment that Rotary clubs are populated by People of Action is a monumental breakthrough. It demonstrates that RI now recognizes the social identity of past, present, and future Rotarians.  At long last, RI can establish its identity, which will be the value it delivers to clubs and Rotarians that People of Action consider different and not likely available elsewhere.  Fully understanding this business fundamental and planning accordingly will drive RI's future.  

  Historically, before they joined a club, Rotarians were People of Action striving make their community better.  When they joined their Rotary club, they networked with like-minded People of Action, which enhanced their abilities and inspired many to establish RI's central and enduring attributes.  Central attributes are those that have altered Rotary's history, and RI has many.  Paramount are its worldwide service project to eliminate polio and the recognition that People of Action are not separated by gender, generation, or ethnicity.  Enduring attributes are those that are embedded in Rotary and are part of its overall history.  Two of several are The International Convention and The Rotary Foundation, both significant vehicles originated by People of Action to enhance opportunities for clubs and Rotarians.

   Because of a lack of consistent identity, some regions have deviated from RI's historical track.  This regional deviation can be reversed if RI strategically plans for and delivers its differentiating value proposition.  Doing so will alter thought processes throughout the Rotary network and initiate changes in corporate services, literature, conventions, assemblies, conferences, and seminars.

No longer should  People of Action be referred to, considered, or treated as common volunteers; separated by gender, generation, and ethnicity, or asked to feed the elephant information that returns no value to member clubs populated by People of Action.  The next Rotatorial, Part III of the Strategic Plan series, will touch on why it is important to consider the culture of RI and its member clubs, which includes organizational issues such as historical and present practices, visions, values, locations, and social fabrics.

Rotary and Strategic Plans - Part I of IV Parts - The Basics

Rotary International (RI) is in the process of updating its strategic plan.  For the plan to guide RI toward a successful future, it must center on these business fundamentals:

• RI's sole purpose is to charter and support Rotary clubs, and
• RI's sole objective is to advance the Object of Rotary.

   Yes, RI's sole purpose is to charter and support Rotary clubs simply because without member clubs, RI cannot exist.  This is such a simple fact that its importance is often overlooked or forgotten.  Everything accomplished in the name of Rotary by local Rotary clubs as they advance the Object of Rotary is the recognition and reward (income) RI receives from chartering and supporting Rotary clubs.

     RI's sole objective is to advance the Object of Rotary.  Many RI leaders and Rotarians believe that Object of Rotary is outdated.  Their real issue is that, with good intentions, they simply have allowed their thought processes to be diverted from the Object's timeless principles.  This is not an uncommon phenomenon in legacy organizations, particularly those with frequent changes in leadership.  If one understands the Object of Rotary, they will conclude that it was never intended to be specific; it was intended to be, and is, eternally applicable in all social fabrics.

     Strategic planners and leaders must firmly embed these fundamentals in their thought processes as they examine three separate but distinctive elements of a functional strategic plan: RI's identity, culture, and image; all of which will be discussed in more detail in following Rotatorials.
    As an example of the differences in these elements, RI's identity should answer the question "Who are we?" Its identity should be differentiating, central, and enduring.  Its culture encompasses values and behaviors that are unique to its social and psychological environments.  Its image (reputation) is its member clubs, Rotarians, and outsiders' opinions about RI, and is typically the result of social evaluation on set criteria dependent on time and location.  A major portion of the image criteria is how RI recognizes and supports its member clubs. 

Preparing and executing an effective strategic plan is not an easy task, nor is it for amateurs. The next Rotatorial will discuss the differentiating, central, and enduring aspects of RI's identity and how identifying Rotarians as People of Action broadly supports RI's purpose and objective.

ROTARIANS' IMPACT ON COMMUNITIES

A treacherous statement from a Rotarian heretic:  Rotarians make greater impacts on their communities outside the realm of Rotary than they do inside the realm. 

Rotarians are People of Action, not because they are members of a Rotary club, but because that is who they already are:  active and/or retired leaders of local businesses, professional associations, charitable organizations, and government entities.  Here is a sampling of the impacts they make in their communities on a daily basis:

• Keeping and returning more money to the community's economy,
• Offering job opportunities for local citizens,
• Giving personal service to local citizens,
• Improving their community's social development,
• Taking more interest in the quality of education available,
• Helping their community exist and thrive,
• Helping create a better quality of life in their community, and
• Bringing services and necessities to communities, neighborhoods, and people.

      Depending on their phases in life, proprietors and associates are already helping to make their lives and communities better by being involved in religious organizations, YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, school parent organizations, Boy and Girl scouts, professional organizations, coaching athletic teams, serving on school and hospital boards, etc.   Prosperous civic organizations do not minimize the ideals of such members; they enhance their members' desires and abilities to make life better for all concerned. Such organizations understand their members' unique characteristics and seek others with similar psychographics, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or age.  Joining such organizations becomes an asset to people of action and offers greater opportunities for them to amplify their values.

    For example, in Elyria, Ohio and for personal reasons, Edgar Allen, a wealthy business owner, started a home for crippled children.  His ability to do so was enhanced because he was a member of the Rotary Club of Elyria.  That local initiative evolved into the international organization we know of today as Easter Seals.  In 1983, Bruce McTavish, a New Zealand born professional boxing referee and budding philanthropist, was president of the twenty-seven member Rotary Club of Mabalacat, Pamapanga Province, Philippines.  He proposed that the club initiate a campaign to immunize the children of Mabalacat against polio, as had been done throughout New Zealand where, in the spring of 1959, written appeals had gone out to professional groups, including Rotary clubs, to help get information to targeted population groups. The Mabalacat club approved President Bruce's proposal and, with the help of other Rotary clubs and medical personnel, they immunized thousands of children.  Enhanced by the Rotary network, this local project planted the seed that, in 1985,  blossomed into Rotary's worldwide humanitarian endeavor to eradicate polio.

   The world over, today's Rotarians initiate similar initiatives in their communities for the same reasons - they want outcomes that help to fulfill local needs.  Few of these initiatives, if any, will grow into world-wide movements, but these initiatives will help make local Rotarians' communities and the world better.  If RI really has a desire to communicate the impact the Rotary network is having on the world, it should create effective, differentiating methods of telling the Rotary story centering on local and international outcomes. Asking clubs to "feed the elephant" with volunteer hours and contributed dollars on Rotary projects makes Rotary just another service organization.  It minimizes the influence the Rotary network is - or should be - making locally and internationally, and it certainly doesn't entice many local People of Action to join a Rotary club. As a young female Chicago professional said when responding to an RI survey, "I don't need the title of Rotarian to do any of those things. I do that stuff already."  That young lady was a person of action who perceived no value in joining a Rotary club.

     There are over 1.2 million Rotarians in the world today who prioritize personal and public outcomes.  Being a Rotarian should enhance their ability to achieve even greater outcomes.  The story RI should be telling is who these Rotarians are, the value of being a part of the Rotary network, and how the network supports achieving personal outcomes.  The stories should inspire existing Rotarians while projecting the concept that People of Action can improve their lives by becoming a Rotarian because