Page 6 - April 2015 Voices!
P. 6
t Goals—Continued from page 5)
be accomplished in about a year each with moderate work, though a dedicated effort
could halve that time, or if other priorities come up, it might take several years. I know
people who took eight years to earn a CC award, but they were active through that
entire period, attending meetings, giving evaluations, answering table topics, taking on
meeting roles, and serving as a club officer. They were learning the whole time!
If you're a club officer, you'll work with the other club officers to set goals for the club,
using the Club Success Plan (part of earning credit towards your Advanced Leader
Bronze [ALB award]). This should be done as soon as the new officers are elected in May,
even before they take office in June. This will help focus your club on supporting the
members in meeting their goals.
The Distinguished Club Program (DCP) is a
great way to objectively measure club
success—but like any metric, it can be
abused by focusing on it too slavishly. The
purpose of the DCP is not to earn points
and "win", but to measure how well we
support our members meeting their
goals. A good club with the right priorities
will naturally complete many DCP goals, but
setting goals and figuring out how to get
there will ensure success. The DCP is a way to make sure the club is doing the right
things for the members in a quantitative (numbers) way.
The Club Success Plan is just a way to put names and dates to each of the DCP
goals. The educational goals should be set by asking members what their goals are --
not by assigning them. For example, don't put Sarah down for a CC in December just
because she's completed 6 speeches—ask Sarah what her goals are (and provide some
guidance if needed). Her goals become part of the club's success plan.
Evaluating the club environment in a qualitative way is perfect for the Successful Club
Series Moments of Truth. There are 36 traits in six families, but none of them are simple
"yes/no" answers, they're far more subjective ("Are guests greeted warmly?"), and every
club can use those answers to identify where they can improve.
Once you've set those goals, do you put them in a file and ignore them? No, you pull
them out and review them, every month or every 2-3 months, to see how you're doing,
and most importantly, to adjust course. It's OK to adjust the due date, that's life, but it's
important to know that you're doing it, and why it's necessary. Perhaps you need to
allocate more time to that goal so it doesn't slip any further?
(Continued on page 7)
6
be accomplished in about a year each with moderate work, though a dedicated effort
could halve that time, or if other priorities come up, it might take several years. I know
people who took eight years to earn a CC award, but they were active through that
entire period, attending meetings, giving evaluations, answering table topics, taking on
meeting roles, and serving as a club officer. They were learning the whole time!
If you're a club officer, you'll work with the other club officers to set goals for the club,
using the Club Success Plan (part of earning credit towards your Advanced Leader
Bronze [ALB award]). This should be done as soon as the new officers are elected in May,
even before they take office in June. This will help focus your club on supporting the
members in meeting their goals.
The Distinguished Club Program (DCP) is a
great way to objectively measure club
success—but like any metric, it can be
abused by focusing on it too slavishly. The
purpose of the DCP is not to earn points
and "win", but to measure how well we
support our members meeting their
goals. A good club with the right priorities
will naturally complete many DCP goals, but
setting goals and figuring out how to get
there will ensure success. The DCP is a way to make sure the club is doing the right
things for the members in a quantitative (numbers) way.
The Club Success Plan is just a way to put names and dates to each of the DCP
goals. The educational goals should be set by asking members what their goals are --
not by assigning them. For example, don't put Sarah down for a CC in December just
because she's completed 6 speeches—ask Sarah what her goals are (and provide some
guidance if needed). Her goals become part of the club's success plan.
Evaluating the club environment in a qualitative way is perfect for the Successful Club
Series Moments of Truth. There are 36 traits in six families, but none of them are simple
"yes/no" answers, they're far more subjective ("Are guests greeted warmly?"), and every
club can use those answers to identify where they can improve.
Once you've set those goals, do you put them in a file and ignore them? No, you pull
them out and review them, every month or every 2-3 months, to see how you're doing,
and most importantly, to adjust course. It's OK to adjust the due date, that's life, but it's
important to know that you're doing it, and why it's necessary. Perhaps you need to
allocate more time to that goal so it doesn't slip any further?
(Continued on page 7)
6
