PDG David Egan will lead a discussion on Monday night about "Rotary Going Forwards"
By way of a conversation starter for Monday night, the following article is reprinted from the 24th March edition of the Rotary on the Move Newsletter
Please consider the many issues raised in anticipation of a lively discussion, led by PDG David, about how you think the organisation should be planning for the future.
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STRATEGIC PLANNING - GLAZING OVER?’
Article by ARC PDG David Egan
Rotary leaders including current RI President Holger Knaack, encourage all clubs to undertake a 5-year strategic planning process, which is not surprising considering that globally we have inducted 1,375,684 new members in the last 10 years whilst our total membership remains at 1.2 million. A local reduction of more than 25% in the same period calls for urgent action to do things differently.
Despite this when strategic planning is mentioned one often hears “you can’t use that term because eyes glaze over”. Why? Is it because in focusing on strategy we fear we'll lose what we intuitively know holds us together; i.e. those important things like service, fellowship and our values? I believe good strategy does the opposite - it unites us to find ways to adapt and increase service, fellowship and engagement, ultimately expanding our reach.
In Rotary we face an adaptive change challenge which needs adaptive leaders who can foster diverse perspectives whilst they mobilise people to do things differently for improved outcomes. They do so through effective listening and good strategic planning.
Taking a longer-term focus on “what matters most for the future” is critical. Short term thinking is a real no-no with leaders thinking in “my year” terms falling into a trap to be avoided at all costs.
So, what does “what matters most for the future” mean? A good way to identify it is to ask members three key questions:
Firstly, what are you most passionate about in Rotary and mustn’t change, but also what should change? Members invariably say they are passionate about service, fellowship and our common values and, if serious about “the future”, they realise fostering young leaders, diverse membership and new operating approaches are needed.
Secondly, what do you think we are best in the world at? Members usually come up with things like collectively using our talents, time and treasure to do good /make a difference. I would add our networks to that important list.
Thirdly, what do you think drives our economic engine? Members intuitively know that it is fundraising, donations and efficiency that are important.
The answers to these questions should help identify three or four areas critical to future success in the new environment. The next step is to list against each of these the activities necessary to achieve desired outcomes over time; it is important these activities include what needs to be done differently and how. To help monitor progress, measures describing quality, quantity and time are then added and the strategic plan is in place.
Implementation and regular review over 5 years minimum is then necessary.
To further demystify the process and provide key learnings, see Rotary Adelaide’s 5-year strategic approach to embracing change and growing Rotary on the Membership Voice website https://youtu.be/NSbzyGLTQ7Q.
PDG David Egan
David came from a large family in country SA. He started work in NAB in 1966 and joined Rotary in 1985 when he was made the manager of a suburban branch.
In 1995, he became Head on NAB's Human Resources in SA and NT with areas of special interest in change management, strategic planning and leadership.
In 2000, he became a member of the Rotary Club of Adelaide, became their 93rd President in 2015 and became District Governor in 2019-20
