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What
is the current state of Rotary?
Are Rotarians happy with current
reality? If the present state of
affairs continues, will Rotary
still exist in fifteen or twenty
years from now?
Figures
from Rotary’s website reveal
that the ANZO region has been in
negative membership growth for
the last six years and were it
not for the admission of women
members and the chartering of
new clubs, there would have been
a steady decline in each of the
last eleven years. Worldwide,
over 65,000 Rotarians have quit
the organisation in the last two
years. This attrition rate
translates into the demise of
Rotary International sometime in
the next 25 years, unless major
surgery is successful in
reversing its terminal
situation.
The
definition of insanity: to
keep doing the same thing whilst
expecting to achieve a different
result.
In
light of this current reality, I
recommend the following
ten-point plan to reinvent a
vibrant relevant Rotary for the
new millennium and generations
to come.
1.
Increase membership from the present 1.2
million to 2
million by 30th June 2005.
This
represents an annual compound growth of a
mere 10.75%. This is not an unrealistic
goal. What is unrealistic is to expect to
achieve it continuing along the present
path.
2.
Reduce the number of existing clubs
(29,728) by 50%
to 15,000
Particularly in metropolitan
areas, the chartering of new clubs has been
the focus of growth. This has been to the
detriment of existing clubs. As with many
sporting competitions, sanity needs to
prevail through the amalgamation of two,
three or four clubs into one. This would see
the average club membership rise to over one
hundred members.
3. Monthly (or less) club
meetings.
"The greatest
shortage of our time, is time."-Fred
Polak. The number one reason why Rotarians
are leaving the organisation is ‘time
pressure’. Global statistics reveal we are
working longer hours than ever before.
Congested cities and freeways keep commuters
car bound for an average of three weeks each
year. The current scenario of four rotary
meetings, a committee meeting, and Board
meeting for Club Directors equates to six
meetings per month and that’s before any
time has been spent on community programmes.
Relationships, families and business must be
healthy in order for Rotary to remain
healthy. Like it or not, we live in an era
when most people would rather spend money
than time. Exit surveys of resigning
Rotarians reveal ‘lack of time’ and ‘pressure
of work’ as the major reasons why members
continue to quit the organisation.
4.
Actively market Rotary as the world’s
premier
business networking organisation.
Paul Harris founded Rotary
as a business networking organisation. There
needs to be a very tangible Win/Win benefit
in belonging to Rotary. To think that people
will continue to join for purely altruistic
reasons is extremely naďve. The opportunity
for people to do business with people who
share a common set of values and ethics is a
leverage opportunity for Rotary to greatly
swell its ranks. In turn, increased
membership provides Rotary with additional
resources to expand its community and global
effectiveness.
5. Abolish the present
membership classification system.
The entry qualifications of
Rotary need to be character and values
based, not by what appears on one’s
business card. The present system has been
abused and manipulated to suit the desires
of individual clubs for decades.
6. Appoint a paid
secretariat for each Rotary district.
Take the day to day
administration away from individual clubs so
they can get on with making a difference.
Investment in new technology is required to
bring all clubs online. Other organisations
already have their total administration in
cyberspace. The current system of club
administration is outmoded, time consuming
and inefficient.
7.
Redesign club meetings to reflect the
professional
image of Rotary
It is important to remove
the ‘cringe’ factor to attract the right
people to Rotary. Chook raffles, heads and
tails, fines sessions and the singing of
embarrassing pre-war patriarchal songs is
hardly a marketers recipe for success. Club
meetings are the flagship of Rotary. They
need to be a living example of Rotary’s
dynamism.
8.
Focus on big events.
In the last eighteen months,
I have addressed in excess of 45 Rotary
clubs and spoken at eight other Rotary
events including District Conferences and
P.E.T.S. Seminars. Some clubs are thriving;
others are battling to survive. So what’s
the difference between these clubs? The
answer is clear and simple. Thriving clubs
have clarity of purpose in the form
of big community projects and a clear
vision of their club’s future. Most
struggling clubs don’t even have a defined
membership goal, let alone any commitment to
achieve it.
"Where there is no vision, the
people perish" – Proverbs.
9.
Expand membership to include corporate
membership.
Expecting to continue the
funding of Rotary projects out of individual
Rotarians pockets, (currently $2,500 approx.
per annum.) is unrealistic. Corporate
membership and increased sponsorship needs
to be addressed
10. All clubs need to be
dual gender, IMMEDIATELY!
Most Australians are
offended by the current treatment of women
in some overseas countries by those
espousing "traditional" or
"fundamentalist" values. However,
the present situation in Australia, where
women are unable to join the Rotary club of
their choice as many clubs remain ‘men
only’, smacks of the same underpinning
value, where women are regarded as being ‘of
lesser value’ than men. How any club can
honestly apply the ‘Four Way Test’ and
not admit women to their ranks is
hypocritical in the extreme. The patriarchal
ethos of ‘a time now passed’ needs to be
buried once and for all if Rotary is to have
any chance of remaining a viable and
relevant organisation in the new millennium.
The other reality that needs to be faced is
that the target market for future Rotarians,
i.e. younger ‘baby boomers’ and ‘generation
x’ers’, is simply not interested in
belonging to single sex organisations.
Rotary
is a great organisation; and Rotary has a
great future, provided it has the courage to
confront reality, slaughter a few sacred
cows, free itself from its own bureaucratic
patriarchal constraints, and empower clubs
and members to develop new and innovative
ways of meeting the needs of a rapidly
changing world.
*
* * * *
Graham
Harvey is a Professional Speaker, Vision
Coach and Marketing Futurist based in Perth,
Western Australia. This article is an
excerpt from his address to the 34th
Rotary Institute (Zones 7a & 8a),
November, 1999.
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