call to action – too much fluff and not enough stuff

last night, i received an email via the Sigma network, directing us to a “new” announcement posted on the national website. the announcement linked off to a pdf titled “Call to Action Brochure”. in reading through this, i knew i had to blog about how disappointed i was. to be honest, my first reaction was to write a scathing post that ridiculed and dare i say tried to humiliate paul. but then i realized, that was both counterproductive and moreover, unbrotherly. so as you read my thoughts on this call to action, let me tell you that i want more. i want more accountability and more than what i’ve seen in the past year from both paul and the general board. with that in mind, let’s go…

CALL TO ACTION #1: Practice Humility – No more self portraits
If you don’t even take the time to read this document, it shouldn’t take more than a half second to notice 2 pictures of the author. I’m not sure who the heck even started this in the org, but what’s with people plastering their pictures on documents the write? It seems as if those holding elected positions have this “practice” of including their mug shots on communications. WHY? What purpose does it serve? How pertinent is it to the content of the communication?

CALL TO ACTION #2: No more plans. I want results.

The information in this document is essentially the same information discussed at the November 2005 General Board meeting and the same information communicated during the regional conferences – well at the Western Regionals at least. I’m tired to reading about plans. I want to hear about results. Let’s look at each in more detail.

Strategic Plan – If this group is chartered with developing a strategic plan, what do they need $50,000 for? What was the result of the 1st face-to-face meeting and what are the expected outcomes of the next 2 in Houston and D.C., respectively?

Infrastructure – Bro. Reaves’ assessment of the HQ infrastructure is over a year old. He told me his presentation stopped short of making recommendations because that wasn’t his mandate. Now that Bro. Hessier has made a needs assessment, where’s the monetary allocation for that and what’s the implementation schedule?

Chapter Development – While the majority of this area speaks to stale status from last November, the Chapters Guide is an excellent step in the right direction.

Financial Resource Development – it doesn’t take a CPA to realize that we can’t live off membership dues alone. It’s great to hear someone’s been tasked with creating diverse income streams. But what are the goals? Shouldn’t the General Board dictate goals to the Fund Development Committee such as secure X amount of dollars in funding each quarter? I’d love to see the next update like this show we’ve secured recurring funding from new sources. Furthermore, who benefits from these funds? Is it just HQ or do chapters get a piece of the pie?

External Relations – Again, nothing new here. This is the same information reported in November 2005. It’s great to see a goal to donate $80,000. Now what’s the strategy to achieve that goal?

Visibility and Exposure – Yet again, not much new. Still talking about stuff that happened close to a year ago. It’s great to hear definite plan for Bro. Newton’s recognition. But let’s not get too happy about the Crescent. It’s heavily edited, not by the Editor, but by other influentials to the point that contributors decline author credits. It’s really become a propaganda tool.

Technology Management – Ah something near and dear to my heart. Where shall I begin? Let’s start with the “cutting edge” technology to “webcast” updates. There’s nothing cutting edge about webcasting or should i say podcasting. It’s really simple to do it yourself and in fact, you can do it for close to free. Does someone really think podcasting is the top technology priority for the organization? I consider myself pretty tech savvy and I don’t subscribe to a single podcast. How many people do we really expect to suscribe to a podcast of presidential updates?

My call to action is to invest more into integrating the Affinity Tree (aka Sigma Network) as the membership platform. While I don’t think the $20/year fee is worth it to an individual, there is sufficient functionality in the platform wherein it can be used to power the membership platform. Not only will you provide HQ with a web based membership infrastructure, but you’ll also empower the membership to take ownership of keeping their information up to date. But hey…who’s listening to me.

CALL TO ACTION #3: Get goal oriented

This plan is great, but what’s the original goal(s) we’re working towards? In my world, we approach major initiatives with a Vision, Mission, Strategy, and Objectives. The Vision is clear – it’s the Founders’ vision of Brotherhood, Scholarship and Service. The mission is clear as well and it manifests itself in our motto “Culture for Service and Service for Humanity”. Paul’s theme of “The Power of One” is also one of our missions under his term. The 7 point plan clearly lays out the strategy. But it’s in the objectives where there’s a big void. At the end of this term, what measurable objectives should have been accomplished?

Overall, it’s like I said. This is too much fluff and not enough stuff. It’s all cover and no book. I commend Paul for keeping the message consistent because every single time, it’s the same message. And it should roll off each and every one of our tongues. If Paul walked up to you and asked you the 7 point plan, it’s not for lack of effort on his part for not knowing. But for those of us who’ve heard the high level plan multiple times, it’s time to see something with more substance.