Membership Corner - May 23, 2016

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
An Optimistic Approach to Membership
 
By Tom Sturiale
 
“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”  - Winston Churchill. 
 
Do you see any parallels in your Rotary club? How often have you discussed the possibility of changes in club venues, membership approaches, meeting times, meals, speakers, projects, objectives and/or many other subjects, only to be told, “We tried that before and it didn’t work, it won’t work, it is too risky, it will take too long, it costs too much, why change, we’ve done it this way too long and no one wants to change.” Or, any variation thereof indicating the suggestion is a negative, problem-ridden approach to change.
The person with the idea gets the message in a hurry: “Shut up and mind your own business!” It will be a long time before you get any more suggestions from them.
 
On the other hand, there are environments where change is accepted and inputs from all corners are welcomed. While every club has problems and difficulties, these situations are opportunities for improvement. Every member must be given the opportunity to voice their opinion and to offer ideas without suffering the slings and arrows of legacy approaches and negative comments. Enjoy your successes but also seek out the issues and the problems. Therein lie the opportunities for improvements and future successes.
 
Reaching a critical-mass membership level is a key issue for many clubs - and these are situations rife with difficulties, problems and issues. Face up to the problems, seek input from all members and consider outside help. Consider all the issues as opportunities to improve and to strengthen your club.
 
Let’s be optimists!
 
Closing thoughts
 
We need to keep experimenting with our meeting agendas to maintain members’ interests and to encourage attendance. Meetings need to be fresh, exciting and interesting. This will also assist your club’s Membership Committee chair and members in attracting new members to the team. Please let me know of your ideas, comments and stories about Membership you would like to share. E-mail me at tsturiale36@gmail.com.
 
April 2016 articles:
 
 
 
 
 
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"A Rotary Membership Guide" is a collection of "Membership Corner" articles written for this weekly newsletter during the 2015-2016 Rotary year, which began last July 1. It is intended to offer an idea or thought each week aimed at stimulating discussions, questions and actions to effectively increase membership at all our clubs. Click here, to download this 52-page "Guide," in Word format.
 
 
 
 
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