September 15th, 2018 @ The Saskatoon Club
Strategic Planning to help our Rotary Club Thrive
Join our Rotary Club of Saskatoon for a Strategic Planning Session led by Ken Thiessen to help bring our Rotary Club from Surviving to Thriving!
Mark this date on your calendars. ALL members of ALL clubs are invited to attend.
Date: September 15th, 2018
Location: At the Saskatoon Club
When: from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm
Cost per participant (for food /room/presenter out-of-pocket costs) – TBA (should be less than $40)
President Paul G is coordinating attendance for our Club and asking you to register with him and he will pass on the numbers to the organizing committee. For our Club, members who register and attend, the Club will pay the registration fee; however, if you register and do not attend, you will be expected to reimburse the club for making the commitment on your behalf.
BACKGROUND
Strategic Planning is something that many Rotary Clubs do not do. There are 54 clubs in District 5550; as of May 15th, 36 of those clubs have filed zero goals with Rotary Club Central. Now, because there is nothing filed by these clubs, it does not mean they do not have any; but it does not inspire confidence in our planning status as a district. On the other extreme, 4 clubs have filed 16 + goals each.
The idea of a strategic planning session started with discussions at President’s Council and at our Board meetings to develop a plan around our Public Awareness/Public Image work. It is a topic on which all five clubs agree that a unified and focused approach would be beneficial to all.
However, at both our board meetings and at the President’s Council meeting, there was a consensus that before we start spending our hard earned money on PR, we should have a plan; and at the heart of that plan, a clear picture of what we wish to accomplish.
The session will be led by Ken Thiessen from the Power of One. Ken is also a member of the District Leadership Training Group and he has spoken on this topic at the district leadership training sessions, the recent District Conference, and at the Presidents' Elect Training Session the last couple of years.
However, at both our board meetings and at the President’s Council meeting, there was a consensus that before we start spending our hard earned money on PR, we should have a plan; and at the heart of that plan, a clear picture of what we wish to accomplish.
The session will be led by Ken Thiessen from the Power of One. Ken is also a member of the District Leadership Training Group and he has spoken on this topic at the district leadership training sessions, the recent District Conference, and at the Presidents' Elect Training Session the last couple of years.
Although PR was the impetus behind setting up this session; I cannot see a strategic planning session for Rotary in Saskatoon just focusing on one topic. And obviously, we are not going to create a strategic plan for Rotary in Saskatoon with one session.
This is a foundation building meeting to identify some key areas impacting on our current performance as individual service clubs, and whether there is sufficient common interest from the Rotary Clubs to band together and seriously explore changing how we do things on a city-wide basis. The end goal, in my mind, is to realign our efforts to stay relevant, attract new members, and become a sought-after organization which facilitates our members to give back to our community.
How we band together is a separate issue. Identifying the factors, conditions, and challenges, that are threatening our viability and sustainability, is the desired result of this planning process.
If Ken follows the drift of his presentation at the District Conference, the emphasis of the session will not be so much about finding all the answers to our situation. Rather he will focus the group on listing the critical questions we should be asking ourselves as an organization if we wish to move forward and be what we want to be. I am hoping from there, we can start setting priorities and a foundation for future planning and action sessions.
Some of the questions he listed in his presentation at the conference were:
What makes us unique?
What can we be the best at?
What are we most proud of?
What do we do or provide that is world class for our current or potential members?
How do our strengths fit with the realities of our community?
What are the top three opportunities that we should focus our efforts on?
What new skills and capacity do we need to move forward?
If Ken follows the drift of his presentation at the District Conference, the emphasis of the session will not be so much about finding all the answers to our situation. Rather he will focus the group on listing the critical questions we should be asking ourselves as an organization if we wish to move forward and be what we want to be. I am hoping from there, we can start setting priorities and a foundation for future planning and action sessions.
Some of the questions he listed in his presentation at the conference were:
What makes us unique?
What can we be the best at?
What are we most proud of?
What do we do or provide that is world class for our current or potential members?
How do our strengths fit with the realities of our community?
What are the top three opportunities that we should focus our efforts on?
What new skills and capacity do we need to move forward?
PRESENTER’S COMMENTARY
Taking Your Rotary Club From Surviving to Thriving Sustainability
The reality for many Rotary Clubs globally is that they are fighting for their very existence as a club. They’re barely hanging on. Very few clubs could be described as “thriving”. That’s due in part to the fact that less than 25% of Rotary clubs globally have a clear strategic plan that they’re working on implementing. Someone has said that a “failure to plan is a plan to fail”. Is it any wonder that Rotary International is struggling to maintain the status quo in terms of membership numbers?
The reality for many Rotary Clubs globally is that they are fighting for their very existence as a club. They’re barely hanging on. Very few clubs could be described as “thriving”. That’s due in part to the fact that less than 25% of Rotary clubs globally have a clear strategic plan that they’re working on implementing. Someone has said that a “failure to plan is a plan to fail”. Is it any wonder that Rotary International is struggling to maintain the status quo in terms of membership numbers?
Mention strategic planning to most people and you get the eye-ball roll and the deer in the headlights look. It’s not something that most people let alone Rotarians get passionate or excited about. That’s because too many of us have endured absolutely boring strategic planning events that made no long-term difference in the life of the organization that was engaged in the strategic planning event. You will not want to miss this event because this strategic planning session will not be the same old strategic planning session you’ve either heard about or worse yet participated in. You will be engaged for the full day, talking about your Rotary club - where your club is at today, where you’d like it to be and what it’s going to take to get your club from where it is today to where you want it to be. In addition, you’ll begin to identify some tangible action steps that your club can take to make the shift from surviving to thriving sustainability, vibrancy, and growth.
Check out the link below to give you an idea of what the underlying issues are for Rotary Clubs and what you can expect from the day spent together in strategic planning This day will help your club be strategic and develop a plan to follow for moving forward.