Category Archives: Membership Recruitment

About This, About Writing

13 Saturday Jan 2018

Posted by in About Reno, April Fools Day, Branding, Business, Club Leadership, College, Communication, Crime, Education, Employee Retention, Ethics, genealogy, Generational, Government, Government Regulation, Health, Higher Education, History, Honor, Human Resources, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Opinion, Panama, Photography, Politics, Public Image, Public Relations, racism, Relationships, Religion, Rotary, Science, Science Fiction, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Space, Taxes, Technology, Tom Peters, Travel, Universities, US History, Writing

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In the Beginning

Eight years ago I started writing this blog. I had assumed that writing a blog would put me in front of a broad audience anxiously awaiting my next post.

It didn’t….but I kept writing. I wrote about business, human behavior, human resources, management, social media, my personal life, Rotary, public relations, history, time, blogging, travel, Nevada, global warming, spaceflight, politics, my stroke, April Fool’s Day, religion, science fiction, science, photography, media, more history, Panama, gay marriage, the future, great people, not-so-great people, education, Moffat County, patriotism, more politics, and fantasy.

There were a few bright moments when I touched upon a topic that caught some attention, but for the most part, my writing has simply been an expression of my opinions and ideas. I’ve discovered, writing is more important than being read.

Writing, For Me

A blog is like writing a diary or a book. It is meant to a personal statement. Someday, my children or my children’s children may read it and know more about me. I find comfort in that thought. 

My articles became less frequent in the last few years, but recently I have experienced a rebirth of writing. I suspect that my sleep apnea may be one of the issues causing the decline in writing. My brain was starved of oxygen and sleep every night for many years. Now that I am being treated for it, my cognitive functions seem to be reengaging.

Writing a blog has improved my communication skills, and has helped me organize my thoughts. This, this thing I’m doing, is an unfinished novel about the world from one perspective. I’m not a great writer, but I’m better than I was eight years ago.

For the last month, I have been publishing a new article every day. I don’t know that I will keep up that pace, but it is forcing my brain to think, and that is the goal.

Rebranding My Writing

I have decided to rename my blog. First, the term ‘blog’ has developed a negative meaning to many people, so I needed to drop the term. Second, my last name is not as relevant as it was a year ago, before I discovered that biologically, I am not a ‘Kiser.’ 

I tried several title ideas but finally settled on PAULx talks. It is the 2.0 version of Paul Kiser’s Blog. I don’t have a destination in mind for my writing. I never have, but I’ll see where this takes me.

The Joy of No

01 Tuesday Dec 2015

Posted by in Aging, Business, Club Leadership, College, Communication, Consulting, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Education, Employee Retention, Ethics, Generational, Government, Higher Education, Honor, Human Resources, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Politics, Pride, Public Image, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Respect, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Tom Peters, Universities

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_DSC1990No is a perfectly acceptable answer….providing,

  • The idea or suggestion lacked thought or had no basis in fact. (e.g.; Would Donald Trump be a good President?)
  • The idea or suggestion has obvious flaws. (e.g.; Should we let a gun be in a room with a bunch of 2nd grade children?)
  • Is a matter of personal opinion or seeks personal approval. (e.g.; Would you go out with me?)

But when an idea or suggestion doesn’t fall under any of these categories, the “no” answer becomes a potential weapon of personal destruction for the person saying it, and a beautiful opportunity for the person on the receiving end.

Being the youngest of four boys, my brothers and parents became accustomed to telling me ‘no.’ I was constantly asking questions and making suggestions, and the ‘yes’ answer was likely to encourage me. In those situations where I actually had a good idea, it was enough that as the youngest member of the family, a ‘no’ answer was valid.

As an adult, I never had any expectations that my ideas and suggestions would be better received, so hearing ‘no’ was an irritation, but I accepted it as part of life.

However, I as grew older I noticed that some people seemed to enjoy telling other people ‘no.’ Often these people were in leadership positions and their tactic was to dominate and/or intimidate others. In some cases people would act as a dictator within the organization, silencing the ideas and opinions of others with a type of ‘no’ answer that implied dire consequences if the person didn’t drop the subject, or the idea was treated so lightly as if the person was unintelligent for making the suggestion. For years I thought that part of being a good manager was to have the privilege and responsibility to tell others, “NO!” 

Then several years ago I joined a service club and became very involved in the organization. I served on several Boards and committees. I discovered that I could manipulate some people because I always knew their response to whatever I suggested would be, ‘no.’

It was then I realized that when someone says ‘no,’ it is a gift. The “No-ee” has done all they are required by making the suggestion or asking the question. The “No-er” has put their reputation and respectability on the line. The ‘no’ answer gives them all the responsibility, and, as a situation plays out, their failure to consider someone else’s idea or suggestion may be the fatal decision that brings them down.

I still find enjoyment of sometimes asking a perfectly legitimate question of someone I know will give me a ‘no’ answer. It is even more interesting to do this when I have more information about the issue or situation than they do and they can’t help but give me an answer that will eventually haunt them.

Still, I have learned that organizations and relationships with ‘no’ people are typically doomed. There’s a time to experience the joy of ‘no,’ and then there are times it’s best to walk away and shake the dust off your sandals.

Leaving Rotary

20 Monday Dec 2010

Posted by in Ethics, Honor, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Rotary@105

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Last week I offered my thoughts about Re-Imagining Rotary. That was the first part of what I wanted to say.

Early in 2010 I wrote an article about ‘Dissatisfiers.’ The point of the article was to suggest that before a decision to make a significant life change (switch to a competitor, quit a job, or leave an organization, etc.) a person has typically will have experienced a series of negative events with the company or organization that sets the stage for them to make that decision. In the end, the reason for making a change is about the series of dissatisfiers, not a single event.

I now have arrived at that place with Rotary. While the final decision to leave Rotary was reached in the last week or so, the stage has been set for me to leave for some time. The final reason is simple. Rotary no longer offers the satisfaction it once did and that is largely due to an ongoing series of smaller, but significant, dissatisfying experiences.

However, I still have great admiration for Rotary and many of the great people who are a part of this organization. The concept of Rotary is a brilliant one. It is place where business professionals from all trades and industries can meet, share ideas, and help to build better communities by donating their vocational skills. It is an organization that we sorely needed in a world that has become increasing motivated by selfish and unethical desires.

Rotary is an organization with the most crystal clear guiding principles of any organization I have ever known. The Four-Way Test is a standard that brings morality to any situation or person. The Test is simple:

  • First, is it the truth
  • Second, is it fair to all concerned
  • Third, will it build goodwill and better friendships
  • Fourth, will it be beneficial to all concerned

We would have no need for government oversight of any business endeavor if the legal standard was the Four-Way Test. To be certain, not every Rotarian, including those in a leadership position, abides by the Four-Way Test everyday. It is a difficult, and somewhat unnatural, philosophy to maintain. But just the attempt brings honor to those who try.

What I discovered in Rotary was that many of those who were members were among the best of the best in the business world. If the founder of Rotary, Paul Harris, were alive today I would love the opportunity to introduce him to some of the people who served as great examples of what it now means to be a Rotarian. I would find people like Mike Hix who was President of the Rotary Club of Sparks, (Nevada, USA,) the year I was inducted. Mr. Harris would be well pleased with Mike and what he has done for his club, his community, and his Zone.

There are thousands of examples of great Rotarians who have made the world a better place and are working hard to keep Rotary relevant in a rapidly evolving new world of business and I am honored I have had the opportunity to work beside just a few of them in the last 9 1/2 years.

But Rotary faces a huge challenge in the next few years. Because of Rotary’s close attachment to the business world, the organization is mired in same traditions of hierarchical structures and slow responsiveness to change that currently plague many American industries. Younger professionals typically ignore and/or bypass most of the traditional business concepts of leadership and organizational structure that restrict change, which is why many young professionals find Rotary outdated. That is why Rotary’s future lies in its ability to adjust to the expectations of younger professionals.

Can Rotary overcome challenges it faces? It will because it has to, and I will cheer on those who make it happen. Thank you to Rotary and to those who cheered me on for most of this last decade.

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Re-Imagining Rotary

16 Thursday Dec 2010

Posted by in Club Leadership, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Rotary@105, Tom Peters, Website

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

In 2003, Tom Peters wrote Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age. In that book, Mr. Peters takes a visionary look at business and our culture that confronts the traditional…and remarkably stupid concepts of the modern working world. His words have foretold many of the new realities we see unfolding around us.

Recently I have had to face up to some hard realities about Rotary. Rotary is a great organization, but the organization is being held back by an old skin that needs to be shed. Rotary’s membership issues cannot be solved unless RI’s President Ray Klinginsmith’s suggestion of ‘keep what works and drop what doesn’t,’ is absorbed into the organization’s DNA. It’s time we Re-Imagined Rotary, so I will offer up my view of what I would change about Rotary to re-vitalize the organization from bottom to top.

Rotary International (RI)
Club Members should be RI members. Currently Clubs are members of RI, but the Rotarians in the clubs are not. I’m sure there is a rational legal reason for the wall of separation and I know the history, but there is a negative symbol created by the divide between Rotarians and the parent organization.

Council on Legislation (CoL) should be abolished and organizational changes taken directly to Clubs. Currently the Council on Legislation meets once every three years. In a world of rapid change and flattening of hierarchical structure, the CoL is a dinosaur. A significant problem with the CoL is that to be a representative you must be a Past District Governor, and while we have some very smart and forward-thinking Past District Governors, we also have some Past District Governors who see themselves as Cardinal’s in the Church of Traditional Thinking. Change needs to come from the Clubs and a handful of amendments could be presented to the clubs on a monthly basis for voting via the Internet. Discussions for and against the amendments could be made via linked blogs.

Decentralize most of RI. Face-to-face contact is valuable, but often an organization’s headquarters develops a ‘bunker mentality’ which does not serve in the best interest of the whole. VoIP phones, the Internet and webinars can bring people around the world together as well as people in cubicles, in fact, often the Internet tools do a better job in creating an environment of sharing ideas.

Every RI employee has to be a Club member. I don’t know if this is currently required or not, but my feeling is that the paid staff of RI can serve the organization of better if they see Rotary from the viewpoint of being a Club member.

Zone and District
Eliminate the PDG monopoly. Rotary has a wealth of knowledgeable people but all the significant discussions and decisions are made behind doors labeled, “Past District Governors ONLY.” It is not a system of decision-making that brings all the talent to the table.  Some of my best friends are PDG’s and I have great admiration for what all of them have contributed to the organization; however, when tackling a problem such as years of declining membership, the people who have dedicated themselves to Rotary and have been rewarded with significant prestige of office, may not be the best people to address why others don’t ‘get’ Rotary.

All Zone and District Leaders must write blogs. Rotary is great in sending out emails and finding people to speak at meetings, but the organization is still in the dark ages when it comes to communicating. Emails just fill up the Inbox and get buried among all the other emails. The concept of ‘just-in-time’ information is not well understood in Rotary. Blogs put information that is Google searchable and readily available when someone needs it. Blogs can offer information, ask questions, or begin a discussion. Blogs allow each club to absorb the information at their own pace.

Zone and District Leaders are consultants, not Lords. This really isn’t a problem for most Zone and District Leaders because most of them approach their position as a consultant for the organization; however, we still have a few leaders who are insulted when some insolent Rotarian suggests a different concept or idea from their own. I have a list of them in our District, and I know I’m on their list.

District Conference and Assembly to be held on the same weekend. It is such a basic idea to increase participation, give respect to the member’s time, and improve the value of both functions that it shouldn’t be an issue, yet it is vehemently opposed by some Past District Governors.

Clubs
No Club to be chartered without a website. Today, no business or non-profit is taken seriously as a legitimate organization unless they have a website. Any club that wishes to be chartered should start with a website for the provisional club to answer questions, inform, and create methods of contact with the organizers of the club. Once a club is formed the website becomes the 24/7/365 presence for the club. It is so basic to survival it has to be mandatory.

Club member immersion in Social Media. Rotary has always been about creating connections between people and Social Media is the greatest tool ever invented to do exactly that. It is not about one Social Media savvy member creating a Facebook page, but about all members logging in and using the page. All committee meetings, announcements, social events, and projects should be posted on a Facebook page by the person in charge of that activity. The fear that many of our members have about Social Media is a telling indicator of how quickly Rotary is falling out of the real world.

Absolute adherence to the no religion and no politics policy established in the Constitution. Rotary is an organization of business professionals and that should be our public image. Unfortunately, some clubs have a public image of being a sub-organization of a certain religion or a certain political view. If people want to join a church or a political party they can and will, but Rotary is not a place for members to further their personal religious or political beliefs.

A greater focus on Vocational development. Rotary should be a place where smart business people get smarter. Incorporating business seminars into to Club meetings and District Conferences should be standard practice. Rotarians can and should be experts in the latest technology, management and business practices. Some clubs do this, many do not.

Clubs must have a significant focus on the inclusion of family members. Our organization tends to ignore business professionals with children because we have so many members without children. Many Club social activities don’t involve ‘kid and/or teen-friendly’ activities. The status quo is a great way to keep Rotary’s membership in decline.

Club members must be interconnected with other Area clubs. In any community all Rotary clubs should offer a united and coordinated front. I think Rotary is getting better about creating connections between clubs, but this connection should go deeper than just the Club Presidents. Every club member should recognize that they are part of a larger force in their community that includes all Rotary clubs. Good natured competition is great, but petty rivalries between local clubs should be dealt with immediately by District and Area Leadership.

Do or Die Time
I am absolutely convinced that Rotary driving towards a cliff. We either have to make a major change in direction or we will go off the cliff. We are being eaten alive by a monster that is consuming our will to change. We either confront the monster or we die.

Rotary played a major role in my life for the last 9 1/2 years and I have come to appreciate the beauty that arose out of a simple concept of business professionals joining forces for good. I have a profound respect for what Paul Harris created with this simple concept but I fear that he would be very anxious about the fact that Rotary has failed to attract young professionals in most clubs. For Paul Harris and the good of all Rotarians, Rotary must change. It is time to Re-Imagine Rotary and shed the old skin that encumbers the organization.

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Rotary@105: 7 Relationship types that affect membership retention (Part II)

27 Wednesday Oct 2010

Posted by in Branding, Business, Club Leadership, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Ethics, Honor, Human Resources, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Pride, Public Relations, Relationships, Rotary, Rotary@105, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Women

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

NOTE: This article is a secondary article to
Relationships Typing: 3 factors that the affect quality and depth of friendship

As mentioned in the first part of this article, I have defined three factors that seem to determine the quality of my relationships. 1) Trust, 2) Common Interests and/or Experiences, 3) Equality.

By using a 21-point scale to rate each factor in various relationship types we can see how Trust (or the lack of), Common Interests and/or Experiences (or the lack of), and Equality (or the lack of) define the relationship. Below are seven types of benchmark relationships and how they might affect membership retention in a Rotary club.

Too much friendship?

The Star
We all have people who we look up to, but there are just a few people that we put on a pedestal. I see the Star relationship as one where the trust level is relatively high (+7 on a scale of -10 to +10) as well as the common interest level (+8 on a scale of -10 to +10), but we feel inferior (a -9 on a scale of -10 to +10) to this person. In this relationship the depth and quality of the relationship is usually shallow. These people are not close friends, but rather an admired acquaintance. A new member in a Rotary club might see the Club President as the Star.

The Mentor
The Mentor is a different version of the Star. The difference is that we trust the Mentor implicitly (+10) and we have a strong common interest (+9); however, we see ourselves as inferior (-6) to our Mentor. The Mentor has achieved a level of success that we hope reach and our relationship is based on a mutual effort to gain an equal level of success in the future. I think it is a mistake to believe that a Mentor relationship can be imposed. The only successful Mentor relationships I have observed are those that have occurred by a mutual agreement of both parties. In over nine years in Rotary have witnessed few successful Mentor relationships. When it does happen it is a win-win situation for both members, but the Mentor must be highly skilled and/or knowledgeable, a passionate person, and a great trainer. In addition, the ‘trainee’ must recognize the Mentor’s superior knowledge and have a desire to learn from him or her. If not, the relationship will fail.

A Partnership is not necessarily a friendship

The Partner
I see the Partner as a relationship seeking mutual benefit for both people, but without the level of trust of a Mentor relationship. In a Partner relationship the trust is conditional (0, not + or -) and the two people usually see the other as his or her  equal (0) or at least they have something of value that balances the relationship, but the common interest is high (+9). I would consider the Partner relationship to be a symbiotic or co-dependent relationship and while the relationship may seem to be a strong bond, the slightest feeling of inequality or betrayal can end the relationship. In Part I of this series I mentioned that the employer/employee relationship might be a partnership, but I also believe that some marriages can start out, or devolve into Partner type relationships. In a Rotary club a member who has established mostly Partner relationships with other members is likely to have no deep attachment to the club and likely to leave.

The Friend
Of all relationships, I think a Friend is the hardest to achieve. A quality friendship involves a high level of trust (+9) and a significant level of common interests and/or experiences (+6), but also a genuine feeling of equality (0) must exist. The trust and equality factors for a friendship are difficult for most people to offer to another person. It is a special relationship and one to be highly valued, but once achieved it is a strong bond that lasts over time and distance. If every member were to have only one other true ‘Friend’ in his or her club most members would never consider leaving.

The Rival or Competitor
A rival is a relationship, even though we usually don’t think of it as one. It is a relationship based on mistrust (-8) of another person and somewhat ironically, a relationship that includes a high level of common interests (+8). I think that while we may feel we are superior to our rival that the truth is that we are afraid that we are not, thus I give an equality rating of (+3) to a Rival relationship. The Rival relationship is one of the worst possible relationships that could develop in a Rotary club. Sooner or later the club is going to be drawn into the conflict or one or more members will leave because of it. Ironically, it is the high level of common interest that seems to set up the Rival/Competitor situation. Without the envy or jealousy caused by the common interest both people would probably ignore each other.

Common Interest can enhance a relationship, or create conflict

The Subordinate or Submissive
Note that with the Subordinate relationship I am talking about someone who sees another person as their subordinate or submissive. This can be an employer/employee type relationship, but it is any relationship where a person sees him/herself as superior (+10) to another person. The trust level is relatively high (+5) as the person with the bigger ego expects the subordinate to obey their wishes and typically there is somewhat of a common interest (+3), but not necessarily a significant level of commonality. The big problem I have seen with this type of relationship is that the target of this attitude may not feel that they should be the subordinate. In a Rotary club it is surprising easy for a club leader to see other club members as their subordinate. Nothing creates a false sense of power like a title and in a volunteer organization titles are meant to assign responsibility, not authority, but not everyone understands that concept.

The Alien or Blank
It seems somewhat pointless to talk about the lack of a relationship as a type of relationship, but the I find it interesting to understand that some people just don’t show up on our relationship radar even though we may see them on a regular basis. I didn’t fully understand this until I was in Rotary, but after a few years in a club you learn the some people can disappear in plain sight. I feel the lack of a relationship, when there realistically should be is a type of relationship and I refer to it as an Alien or Blank relationship.

The quality of Friendship
I would not argue the point that it takes two to make or break a relationship; however, I would argue that the quality and depth of any relationship is determined largely by our own attitudes, in concert with the way the other person treats us. Understanding the factors that influence a relationship is the first step to making positive changes. In a Rotary club, failing to recognize that not all relationships are constructive can have major consequences on membership retention.

In Part I of this series I talked about a facilitator at a meeting who didn’t want to dilute his ‘friendships’ with people in the Social Media. My response to him is this: friendship is more about what we bring to the table and not the method of connection. The Social Media is not a threat to good friendships, just a different way to engage in them.

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Relationship Typing: 3 factors that affect quality and depth of friendship (Part I)

27 Wednesday Oct 2010

Posted by in Branding, Business, Club Leadership, Communication, Employee Retention, Ethics, Honor, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Public Relations, Relationships, Respect, Rotary, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Several weeks ago I was at a Rotary District Leadership training meeting and I made a comment that the Social Media tools like Facebook and Twitter allow us to have more friends and more connections to other people. I was shocked into silence when one of the facilitators said that he didn’t want that. He explained that his friends were those very close, very special people that he choose to be friends with, and that he didn’t want to dilute his social circle with people from the Social Media.

It was an interesting point and it caused me to start thinking about the quality and depth of the relationships of the people around me. In several decades of business, procurement of two bachelor’s degrees, and almost a decade in Rotary I have learned that not everyone is my ‘friend’ even though I may have frequent contact with them. All of us have people who are important to us and we all have people who we just don’t like, but until now I hadn’t focused on the factors that seem to define my relationships.

Understanding what shapes my attitude is a significant step towards taking an active role in building better and less conflictive relationships with the people around me. For this reason I wanted to explore what determines what type of relationship we have with another person.

I have come up with three factors that seem to determine the quality of my relationships. 1) Trust, 2) Common Interests and/or Experiences, 3) Equality.

Trust, Common Interest, and Equality

The trust factor seems obvious, but I find this to be a complex issue. Trust can be absolute, non-existent, or conditional. For example, I would propose that many employer/employee relationships are based on a conditional trust where both parties are on the constant guard of the other person betraying his or her trust.

The common interest and/or experiences factor may also seem obvious; however, sometimes common interests or experiences can create feelings of jealousy, envy, rivalry, or disgust. Just because two people have a lot in common doesn’t result in a bond of appreciation.

The final factor is not as obvious. My experience is that the level of equality felt by a person is a significant factor in determining the quality and depth of a relationship. In an organization of volunteers like a Rotary club we often mistakenly believe that everyone is equal, but my experience has been that the relationships that form in a typical Rotary club are often shaped, at least in part, by one person’s feeling of superiority over another.

Using these three factors I have been able to better define the quality and depth of my relationships. Because each of  these factors have a positive and negative component, I use an 21-point scale (-10, -9, -8, … -1, 0, +1, … +8, +9, +10) to score their significance. For example a Relationship Type might be low in trust (-7), high in common interest (+8), and neutral in equality (0). While all relationships reflect a continuum of these factors I have defined seven benchmark relationship types and have scored each factor on the 21-point scale.

In part two of this article I will define the seven relationship types and their scoring. I also will discuss how the relationship type might impact membership retention in a Rotary club.

Click on the link below for the continuing article
Rotary@105: Relationship types affect membership retention

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What most non-Rotarians don’t know about Rotary

28 Tuesday Sep 2010

Posted by in Branding, Club Leadership, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Pride, Public Relations, Relationships, Rotary, Rotary@105

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Most non-Rotarians have little background information on Rotary and when we try to explain what Rotary is about we usually discuss the aspects of Rotary for which we are most familiar. Often a Club will become involved in eight to ten programs or projects each year and Club members know and understand those programs but may be unaware of how many programs Rotary offers at a District level.

Each District has a menu of support services and program opportunities for its Clubs. The goal is to assist and improve Club operations as well as help develop effective local, regional, and international programs and projects. Each of the over 500 Rotary Districts are supported by a staff of Rotarian volunteers to assist in the formation and maintenance of each project or program.

The unique aspect of Rotary is that a single member typically initiates her or his Club’s participation in a new project or program, so a new member can often take the lead in expanding the service opportunities in her or his Club, while also becoming connected to the Club through involvement. When talking to a potential member, every Rotarian should remember that a non-Rotarian might be the person to ignite a new fire in the Club.

The scope of Rotary
In any given year our Rotary District (5190) there are typically almost 150 District positions staffed by volunteer Rotarians representing many clubs.  Among the positions are:

A District 5190 Leadership Meeting

  • 15 Current or Future District Governors and Assistant District Governors assisting the Clubs
  • 2 District Officers (Secretary and Treasurer)
  • 41 District Project and Program Committee Chairs including
    • Membership
      • Development
      • Extension
    • Clean Water
    • Health & Hunger
    • Literacy
    • Community Service
    • International Service
      • World Community Service
      • Partners and Projects
    • Vocational Service
      • Ethics Project
      • Speech Contest
      • Music Contest
    • Youth Services
      • Rotary Youth Leadership Awards
      • Interact Clubs (Ages 12 to 18)
      • Rotaract Clubs (Ages 18 to 30)
      • Rotary Youth Exchange Program (including Safety, Orientation, and Procedure Training)
      • New Generations Exchange
    • Club Administration
      • Club Awards Program
      • Newsletter Editor
      • Visioning Team
      • Rotary Academy
    • Public Relations
    • Rotary Foundation
      • Annual Giving
      • Ambassadorial Scholarships
      • Peace Fellowship
      • Foundation Alumni
      • Major Donors/Permanent Fund
      • Paul Harris Society
      • Group Study Exchange
      • Polio Eradication
      • District Simplified Grants
    • District Assembly
    • District Webmaster
    • District Directory
    • District Conference
    • District Nominating Committee
    • District Finance Committee
  • 80 (approximately) additional Club and District support positions and/or committee members

Each of the functions listed above may have multiple sub-functions, projects, and/or programs. The scope of Rotary is larger than most Rotarians realize, but non-Rotarians also have little, if any, understanding of the dynamic projects and programs that operate under the banner that is Rotary. Our 105 year-old organization has developed highly effective programs that are led by passionate volunteers who invest their time, money, and energy at the Club and District level. The Club and its members are the center of the Rotary universe, but our universe extends far beyond the Club. Rotarians and non-Rotarians should understand the full extend of our organization’s capabilities of service to the Club and to Humankind.

For more information about Rotary visit www.Rotary.org

For more information on Rotary District 5190 programs go to www.RotaryDistrict5190.org

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Rotary@105: Making Rotary Sexy

20 Monday Sep 2010

Posted by in Branding, Business, Club Leadership, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Ethics, History, Human Resources, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Public Relations, Relationships, Rotary, Rotary@105, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser - Rotary Public Relations Chair - District 5190

In 2008, Rotary International did a focus group study to discover the perception of non-Rotarians about our organization. It was an eye opener. In order to avoid a conditioned or biased response to the questions the participants of the study were unaware of who funded the study . While no cities in the United States of America were included in the focus group study, it is the best information we have to date about the Public Image (what other people think) of Rotary.  At the risk of airing dirty laundry, here’s what we learned:

Study Finding:
People are very cautious about ‘volunteering’

“In most cases individuals are inclined to volunteer, however they are very intent on maintaining enough ‘personal’ time, and they do not consider humanitarian efforts or volunteering as something for which they would give up their ‘personal’ time.”

What may look like fun to some may be scary to others

This is important to note because most Rotarians often remark that ‘giving back’ and ‘service’ is one of the reasons they belong to Rotary, and we tend to readily share with prospective members that volunteering is one of the positive aspects of joining a club. However, this seems to be something we LEARN AFTER we become Rotarians. By approaching potential members with an emphasis on volunteering, we may be dissuading, not persuading them.

We have to remember that all Rotarians usually pick the volunteer activities in which they participate based on their passion for the need. While ‘Service Above Self’ is our motto, the magic of Rotary is that most clubs offer a wide variety of projects and programs, which allow the individual member to choose how and where to invest their time, money, and/or energy. This makes volunteerism a rewarding experience, rather than an obligation. My experience is that every successful new project or program has had a single member who was passionate about the need and was able to excite the other members to join in. The great feeling we have about volunteering is something we learn by experiencing.
Study Finding:
Mistrust of Large Organizations

“An issue that came up in all three regions was the mistrust or skepticism towards large organizational structures …. Respondents also noted that there is a tendency to view smaller organizations as more effective in getting things accomplished at the local level.”

This finding is what caused me to start using the phrase, “All Public Relations is local.” A big billboard about Rotary International will not be as effective as a one license plate holder driving around town on the back of a member’s car. The face of Rotary is and always been the face of our members and those who benefit from our projects and programs at the local level. This is not to minimize the value of our regional and international involvement, but when talking to someone who might be interested in Rotary, they want to know about the club, not the mega-organization.

Study Finding:
Rotary’s Public Image

How Rotary is perceived: “business men, elite, secretive, older, wealthy, largely based on formal rules, inflexible, not sure that women are allowed into local clubs, associated with Free Masons, not ‘trendy’, not ‘sexy’.”

Every time I have presented these findings to Rotarians I have had some uncomfortable laughter, some squirming in the seats, and/or a small gasp. Deep down we know that these perceptions are valid. While we often become blind to the Public Image of our club, by visiting another Rotary club that is more than ten years old we often see how someone could have the perceptions listed above.
I have observed members in some clubs behaving in ways that would not normally be acceptable in a public environment. Professionalism sometimes gives way to fraternity-type behavior with rude jokes, harsh ribbing, and political references that are inappropriate in a business setting. Last year I listened to a speech by a prominent Past District Governor who began by making an offensive political-laced joke about our nation’s President and his wife. All of these behaviors are contrary to Rotary’s mission and our organization’s Constitution.
The challenge is to:  1) accept that we have a Public Image problem, 2) identify the behaviors and actions by clubs and their members that reinforce a negative Public Image, 3) educate the members, 4) perform a Public Image makeover. This process may begin with the Board of Directors, but progress will only be achieved with the acceptance and cooperation of every member regardless of position.
We have one uniting goal in the next 24 months, and that is to make Rotary ‘sexy’ again. Rotary was ‘sexy’ when Paul Harris and three other people created our organization 105 years ago. Within five years cities around the nation were falling all over themselves to start a Rotary club in their community. The unique combination of an emphasis on ethical business practices, friendship, and reaching out to others was the fire that made Rotary’s lamp so bright. It’s time we fueled that fire again.

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Dear Business Person: It is 2010. Please update your brain.

17 Friday Sep 2010

Posted by in Branding, Business, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Government Regulation, History, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Print Media, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Rotary, Rotary@105, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Traditional Media, Website

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Recently I listened to a presentation on how to network to increase referrals of potential customers. The speaker made her living by teaching people how to do this, so there is no doubt she knew her subject. Personally, I agree that face-to-face networking skills are critical if you are going to be in business, especially if you have direct customer contact.

However, she quoted statistics from a 2002 study done by the Chamber of Commerce on referral effectiveness based on the method of contact. 2002. That is where she lost me.

How far back is 2002? In 2002, the Department of Justice announced it was going to investigate Enron, the UN Security Council froze the assets of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban, the Winter Olympics were held in Salt Lake City, Utah, The US Secretary of Energy declared Yucca Mountain, Nevada to be a suitable nuclear waste depository, the Space Shuttle Columbia completed a mission to update the Hubble Space Telescope…it’s last before it would be destroyed on re-entry from it’s next mission in 2003, the United States led coalition invaded Afghanistan, A Beautiful Mind won Best Picture, United Airlines and WorldCom filed for bankruptcy, Congress approved a resolution to go to war with Iraq, and President George W. Bush created the Department of Homeland Security.

Columbia Space Shuttle Breakup in 2003

To some, it may seem like 2002 was yesterday, but when discussing a topic on how business referrals are made in 2010, quoting data from a single, eight year-old study makes me question the relevancy of any of the information provided. Note that the Internet was only eleven years old in 2002. The first Social Media site, Friendster was started in 2002. It wasn’t until 2003, that the more known sites of LinkedIn (May) and MySpace (August) were introduced. Facebook didn’t come on-line until February 2004, YouTube began a year later, and Twitter didn’t start until July 15, 2006.

The world of communication and business have changed dramatically in the past 36 months, let alone the changes over the past eight years. To discuss ‘networking’ from a perspective of the world in 2002 is to be in Denial* of the world of 2010. While ‘more experienced’ business people scoff at “these young people” and their Social Media, the reality is that referrals are being replaced by customer recommendations read off of blogs and other Internet sources. ‘Experienced’ business people can be angry, condescending, and ignorant all they want about the impact of Social Media on business…but it won’t change what has happened. Many people blame government regulation for business failures, but more businesses fail because of outdated business minds and practices than anything other cause and we are neck-deep in 2002 business thinking.

(*See Rotary@105: Grieving Change)

Face-to-face networking is important, but compare the number of face-to-face interactions/connections that a person can make in a day with the number of interactions/connections that can be made through blogs, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter in an hour, and it becomes apparent that dismissing the power of Social Media makes a business person appear uninformed and outdated…sort of like a man who wears shorts, sandals…and black socks. That analogy may not make sense to some people, but then again, those people probably aren’t reading this blog…or any others.

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Rotary@105: Grieving Change

07 Tuesday Sep 2010

Posted by in Book Review, Branding, Business, Club Leadership, Communication, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Internet, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Print Media, Public Relations, Random, Re-Imagine!, Relationships, Rotary, Rotary@105, Science, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Traditional Media, Website

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

On October 16th, our Rotary District (5190) will hold the second annual Public Relations (PR) seminar. It is a difficult topic because PR is a vital component to all aspects of Club operations, especially Membership recruitment and retention; however, for very ‘human’ reasons many members/clubs may not ready to listen to many of the key concepts because they are not ready to face the reality of the current situation.

To understand the resistance to the topic I need to refer to the 1969 book by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, On Death and Dying and her model of the grieving process. Her book became a major work in the fields of psychology and counseling for decades and while many experts now reject the idea of ‘stages’ of grieving, her model serves to remind us that people are influenced by their emotional state and some information will not be easily accepted when change intersects with tradition.

On Death and Dying by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

In the book, Kübler-Ross proposes that the grieving process involves five stages that help us recover from personal crisis back to a more balanced life where the incident or loss does not rule our lives and influence our decision-making. The stages are: 1) Denial, 2) Anger, 3) Bargaining, 4) Depression, and finally, 5) Acceptance.

So what is happening in Rotary that would cause a member or a club to be in crisis? Two issues come to mind.

Membership in Crisis
First, Rotary has been battling a significant membership issue for almost 15 years. For example, in 2005, Rotary Zone 23 (now re-zoned as Zone 25) had 568 clubs consisting of 33,921 members and five years later (2009) Zone 23 consisted of 33,304 members in 588 clubs.  While the number of clubs had increased by 20, total membership had decreased by over 600 people. This is only about a two percent loss over five years; however, the problem is that, 1) this has been a consistent trend for most of the last 15 years, and 2) every Rotary International President for the last nine years has pushed for increased membership as part of the key programs for his year.

The facts are simple: Rotary is bleeding membership and clubs are getting smaller (in Zone 23, an average of 3 members smaller over five years.) In seven years Rotary has brought in 1.2 million members…and lost 1.2 million members. Membership in North America, and many other western countries is on the decline. If current trends continue, over the next 15 to 20 years many community Rotary clubs will shrink until they are no longer relevant and then disband. Many small clubs are already facing this problem today and have less than five years to solve their membership crisis.

A New Business World
The second issue is external to the Rotary club. Business and communication is undergoing a rapid change and all the rules are changing. The Internet and, in particular, Social Media have challenged how business operates in a world where one person can be heard by millions, and if that person is talking about your product or service you have to be plugged in and listening or be lost in ignorance of what your customers and potential customers know about you. This new world demands personal involvement, yet many people (especially older business people) don’t want to be forced to participate in Social Media tools that put them and their company up for public scrutiny. There is a growing division between older professionals that tend to reject Social Media tools and younger professionals that tend to accept them. Guess in which category most Rotarians fit?

Action Obstructed by Grieving
Public Relations offers potential solutions to both issues. By becoming aware of the Club’s public image (how non-members perceive Rotary) the members can adapt their PR plan to maximize the value of the club projects and programs to help non-members understand the purpose and scope of Rotary. Members can also be aware of behaviors and information that reinforce negative stereotypes that non-members may have about Rotary, then avoid situations that might damage the reputation of the club. PR can also help members understand and adapt to the Social Media tools and use them to the best advantage for the club…and their business.

The problem is that discussion of these solutions is premature when someone is grieving. It is akin to telling the man who just lost his wife that, “there are plenty of fish in the ocean.” The combination of scrambling to understand a new business environment while facing a slow bleed of Rotary club members has many Rotarians in the one of the stages of grieving.

For some it is the first stage: Denial:

Stages of Coping with Loss

“There is no membership crisis. The world is the same today as it always has been. Our club is fine, we’ve been around for decades and we will continue to be here for decades to come.”

For others it is Anger:

“This is our club! We don’t need to change, if someone wants to belong to our club they need to change to our way of doing things! Don’t tell me what to do, I’ve been around a lot longer than you! Most of our members aren’t even on Facebook!”

For some it is Bargaining:

“We need QUALITY members, not more members. What help are we going to get to make these changes? How do you know this will work? How do I know this is not just a waste of time?”

And for some it is Depression:

“….”

Of all of the stages, a club should fear depression the most. Apathy and membership are never good combinations; however, for some members who are overwhelmed by change, the depression over the issues will open the door for them to quietly leave Rotary. In some cases, a member who is entrenched in tradition may not be able to accept change and leaving Rotary is the only option, but hopefully we can be aware that grieving change is part of the process and present the message in a way that will help members to the final stage of grieving, Acceptance.

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I mow my lawn because…

17 Tuesday Aug 2010

Posted by in Branding, Business, Club Leadership, Communication, Crisis Management, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Employee Retention, Ethics, Government Regulation, Higher Education, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Public Relations, Random, Re-Imagine!, Recreation, Relationships, Rotary, The Tipping Point

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser

Mowing the lawn is a futile task.

It’s like Agent Smith said to Mr. Anderson (Neo) in The Matrix as he held him as the subway train rushed toward them:

Do you hear that Mr. Anderson? That is the sound of inevitability. It is the sound of your own death.

That is what my lawn says to me everyday as it smirks and says, “Do you hear that Mr. Kiser? That is the sound of inevitability. It is the sound of nature winning.” It doesn’t stop with the grass. Everyday we face the battle against the march of  time. We live in a reality that will always have the last word…and last laugh. We cannot win….

Agent Smith: The sound of inevitability

…but I don’t see it that way.

I mow my lawn and I do it as an act of defiance. Yes, it is going to grow back, and yes, I could spend my time some other way than weekly harvesting my valueless grass, but that would be giving up.

We can have small victories. We can defy the odds and make nature work for her ‘inevitability’. Yes, the grass will grow, but look at my lawn and today… it didn’t win. The day belongs to me and my lawnmower. Take your inevitability and chew on it, Mother Nature, because today I own you.

In the past few years I have noticed that many people have given in to Agent Smith. They see only the inevitability. Everything will only lead to failure, so why try? The only problem is that everything great that humans have accomplished have been done by defying inevitability. bridges, tunnels, interstate highways, monuments, dams, water systems, sewer systems, powerlines,….the list goes on. It is in our nature to defy nature…and win….even if it is only for today.

Whether it is the start of a new school year, greeting the 833rd customer of the day, inviting the 18th prospective new member when the first 17 didn’t join, planning the fundraiser…again, walking around and talking to the employees for the third time today, or convincing someone that a new creative idea really can work, we beat the odds and make inevitability wait and that’s why we exist.

Beating inevitability

So I will continue to mow my lawn…until Alexander is old enough to do it.

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How Rotary can…must…will plug into Social Media

28 Wednesday Jul 2010

Posted by in Branding, Club Leadership, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Print Media, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Rotary@105, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, Tom Peters, Traditional Media, Website

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Social Media (sO-shul  mE-dE-ah) – 1) any Internet function that allows user comment or input, 2) interconnected Internet tools that promote participation in the sharing of ideas, concepts, and information between users or members, 3) a type of interactive communication on the Internet that bypasses the non-interactive, one-way, broadcast-type communication of traditional media (e.g.; newspaper, magazine, radio, television, books, etc.) 4) an evil plot devised by mostly young people who seek to destroy traditional media, end all privacy, and rule the world by talking to each other.

Paul Kiser

Rotary is not an organization that reacts quickly to change. The parent organization meets only once every three years to discuss and propose major policy changes and even then the meeting consists of senior representatives (Past District Governors) from each Rotary District. Rotary clubs themselves often consist of members that disproportionately represents males over 50, (of which I am one,) and that group is not normally known for its adaptation skills in changing environments. In many ways, Rotary is the poster child for rigidity, rules, and tradition.

The problem is that we don’t live in a world that rewards the slow or unadaptive. We have moved into a period of rapid change that is similar to the Crusades ‘convert or die’ philosophy and nowhere is this more obvious than in the world of Social Media. Never before have we seen a key function of our world, namely communication, advance in such a short time period. We now live in the Peter Drucker and Tom Peters world of Ready, Fire, Aim!

Consider the revolution of computers. From the introduction of personal computers from 1975 to 1985, the personal computer at home and in the office was a novelty. It was an interesting device, but limited in its usefulness. By 1985, the personal computer was starting to become a staple in business and by 1995, the computer was firmly entrenched into our everyday lives. It took approximately 20 years for computers to go from ‘a toy’ to staple of life.

Compare the computer revolution to the Social Media revolution. Just over six years ago Facebook didn’t exist. Just over four years ago Twitter didn’t exist. In the past three years the way we communicate has so drastically changed that email is considered on par with snail mail by most people under 30 years old.

Social Media Revolution

(What’s changed? See the Social Media Revolution Video)

So what does this mean for a world-wide service organization like Rotary? Change. Change like our organization has never experienced in its 105 years. But it will be good change…for most of us.

Open Discussion of Issues
The Social Media revolution is characterized by open discussion of ideas and concepts. Over the next 18 months we should expect to see more members who are passionate about Rotary writing personal blogs. These individual blogs will not be sanitized messages approved by Rotary International, but personal viewpoints (like this one) discussing current issues at the Club, District, and RI levels. Sometimes the ideas and opinions expressed will be uplifting, sometimes awkward and/or uncomfortable, and sometimes they will just be wrong. The point is that there will be discussion of Rotary…good…bad…or both, and we should expect it.

The leadership of Rotary, from Club Presidents to the RI President, can either pretend it is not happening and hope it will go away, or they can decide to participate. My vote is participation. A District Governor may serve her or his District for a year and speak once at every club, but a blog is forever and is accessible to everyone in the world. Wise input from knowledgeable leaders can help promote positive discussions, and discourage inappropriate discussions. The worst thing to do is to allow a single Rotarian to create misguided impressions of Rotary by not correcting or responding to incorrect statements.

This must be done with care, as we are all aware that in the 1980’s Rotary International (RI) took a stand against a California club that allowed women to join, thus beginning a fight that ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court where RI ended up on the wrong end of the law.

Still, we do have key principles that must be protected as was the case in 2006-07. A California club began promoting a project to buy special ammo clips for U.S. soldiers at war in Iraq and Afghanistan and was pedaling this program to other clubs. Clearly, this was a violation of Rotary’s peaceful mission to serve and of RI’s Constitution. Such violations of our principles must be addressed and corrected by the leadership of Rotary.

Rotary leadership must take care in participating, but they should not only comment, they should write their own blogs. A more open discussion of Rotary related issues will serve to make our organization stronger and will help guide the leadership to address true member issues, not just what filters up through the Chain of Command.

Better Communications – Smaller Chunks, Targeted Audience
In the 1960’s a newsletter was vital information that couldn’t be accessed anywhere else. As copy machines in the 1970’s and 80’s got better the quality of the newsletters got better. The spread of color inkjet printers (HP made a killing on color ink) of the 1990’s brought newsletters to the height of their glory and anybody and everybody put out newsletters about anything. Today, a newsletter is only slightly higher on the value scale than junk mail. The problem is that few people have time to spend 15 minutes reading it and much of the information is not of interest to the reader. In addition, the quality of the editing and design of a weekly club newsletter goes from professional grade to…well, not so much. Often the editor is a volunteer who is passionate about the club, but may or may not agree with the current priorities of the club leadership.

Enter Facebook and Twitter. Most clubs I’ve been involved in regarding incorporating Facebook or Twitter into club communications have included this statement, “But most of our club members don’t use Facebook.” If there is a defining remark about the state of a club’s recruitment situation, that is it. Over 500 million people use Facebook and Rotary clubs don’t think it is relevant because their current members don’t use it. If your membership is not using the most current methods of communication, that should tell you why people in the real world see Rotary and your club as out-of-date and out of touch.

Facebook and Twitter provide information in small readable chunks. No one has to read all 10,000 words in the newsletter to get the information they need, they just read what is of interest to them and they read it in a format that gives it to them when they are ready to read it. Those that don’t use Facebook or Twitter will find that they know less and less about what is going on in the world around them and ignorance is not a Rotary value. The club that doesn’t have an active website and Facebook Fan Page within 12 months will most likely be the club that is consistently struggling to maintain membership. It that simple.

Fortunately, I know that Rotary clubs will adapt to the new Social Media whether anyone wants it or not. They will adapt because those clubs that don’t will waste away, while those that embrace Social Media will begin to see new, younger, smarter members fill in the ranks. It’s the way change works according to Darwin.

Paul Harris began Rotary to make connections with other people. Paul Harris would have loved Social Media.

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Rotary@105: Membership/Public Image Challenge

20 Tuesday Jul 2010

Posted by in Branding, Club Leadership, Communication, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Lessons of Life, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Public Relations, Relationships, Rotary, Rotary@105, The Tipping Point, Women

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser - Rotary Public Relations Chair - District 5190

I have a challenge for every North American Rotary club that is at least ten years old:

Step 1. Look up all the new members that were inducted in the last three and a half years, excluding the new members inducted in the last six months (e.g; members inducted between January 2007 and January 2010.)
 Step 2. Determine how many of those members left the club.
 Step 3. Contact them (if living) and ask the following questions:

  • Why did you leave the club?
  • Why did you really leave the club?
  • In a time when more connections with business people would be more critical, why didn’t our club offer this to you?
  • What type of person would you recommend to join our club? (Age, gender, personality, etc.)
  • What irritated/disappointed you about our club?

Step 4. Hold a Board Meeting to discuss the results.

Rule One is that no one is allowed to diminish or discount the statements of the former member (e.g.; “She never was really happy with us.” or “They just wanted to network.” or “He joined for the wrong reasons.”)

Rule Two is that no one on the Board who has served over three years is allowed to participate in the discussion for the first 30 minutes.

I think you’ll find the results interesting and tell you the public image that your club projects to others. Why? Too many Rotarians are looking for members who think, believe, talk, act, and look like the existing club members. New members who don’t fit the mold are the first to leave. The question is whether the club is ready to adjust their behavior to be more inclusive of business professionals who may not fit the mold.

The reason to limit the participation of long-term Board members is because members who have become entrenched in the decision-making process of the club tend to have too much say and tend to try to preserve the status quo.

Let me know what you discover about your club’s public image.

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Rotary New Year: Retread or Renaissance?

25 Friday Jun 2010

Posted by in 2020 Enterprise Technologies, Branding, Club Leadership, Communication, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Public Relations, Relationships, Rotary, Rotary@105, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser - Public Relations Chair, Rotary District 5190

On July 1 of every year Rotary rolls out a new administration. From the club level to the 18th floor of One Rotary Center the leadership for our organization makes quietly dramatic team substitution. Each year starts with the hope of pushing Rotary to new levels of success and each year ends with a long sigh of relief.

When I first joined Rotary on July 5, 2001, I learned quickly that a new adminstration was not to take any action, including planning, until July 1, which meant that it was late August before the club leadership could get organized. This concept of not ‘stepping on the current President’s toes’ was an outdated, destructive dogma that held back the club from being prepared and in motion when the first bell rang in July. Somewhere around our Centennial in 2005 I noticed that the attitude was changing and clubs were being encouraged to get the new leadership trained and ready before July 1 and each subsequent year the quality and preparedness of clubs has improved. At least in our District, the class of 2010-11 is perhaps the best prepared for putting words and ideas into action when they stand up in front of the club on Week 1.

Theme for 2010-11

But preparing and training only set the stage, it is performance that counts. The world has changed and the role of a service organization that is not bound by religious, political, or ideological motives is more critical than ever in a world where those motives are driving a wedge between people instead of uniting them. Rotary’s constitution and history have freed our members from judging our fellow world citizens before we offer to serve, nor do we serve them with the intention of converting them to our beliefs. Rotary’s motto of Service Above Self means that we are in the unique position of unrequited care and service to others. In 2010 and beyond, the world is in desperate need of that which is the core of a Rotarian’s heart.

But we are faced with a challenge that has been dogging us for years. Despite multiple years of great Rotary International (RI) Presidents, and District Governors, one year looks much like the previous year any many of our key club functions. Our new themes and leadership fail to make any significant headway with the-way-we-have-always-done-things paradigm.

One area that demonstrates this is in Membership. An organization that is stagnant in membership growth cannot expect to meet new challenges and yet for seven years we have sat at 1.2 million members. In our District (5190) the average size of a club has been steadily shrinking. Last year I researched the last five years and found that we have dropped from an average of 53 members per club (June 2005) down to 47 members (September 2009.) As of April of 2010, that average has dropped to 46 members per club. This is not a criticism of our District because I suspect I would find the same data in all the North American Districts. It is apparent that not only is our growth stagnant, but our clubs are shrinking, which means fewer members to take on a bigger role.

2010-11 RI President Ray Klinginsmith

The question for each of us is whether this will be another year of Retread Membership or a year of rebirth, (Renaissance,) in Membership? To have a rebirth we must have a new approach and not be locked into medieval thinking. Current RI President John Kenny gave us the theme, The Future of Rotary is in Your Hands, and upcoming RI President Ray Klinginsmith challenges clubs to ‘get bigger, better, bolder’. Both invite Rotarians to not make a Retread of the 2010-11 year, but to spawn a Renaissance of our organization. So what holds us back?

(Rotary meant for young professionals? Click here for story.)

I have had many conversations with Rotarians about membership. I often hear about the barriers and challenges. But what I know is that the difference between a Retread Rotary year and a Rotary Renaissance will be determined not by a theme, or by the words of the RI President, or by great work by a District Governor. Creating a Rotary Renaissance will be determined by individual club members who decide that there are no excuses and that failure in membership growth is not an option. Robert Kennedy is credited with saying, “If not us, who? If not now, when?” Two questions every Rotarian should ask themselves in this new Rotary year.

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Rotary@105: A Young Professional’s Networking Club?

13 Sunday Jun 2010

Posted by in Branding, Customer Relations, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Public Relations, Rotary, Rotary@105

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by Paul Kiser [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype: kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Paul Kiser - Public Relations Chair Rotary District 5190

When Rotary was formed in 1905, Paul Harris was 36. The other three original members were 34, 40, 42. I note there ages because it is important to remember that our organization was started by young professionals, not ‘seasoned’ executives. It was a true business networking club, not a just a social club. The original concept of Rotary was to create business opportunities with other ethical business people. If it were meant to be a just another social club they wouldn’t have required the Club Statistician to track business transactions between club members. A practice that was continued until 1911.

Nor was the concept of community service in the original club’s concept. It would be 1906 before a new member would join with the intent of adding community service to the function of Rotary. While the spirit of voluntarism is a critical part of every modern club, that wasn’t why Rotary was founded.

Click here for more about the origin of community service in Rotary

Would she qualify as a Rotarian in your club?

Rotary was truly a young professionals networking club at its inception; however, today’s Rotary club is a foreign environment to most business people under 45. In discussions with several young professionals I have gained insight on why Rotary tends to repel those that it should attract. Interestingly, in discussions with Rotarians I have found we often have no clue as to how young professionals perceive Rotary, and in fact, I have found that some Rotarians have a bias against youth.

It’s Their Fault
I have heard several Rotarians comment that even when they induct a young professional, the new members often don’t stay with the club. This attrition is usually blamed on the former member’s attitude or other personal failings. Many clubs will not accept that they have any responsibility for what they could have done better to retain him or her. In one case a very prominent local Rotarian was advising clubs to ignore anyone under 40 as a potential member. His reasoning was that, “They have kids and they’re not in a place in their career to be a good Rotarian.” That was a great attitude…for keeping Rotary an old person’s organization.

Lack of Respect and Bad Public Image
Some Rotarians may think that they have no bias toward young professionals, but actions speak louder than words. I have even found myself sitting at a table with a young professional and I instantly associate them with my adult children and began talking about my twenty-something daughters, rather than discussing business topics. It is a bias and it is disrespectful to equate a young professional with our adult children. It also creates a public image that we are an old person’s social club, not a business professionals club for all ages.

I have also sat in Rotary clubs where the youngest members are joked about solely because they are young. It makes for entertainment for the older members and may seem like it’s all in good fun, but emphasizing the age difference just makes us look older and any young professional attending for the first time may have a clear impression that this is not an environment of mutual respect for them. Some members further cement a club’s public image by telling political, religious, or gender jokes that would not be acceptable in any public environment, but are tolerated in the Rotary club.

Reno New Generations Rotary Club Pre-Charter BBQ

The Solution – Segregation?
In Reno, Nevada, USA there is a new type of Rotary club that consists mostly of young professionals under 45 years old. It was modeled of the Rotary Club of La Jolla New Generations. It is not a Rotaract club, but a full-fledged Rotary club that meets in the early evening. Drinks are available and meals can be ordered, but most members do not eat. I have attended this club several times and most of what I have learned about the way we treat young professionals has been through my discussions with the members of this club. They are all stellar Rotarians who, in six months, have dived in to many community service projects. They are also business professionals, some in significant positions in their organizations. What they don’t experience in the club is treatment as adult children, or made to feel that they are too young to be serious business people.

Rotary has stood at 1.2 million members for seven years. If we are to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow we need to have a growing organization, not a stagnant one. The question is whether existing Rotary clubs are willing to tap into the millions of young professionals who seek to network with other business people. To do this clubs must address any potential age bias and become more aware of member behavior and how it might negatively impact a club’s public image. The alternative is to segregate young professionals in their own clubs and let the existing clubs eventually die out through attrition. It seems obvious that the former is the best solution, but it first will require existing members to accept individual responsibility for creating the club’s public image and that they must promote a positive impression that does not offend the best source of new members, the under-45 business professional.

We all have a responsibility to ensure the future of Rotary as a strong, viable, and relevant organization and to do that we only need to remember what we owe to Paul Harris and the other three young professionals that founded our organization…a duty to keep our clubs a place of honor and respect for all professionals..old and young.

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Rotary: Club Websites Not Optional

19 Monday Apr 2010

Posted by in Branding, Club Leadership, Customer Relations, Customer Service, Information Technology, Internet, Management Practices, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Passionate People, Public Relations, Re-Imagine!, Rotary, Rotary@105, Social Interactive Media (SIM), Social Media Relations, The Tipping Point, Website

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by Paul Kiser
USA PDT  [Twitter: ] [Facebook] [LinkedIn] [Skype:kiserrotary or 775.624.5679]

Looking In From Outside: Understanding Our Public Image

Paul Kiser - Rotary District 5190 Public Relations Chair - RC of Reno Sunrise, NV

When Congress was considering giving survival loans to American car manufacturers it was interesting to see the reaction of the American public. There were calls by many to let the car manufacturers fail even if it meant forcing hundreds of thousands of Americans out of a job. This is a great study in Public Relations, or the lack of it. The American auto industry spends millions of dollars to advertise.  From a standpoint of ‘publicity’ they have one of the largest shares of advertising power of all the industries in America.

But while the auto industry may be giants in ‘publicity’, they suck at Public Relations.  How bad do you have to be at Public Relations to have your customers and potential customers wanting to see you fail?  A key component to Public Relations is understanding your ‘public image’ and that involves looking at your organization as an ‘outsider.’ The auto industry either was blissfully ignorant of their public image, or just didn’t care.  It’s an easy mistake to make, but it’s almost always a fatal error.

A Rotarian sees our organization from an inside view.  She or he typically understands and accepts the purpose of Rotary and values the organization as fulfilling a significant role in her or his life, as well as in the local and world communities.  Whether it is by design or by accident, the leadership of the Rotary Club creates an internal public relations message that is communicated both actively and passively to the membership. From that internal message the member forms an attitude and opinion of what Rotary means to them.

However, when discussing the positive and negative aspects the Club’s public image we must ignore everything that we have learned from the internal message and put ourselves in the place of the person who knows nothing about Rotary.  This is a critical step if we are to understand the strengths and weaknesses of our external public relations message.

In fact, the issue goes farther than assuming a person knows nothing about Rotary because in many cases people have heard of Rotary and they have a skewed and/or false impression of the organization. The person who is not a member of Rotary either:

  1. Doesn’t know about Rotary
  2. Knows, but doesn’t understand the purpose of Rotary
  3. Has a false and/or misleading impression of Rotary and therefore doesn’t believe that the organization to be worthwhile
  4. Knows and understands the purpose of Rotary, but doesn’t want to participate in the organization for some reason

Of these four reasons, the first three require additional information for the person to make an informed decision about participating in, and/or supporting Rotary club’s programs and projects.

Making Clubs More Accessible

The challenge is to somehow make more information available to the public about Rotary, the Rotary club, and our purpose as a service organization.  We can do this through one-on-one contact, which is a valuable tool; however, even with a one-on-one contact the person is seeing Rotary through the eyes of one Rotarian and that member may not have all the information needed for the person to make an informed decision about the purpose and value of Rotary.  Even attending a club meeting will not provide enough information for a person to understand why Rotary might be an organization that could meet her or his personal needs.

In addition to one-on-one contact, we can also purchase advertising and send out public service announcements to inform the general public of the scope and purpose of Rotary; however, people may be exposed to the message for only a few seconds, which may create more questions than answers.

The problem is that we need to make information about a Rotary Club more accessible.  This would be hard under normal circumstances, but at the same time we are looking to ramp up Public Relations to make Clubs more accessible, the world of communication and information technology is undergoing a metamorphosis.

Communication 2010:  Not Your Father’s, but, Your Children’s Internet.

By 1995, it was clear that the Internet, and websites in particular, were going to become a valuable business tool, but to find a company’s website you typically had to know the web address.  By early in the new century, Google had created a search engine that was so effective, it began to replace phone books and print advertising as tools to market and provide information about an organization.

In addition to websites, the explosion of new social networks like Facebook and Twitter have changed the landscape of Marketing and Public Relations. Traditional methods of communicating information are being replaced with an Internet media that is so rapid that even oppressive governments find it difficult to keep pace and silence their citizens.

The changes in information communication have happened so fast that a ten year-old child in 2000 has seen the birth and rise of Google; the Blackberry; text messaging; MySpace; Facebook, Twitter, and all the other Social Media.  That ten year-old child of 2000 is now a twenty year-old adult in 2010 and they have seen newspapers and magazines first falter, then collapse as the new media displaces slow and expensive with fast and inexpensive.

Accessibility is the Alpha and Omega of Public Relations in 2010

A Rotary Club exists for one and one half hours once a week.  The Club is inaccessible to most of the public the remaining 166.5 hours of the week. To become more accessible we must bypass yesterday’s traditional methods for communication and information sharing that are no longer viable options as effective Public Relations tools.  Clubs must learn to use communication methods that will allow accessibility to the public using today’s technology and we must be prepared to change our methods in order to adapt to new technologies.

While a Club website is hardly a new idea, many clubs fail to have even this basic Public Relations tool.  The Club website creates a 24/7/365 presence that allows it to be accessible to anyone in the world.  The Club website is the ultimate membership recruitment tool as it can offer a full explanation of the club, and its projects and programs.  In addition, the website can give an interested person direct access to someone who can help them take the next step to becoming a member.  An updated and dynamic Club website can no longer be considered an option for any Club that seeks to remain relevant in the community.  It is absolutely essential for successful external Public Relations.

A great example of a Rotary Club website is the Rotary Club of Reno New Generations.  It has a great look, and it has several functions that use Social Media tools.

(See their website at www.renonewgenrotary.org)

It is easy to overlook how critical Public Relations can be to a Club’s survival, but for every Club that is scratching their heads over why recruiting new members is so difficult, take a hard look at your Club website…or lack of one.

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