Good evening all,
With a wet start to the week to finish Autumn, Winter has now heralded a cold end and it looks like it's here to stay.
I hope you all enjoyed our Breakfast this week and what our Guest Speaker, Dr John Arvier, had to say regarding the amazing work he performs in his field.
Thinking about what I'd write this week, I found myself thinking about the "need for change". I hope you enjoy the column.
The Only Constant Is Change
Everywhere we go, not just with Rotary, but with everything we do, it's very common to hear, "The Only Constant is Change". As has been mentioned many times, in order for us to survive, we have to continually re-invent ourselves. This is true in business and in Rotary.
In Rotary we talk about change. What does this really mean? The dictionary definition, change is defined as:
‘to make the future course of something different, to what it is or what it would be, if left alone’.
Our Club needs to be thinking of the future and how best to embrace change.
For our Club to change, our Members need to recognise there is a need within, for change. We also need to have an understanding of why it is important to embrace change not just for the future of our own club but for the future of Rotary. Change is progress and Rotary needs to be seen as being progressive, keeping up with our changing society and to be known as a flexible, adaptive and innovative organisation.
Our club has made a good start to measure our need for change. This was done by conducting the Member Survey. Our Board is currently analysing the answers to questions and the many suggestions and comments put forward by Members. By doing this, we are involving our Members and performing a health check of the Club. The answers give a good indication as to what our Members think of our club and it will give the Club Leadership the ability to develop a strategic plan for the future.
Many members question the need for change within Rotary. Quite simply, if we do not start changing there is a limited future for our organisation. We need to consider how our Rotary clubs are viewed by our local community and the general public. If we are to gain new members and if we want to keep them, we need to think about how we conduct our meetings. We need to be flexible and innovative in areas such as meeting times, venues, attendance requirements, membership, etc.
Interestingly, Membership Fees and Meeting arrangements are two areas that our Board is currently looking at, very closely. Financial and time commitments are the two main barriers affecting Membership. If we can come up with an improvement, where we can reduce the fees and look at ways of changing Meeting format and style, the objective is to make the Club more appealing for new members.
Updating our Club's Constitution and By-Laws is taking place. In order for our Club to operate in current times, it's essential to have a Constitution and By-Laws in place that reflect the current standing of the Club.
At the moment, our primary demographic of a potential Member falls in the category of someone newly retired or close to retirement. Not that there is anything wrong with this, however, we need to appeal to a wider clientele if we are to remain viable.
Members of the Board would welcome ideas from any Member of the Club to help in this regard. If we all embrace change together, there will be an overall synergistic effect upon the health of our Club.
Looking back over the past one hundred years of Rotary, there have already been many changes. Change is continuous and change needs to accommodate everyone’s needs and ideals but at the same time cannot compromise the Object of Rotary. We as Rotarians need to be progressive and embrace this as a positive move for the future of Rotary.
We need to change from what was, to what can be.
Have a great weekend everybody and I look forward to seeing you soon.
