I think that we must have an answer to that question.
For a couple of reasons.
First of all, and very importantly, men will follow a path, and work to achieve something, if they are presented with a positive vision. Lacking that vision, success becomes much harder.
But beyond that, I think that we have to know what it looks like after we win, so that we can know when we have won!
It is virtually impossible to keep men motivated if they do not share a vision that they are working towards, and if progress is not seen along the way.
We’ve got to know what winning looks like, so that we can see the progress that is being made.
And I think that sometimes a Lodge may struggle for so many years, decades even, that when it does begin turning around, no one involved with it can see the positive progress.
Lodges will follow different paths towards winning, with varying conditions of what constitutes that success. Hard to say "this is winning" when that changes from lodge to lodge.
I agree, it is different from Lodge to Lodge. But, I think that as leaders of our Lodges we need to develop that vision, and communicate it to our members.
At Doric Lodge for example, I will see myself as having a successful year as WM if we accomplish two things:
We haven't been good over the past ten years at getting our Candidates moved from Potential Candidate to Master Mason. If we can get that working, so that we are making Master Masons as we should be, I'll be quite pleased.
Secondly, I think that as a Lodge we need to better understand our finances. If we can get our arms around that, I think that it will bode well for our future. Not that there is anything wrong with our finances or our recordkeeping, just that I think it can all be better presented to our members.
That's specific to one Lodge, other Lodges will have different challenges and different things that they need and want to work on.
Success can mean so many things. Is it adding new members, creating an educational program, raising money for a project or donation? Can and should a lodge have multiple goals? I think we have a difficult time defining “winning” in abstract goals. It’s not a race of a determined length or limited time. How many new members determines a win? How much money raised? Is a winning educational program determined by the number of programs or the quality of programs? To me, winning looks like increased participation at stated meetings, both in attendance and discourse. Winning is new member retention. The biggest win though is when we are all living our obligations and brotherly love prevails.
And of course all of these things rightly change from Lodge to Lodge. Because the men are different in each Lodge. Last night I delivered a short little educational bit about a snippet in our Ritual, perhaps 2 or 3 minutes long. The Secretary followed me with his own, slightly different take on that snippet. All in all, maybe 5 minutes of education.
Other Lodges would of course look to spend an hour on something like that.
But they are both wins, because they are both imparting Freemasonry to a Lodge, in the way that particular Lodge is open to receiving it.
So, I think when we decide what success looks like, it will be much different from Lodge to Lodge. And I think that is a good thing, because different ways of being appeal to different men, and giving men a diversity of Lodge experiences to choose from ensures a great experience for all.
Lodges will follow different paths towards winning, with varying conditions of what constitutes that success. Hard to say "this is winning" when that changes from lodge to lodge.
I agree, it is different from Lodge to Lodge. But, I think that as leaders of our Lodges we need to develop that vision, and communicate it to our members.
At Doric Lodge for example, I will see myself as having a successful year as WM if we accomplish two things:
We haven't been good over the past ten years at getting our Candidates moved from Potential Candidate to Master Mason. If we can get that working, so that we are making Master Masons as we should be, I'll be quite pleased.
Secondly, I think that as a Lodge we need to better understand our finances. If we can get our arms around that, I think that it will bode well for our future. Not that there is anything wrong with our finances or our recordkeeping, just that I think it can all be better presented to our members.
That's specific to one Lodge, other Lodges will have different challenges and different things that they need and want to work on.
In order to determine if you were successful, you need metrics. A vision is a goal. A goal should be SMART.
Specific - what exactly do we want to do
Measurable - how can we tell our progress
Achievable - is this doable
Relevent - does this make sense for us
Time - when will we accomplish this.
Following this to create your goals you will know if you were successful.
As what to do after a win? A small celebration, then start towards the next win!
Excellent. Thank you.
Success can mean so many things. Is it adding new members, creating an educational program, raising money for a project or donation? Can and should a lodge have multiple goals? I think we have a difficult time defining “winning” in abstract goals. It’s not a race of a determined length or limited time. How many new members determines a win? How much money raised? Is a winning educational program determined by the number of programs or the quality of programs? To me, winning looks like increased participation at stated meetings, both in attendance and discourse. Winning is new member retention. The biggest win though is when we are all living our obligations and brotherly love prevails.
And of course all of these things rightly change from Lodge to Lodge. Because the men are different in each Lodge. Last night I delivered a short little educational bit about a snippet in our Ritual, perhaps 2 or 3 minutes long. The Secretary followed me with his own, slightly different take on that snippet. All in all, maybe 5 minutes of education.
Other Lodges would of course look to spend an hour on something like that.
But they are both wins, because they are both imparting Freemasonry to a Lodge, in the way that particular Lodge is open to receiving it.
So, I think when we decide what success looks like, it will be much different from Lodge to Lodge. And I think that is a good thing, because different ways of being appeal to different men, and giving men a diversity of Lodge experiences to choose from ensures a great experience for all.
Kevin Kenneth koehnke wisc?
As long as we don't measure in membership numbers, I'm fine.
I agree. Freemasonry focused on that for far too long, and I think doing so led us to make some very poor collective decisions.