In this day of budget shortfalls and idealogical opposition, I read an interesting opinion article written by David Brooks (that you can read here) called "The New Normal." He talks about the importance of smart government budget cuts. I was impressed because, unlike some of my more progressive compatriots, he is a firm believer that not only has the economy permenantly changed, but that government is going to have to change with it.
However, unlike some of my more conservative friends, he does not believe in wholesale (yet politically appealing) cuts. Instead, he focuses his efforts on linking budgets to concrete measureable improvements backed with a comprehensive strategy to improving the competitiveness of our society.
Mr. Brooks is basing his article on a speech made by Arne Duncan which is an interesting read for anyone interested in education policy.
So how does this relate to fraternities and sororities? Many of my posts have dealt with (many times in a high holy manner, for which I apologize my loyal reader) the relevancy of fraternities and sororities, and having concrete achievements is a cornerstone component of being relevant in today's society. I think if we want to maintain our arguments that Greek Life created great leaders we need to continue to train great leaders and prove just how valuable they are.
To train a great leader, we need to build our organizations into symbols and make our achievements greater than the sum of their respective parts.
I have said in past posts too that not everything we as a community will do will be a success, but that's not a bad thing. Like the budget battles raging across this country, chapters learn from their failures and committ to creating success the next time around. Moreover, a true leader not only accepts decent behavior but constantly challenges the process of their chapter and encourages progress through SMART goals.
So how does assessment fit into this picture of goal setting, proper communication, and execution? Too often chapters rise and fall in terms of numbers, image, and effectiveness of general operations. A strong new member class all but makes or breaks many chapter. However, if you document everything you do (and many groups do, for their university or inter/national headquarters) you can then educate and influence future executive boards as they look back at previous efforts and see what worked or didn't work.
That said, I'm not asking every chapter to run statistical analysis on everything you do, merely follow a few simple steps:
1) Create a written plan - This can be a document for resources and goals for a philanthropy or an agenda for your officer transition retreats that document essential skills you want to transfer. Every document should have a SPECIFIC and MEASUREABLE outcomes.
2) Create a set of deadlines for the implementation for your written plans - In this way, you develop solid time management skills and can learn how long you need to plan for your event. If you can't make your own self imposed deadlines, why or why not?
3) Implement - This is self explanatory, but make sure you delegate action items to as many people as possible, in this way more members of your chapter invests their "sweat equity" into the project.
4) As an executive group, assess your outcome on a mixed qualitative / quantatitve basis
Quantative Analysis is the assessment of a project on numerical grounds. Questions you want to ask are: Have you achieved the desired number of community service hours, philanthropy dollars raised, grade point average made, number of brothers who participated in an event. A quantative analysis is the easiest to measure because you can count your results and affirm whether achieved your goals or not. Again, if you have not met your specific goal, why did you not? What can you alter the next time around to succeed?
Qualitative Analysis is somewhat more difficult to measure but is just as important. This is a measurement of desired qualities such as improving the bonds of brotherhood / sisterhood, developing strong communication skills / delegation skills, being able to resolve conflict or confront brothers / guests. You will most likely do your qualitative analysis in new member education, but remember, every activity you do has a qualitative outcome, even parties. Otherwise, what's the point?
If you make a quantative goal and a qualitative goal for every event you do and find that some of your events aren't measuring up, then why continue to use those events? How do you prioritize your ideal qualities and achievements? If you can't answer these questions you will find that your members are less appealing as potential hirees to your alumni and your chapter will have less of an impact on campus and thus become less appealing to potential new members.
Just remember that as governors and congress seek to balance budgets and keep the country competitive, you are having the same discussion in your chapter (implicitly or explicitly). Every dollar you spend or hour used is a decleration of your core values and priorities. Every day is an opportunity to assess those values and priorities as you strive to make the most effecient use of your time outside of the classroom. Whether you have a budget of half a million dollars and 100 brothers or sisters or a budget of a thousand dollars with less than 10 brothers or sisters, what you do and why you do it is one of the best educational opportunities you will have.
Every campus has some outlet to find friends but how many of those friend groups prepares you for the real life in the same way as fraternity and sorority life?
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Egypt, The New World Order, and Grassroots Leadership
It's not very often world power dynamics shift like they did today. The overthrow of the Shah in Iran was one instance, the fall of the Soviet Union another, and now hundreds of thousands of loosely affiliated Egyptians took to the streets of the cradle of civilization to force a 30 year dictator to step out of office. All of this occurred despite the "established" countries of the world trying to hew a close line that balanced their desire for "national security" (ie the status quo comfort of a lack luster enemy) and their stated desires for democracy.
For all intents and purposes, no one knows what a post-Mubarak Middle East will look like. As a stalwart secularist, Egypt was the first nation to declare peace with Israel. As a result, billions of dollars in aid and foreign trade poured into Egypt and Israel could reduce it's own military spending. Egypt also acted as a mediator and go-between for Israel, the United States, Hamas, and the multitude of other actors that engage in conflict in the region. They provided intelligence, military support, and assisted in developing the Palestinian State.
They also brutally repressed their people. Egypt intentionally pushed Muslim Brotherhood fighters into Gaza so that they wouldn't wage war on the regime. They were also one of the major recipients of "exported" terrorists in the infamous CIA rendition program.
In other words, Egypt represented a major entrenched interest for the Western World and a strong proponent of the Status Quo.
So, why do I bring this up in a blog about leadership, fraternity life and higher education? I bring it up because Egypt is a symbol of what happens when your stated values are radically and intentionally different from your actions and that no matter how scary change may seem, fighting for the status quo only degrades any individual, organization, or institution.
If you're unhappy with the way you, your chapter, your school (or any other group is run) consider for a moment the bravery exhibited by the citizens of Egypt. Think of the Berliners during the fall of East Germany. Think of the Ukrainians, the Goergians, and the Russians, all of whom fought against the status quo to reassert their committment to democracy and government for all, not just the select few. Think of the secret police organizations in Iran or Latin America, in Egypt, and Russia as they fought tirelessly to protect the entrenched interest. Think of the students who, in every revolution (be it soft such as the post soviet regimes or at the time of the destruction of the Berlin Wall or violent such as in Iran) were the fore front of the conflict against those entrenched interests. They utilized new technologies and gave up what comfort they had in their lives to go toe to toe with armies and police reputed to be the most vicious the world had ever seen. They did it all because they fundamentally believed that their governments were lying and held money and power to be more important then their citizens.
Think of a moment of all of the things you could do to change the status quo and, relatively speaking, what you are not doing to change.
If you or your organization cannot show how actions align with public declerations, then don't despair. It just means you have to and can take the lead in making a difference. True, change is difficult and the results aren't always pretty or what you had in mind, but change is about progress and committing yourself to not taking the easy way out. It means wanting excellence even when you're struggling with the bare minimum.
Fraternities and Sororities have a built in value system not found in many other organizations. We're respected when we align our actions with our values. But so often I hear that "campus climate" won't let us (stop drinking, stop hazing, stop being disrespectful of others). News flash for you, I'm pretty sure the secret police in Egypt weren't too fond of public rallies calling for the ousting of Hosni Mubarak either. Change, lasting change at any rate, almost never comes from the top down. It comes the other way around as individuals get fed up and aren't satisfied with the bare minimum.
Perfection doesn't come in a day but someone at some point had to say something has to change. If brotherhood is about being honest with each other then it must involve being honest with others because there are, if nothing else, future brothers waiting to join with you.
As Ralph "Dud" Daniel, a founding father of his chapter and the Executive Director Emeritus of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity once said -
For all intents and purposes, no one knows what a post-Mubarak Middle East will look like. As a stalwart secularist, Egypt was the first nation to declare peace with Israel. As a result, billions of dollars in aid and foreign trade poured into Egypt and Israel could reduce it's own military spending. Egypt also acted as a mediator and go-between for Israel, the United States, Hamas, and the multitude of other actors that engage in conflict in the region. They provided intelligence, military support, and assisted in developing the Palestinian State.
They also brutally repressed their people. Egypt intentionally pushed Muslim Brotherhood fighters into Gaza so that they wouldn't wage war on the regime. They were also one of the major recipients of "exported" terrorists in the infamous CIA rendition program.
In other words, Egypt represented a major entrenched interest for the Western World and a strong proponent of the Status Quo.
So, why do I bring this up in a blog about leadership, fraternity life and higher education? I bring it up because Egypt is a symbol of what happens when your stated values are radically and intentionally different from your actions and that no matter how scary change may seem, fighting for the status quo only degrades any individual, organization, or institution.
If you're unhappy with the way you, your chapter, your school (or any other group is run) consider for a moment the bravery exhibited by the citizens of Egypt. Think of the Berliners during the fall of East Germany. Think of the Ukrainians, the Goergians, and the Russians, all of whom fought against the status quo to reassert their committment to democracy and government for all, not just the select few. Think of the secret police organizations in Iran or Latin America, in Egypt, and Russia as they fought tirelessly to protect the entrenched interest. Think of the students who, in every revolution (be it soft such as the post soviet regimes or at the time of the destruction of the Berlin Wall or violent such as in Iran) were the fore front of the conflict against those entrenched interests. They utilized new technologies and gave up what comfort they had in their lives to go toe to toe with armies and police reputed to be the most vicious the world had ever seen. They did it all because they fundamentally believed that their governments were lying and held money and power to be more important then their citizens.
Think of a moment of all of the things you could do to change the status quo and, relatively speaking, what you are not doing to change.
If you or your organization cannot show how actions align with public declerations, then don't despair. It just means you have to and can take the lead in making a difference. True, change is difficult and the results aren't always pretty or what you had in mind, but change is about progress and committing yourself to not taking the easy way out. It means wanting excellence even when you're struggling with the bare minimum.
Fraternities and Sororities have a built in value system not found in many other organizations. We're respected when we align our actions with our values. But so often I hear that "campus climate" won't let us (stop drinking, stop hazing, stop being disrespectful of others). News flash for you, I'm pretty sure the secret police in Egypt weren't too fond of public rallies calling for the ousting of Hosni Mubarak either. Change, lasting change at any rate, almost never comes from the top down. It comes the other way around as individuals get fed up and aren't satisfied with the bare minimum.
Perfection doesn't come in a day but someone at some point had to say something has to change. If brotherhood is about being honest with each other then it must involve being honest with others because there are, if nothing else, future brothers waiting to join with you.
As Ralph "Dud" Daniel, a founding father of his chapter and the Executive Director Emeritus of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity once said -
"Let's be what we say we are, a fraternity, not a club, run by men, not boys, based on ideals, not expediency."
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Waka Waka: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Learn To Love Failure
Wait, am I really advocating failure?
Well, not failure per se but learning from failure. I attended a conference, one of those "leadership" conferences that parades success story after success story, where I had the pleasure to talk with an undergraduate who had a story truly exceptional and different from those of the many speakers whom we had traveled to hear.
It was a story of failure.
During this man's tenure within the chapter, the group had been trying to get more alumni support (both time and for their scholarship fund) and failed three times prior to set up an alumni golf outing. During this man's freshman year, the chapter decided it was going to reach out and set up the tournament. Nobody planed and ultimately it was a foursome between the chapter president, the corresponding secretary, the chapter advisor, and the president of the house corporation. The second year, the chapter again committed to holding the event. This time, the chapter set up a committee and began planning at the beginning of the semester. However, by the time they reserved the course and set up a budget, the semester had almost expired. With only three weeks notice, few alumni were able to rearrange their schedules in time to make it. The chapter took a major financial hit and required their house corporation to bail them out. When I was talking with this undergraduate, the chapter had planned and budgeted the event the semester previous. He had come to this conference with the intent of inviting several high profile national alumni for an event that was almost two and a half months away. When we talked, he was excited at the prospect of starting a phone bank when he went back to campus.
How was it that he was excited to try an event that had failed three times previous? "Because," he told me, "with every year, we learned something new. We had many mis steps, but each time we tried something new. We didn't want to reinvent the wheel, but neither did we want to give up."
This is my central argument for this posting. Leadership, not the appearence thereof, is one tenth management skills, one tenth enthusiasm, and the rest is perseverance! If you fail, learn from your mistakes, then pick yourself up and try again. It's not about the instant win or the big pay off. Fraternity life, life in general, is a marathon not a sprint.
As Shakira sang for the world cup, "Pick yourself up and dust yourself off / [get] back in the saddle. You're on the frontline / Everyone's watching / You know it's serious / We're getting closer / This isnt over"
That, if you want to know, is the one trait that true leaders all share. The rest, as they say, are just details on the path of life.
Waka, Waka
Well, not failure per se but learning from failure. I attended a conference, one of those "leadership" conferences that parades success story after success story, where I had the pleasure to talk with an undergraduate who had a story truly exceptional and different from those of the many speakers whom we had traveled to hear.
It was a story of failure.
During this man's tenure within the chapter, the group had been trying to get more alumni support (both time and for their scholarship fund) and failed three times prior to set up an alumni golf outing. During this man's freshman year, the chapter decided it was going to reach out and set up the tournament. Nobody planed and ultimately it was a foursome between the chapter president, the corresponding secretary, the chapter advisor, and the president of the house corporation. The second year, the chapter again committed to holding the event. This time, the chapter set up a committee and began planning at the beginning of the semester. However, by the time they reserved the course and set up a budget, the semester had almost expired. With only three weeks notice, few alumni were able to rearrange their schedules in time to make it. The chapter took a major financial hit and required their house corporation to bail them out. When I was talking with this undergraduate, the chapter had planned and budgeted the event the semester previous. He had come to this conference with the intent of inviting several high profile national alumni for an event that was almost two and a half months away. When we talked, he was excited at the prospect of starting a phone bank when he went back to campus.
How was it that he was excited to try an event that had failed three times previous? "Because," he told me, "with every year, we learned something new. We had many mis steps, but each time we tried something new. We didn't want to reinvent the wheel, but neither did we want to give up."
This is my central argument for this posting. Leadership, not the appearence thereof, is one tenth management skills, one tenth enthusiasm, and the rest is perseverance! If you fail, learn from your mistakes, then pick yourself up and try again. It's not about the instant win or the big pay off. Fraternity life, life in general, is a marathon not a sprint.
As Shakira sang for the world cup, "Pick yourself up and dust yourself off / [get] back in the saddle. You're on the frontline / Everyone's watching / You know it's serious / We're getting closer / This isnt over"
That, if you want to know, is the one trait that true leaders all share. The rest, as they say, are just details on the path of life.
Waka, Waka
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Innovator's Dillema
Stale and boring is a recipe for disaster. So many times I have been asked the question "how do I motivate my chapter" and so many times the response is nuanced, qualified, and term laden from Kousezes and Posner's Leadership The Challenge. But today, the question crystallized into a question in response.
When was the last time you did something your men wanted to do?
In the cases of failing organizations, the response is usually every friday and saturday night. It's the same thing that's brought these groups before their standards boards before and will likely bring them before those boards again. For those groups, I'm sorry, this is not your post. Though perhaps you may find the project I'm about to propose an interesting alternative?
The greater tragedy is when great groups fall into dissarray and complacency. It's these great groups gone bad that makes being a consultant truly difficult.
Last time, I talked about Southwest as a model of Fraternity behavior, today, let's talk about the rise and fall of Blockbuster. Blockbuster, like many a great chapter, built an empire off of a necessary service and brand loyalty. Fraternities too, came of age in a time when the academia was not concerned with the slightest in the moral development of its students in the greater world around them. Co-curriculars? Forget about it. Many of the more distionguished institutions believed that pure academic discourse would "elevate man" and make better people. Social, even Academic Groups, disagreed, and the Fraternal System flourished. Let's not even ruminate over the failure to provide housing and group building that creates lasting legacies and committment to alma mater vis a vis alumni giving.
All of that has changed. Schools are now in the business of providing pro-active positive co-curricular enrichment. Leadership, once in the purview of Fraternal programming offices and through hands on experience, are now in established offices in academic institutions across the United States. Residence halls are one of the biggest revenue generators outside of tuition for most institutions along with meal plans. Community service is now required of ALL students both during the first year and beyond. Even the trump card of national networking opportunities is eroding as schools increase their presence and outreach to their alumni in a global age.
So what is a fraternity to do? The response is generally tradition. We're going to do what we've always done and do it bigger and better. Bigger parties, bigger shirt designs, bigger new member education processes.
And as traditional actions yield increasingly meager results (law of diminishing returns anyone?), our members become increasingly frustrated.
Blockbuster, one of the biggest traditionalists in the home entertainment field, filed bankruptcy, while many of our best chapters worry about the same. They worry their classes aren't natural leaders, they worry they're not the best of men, they worry that as numbers grow, the organization risks being diminished and at every juncture, men respond to change with "but this is how we've always done things and look how good we were." As you continue to wallow in the past, you become complacent about the future. Just ask Blockbuster. They turned down a significant partnership with Netflix in 2000 and look where they are now...
Remember, Einstein once said "insanity is the repetition of the same act expecting different results." So, when was the last time you tried something truly new?
To fight complacency, I want to pull an old card trick from my days doing improvisation WAY back in the day. It is a little game called "Yes and..." Basically, you get the name of a person, a place, and a job and you must act out a scene one line at a time. You can never say no and you can never go back on previous statements. See where you end up and how you feel about outside of the box thinking? See if you can make committee meetings a game of "Yes and..." To be fair, a kegger is probably not the best response, but keep thinking outside of the box.
Remember, there are always consequences for your actions or inaction.
When was the last time you did something your men wanted to do?
In the cases of failing organizations, the response is usually every friday and saturday night. It's the same thing that's brought these groups before their standards boards before and will likely bring them before those boards again. For those groups, I'm sorry, this is not your post. Though perhaps you may find the project I'm about to propose an interesting alternative?
The greater tragedy is when great groups fall into dissarray and complacency. It's these great groups gone bad that makes being a consultant truly difficult.
Last time, I talked about Southwest as a model of Fraternity behavior, today, let's talk about the rise and fall of Blockbuster. Blockbuster, like many a great chapter, built an empire off of a necessary service and brand loyalty. Fraternities too, came of age in a time when the academia was not concerned with the slightest in the moral development of its students in the greater world around them. Co-curriculars? Forget about it. Many of the more distionguished institutions believed that pure academic discourse would "elevate man" and make better people. Social, even Academic Groups, disagreed, and the Fraternal System flourished. Let's not even ruminate over the failure to provide housing and group building that creates lasting legacies and committment to alma mater vis a vis alumni giving.
All of that has changed. Schools are now in the business of providing pro-active positive co-curricular enrichment. Leadership, once in the purview of Fraternal programming offices and through hands on experience, are now in established offices in academic institutions across the United States. Residence halls are one of the biggest revenue generators outside of tuition for most institutions along with meal plans. Community service is now required of ALL students both during the first year and beyond. Even the trump card of national networking opportunities is eroding as schools increase their presence and outreach to their alumni in a global age.
So what is a fraternity to do? The response is generally tradition. We're going to do what we've always done and do it bigger and better. Bigger parties, bigger shirt designs, bigger new member education processes.
And as traditional actions yield increasingly meager results (law of diminishing returns anyone?), our members become increasingly frustrated.
Blockbuster, one of the biggest traditionalists in the home entertainment field, filed bankruptcy, while many of our best chapters worry about the same. They worry their classes aren't natural leaders, they worry they're not the best of men, they worry that as numbers grow, the organization risks being diminished and at every juncture, men respond to change with "but this is how we've always done things and look how good we were." As you continue to wallow in the past, you become complacent about the future. Just ask Blockbuster. They turned down a significant partnership with Netflix in 2000 and look where they are now...
Remember, Einstein once said "insanity is the repetition of the same act expecting different results." So, when was the last time you tried something truly new?
To fight complacency, I want to pull an old card trick from my days doing improvisation WAY back in the day. It is a little game called "Yes and..." Basically, you get the name of a person, a place, and a job and you must act out a scene one line at a time. You can never say no and you can never go back on previous statements. See where you end up and how you feel about outside of the box thinking? See if you can make committee meetings a game of "Yes and..." To be fair, a kegger is probably not the best response, but keep thinking outside of the box.
Remember, there are always consequences for your actions or inaction.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Flying the Friendly Fraternity Skies
Happy post thanksgiving everyone and L'Chaim to my Jewish friends who still have fond memories of dreidles and gelt (for today also marks the first day of Hannukah)!
Like much of America, I engaged in what has become a time honored tradition of waiting in line, screened, and avoiding crying babies as I flew from one side of the country to another. The stereo cacophony not withstanding, it was actually quite pleasent. Like most of my flights back home, my cheapest fair just happened to be Southwest. As we reached cruising altitude, their very engaging flight crew came through the cabin and handed out peanuts, soda, and other creature comforts.
I promise, this isn't the run up to a Seinfeld-esque joke, I swear.
I paused. Wait a minute, Southwest was one of the few airlines that was still consistently in the black during these hard economic times yet I still got a full can of diet coke (my addiction), snacks, AND I checked two bags for free? Don't even get me started on how nice their new fleet of Boeing 737s are.
What the heck?
Juxtapose this treatment to a flight on American Airlines. The ticket is more expensive, the luggage is certainly not free, and don't even count on inflight meals anymore. How can one airline go from being the low cost airline, provide high amenities, and still remain solvent and profitable in this day in age?
The question is not so much how Southwest can do it but how can any organization remain both profitable and desireable simultaneously.
For Fraternities and Sororities, the costs are often less quanitfiable but no less real and dangerous. Poor planning amounts to uncomfortable delays, failure to collect dues leads to insolvency and less amenities, poor image and reputation (McDonnel Douglass jets or Rolls Royce engines anyone?) leads to few recruits, and hazers are those horrendous "customer service" agents who seem to serve no purpose except to keep you FROM getting to your destination.
On the other hand, Fraternities and Sororities can provide lots of "perks" for a very low "cost." You can create a new member experience that improves their GPA and encourages community involvement. In such a way, a person becomes more attractive in the so called "real world" after college. Your orgnization can provide safe and responsibile events that avoid the hassle and costs of a risk management investigations, or they can co-sponsor educational events with other Greek or NonGreek organizations. The trick is that, unlike the economic axiom that a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow, instead focuses on the idea that a party tonight IS NOT worth the embarassment, costs, clean ups, and opportunity tomorrow.
Now, we can talk theory and ideals all we want, but the real question is for YOU and you alone. Would you rather be a Southwest or would you rather be a TransWorld Airlines (or Continental, or Pan American, or Florida Coastal, or ATA, or...well, you get the picture)
Like much of America, I engaged in what has become a time honored tradition of waiting in line, screened, and avoiding crying babies as I flew from one side of the country to another. The stereo cacophony not withstanding, it was actually quite pleasent. Like most of my flights back home, my cheapest fair just happened to be Southwest. As we reached cruising altitude, their very engaging flight crew came through the cabin and handed out peanuts, soda, and other creature comforts.
I promise, this isn't the run up to a Seinfeld-esque joke, I swear.
I paused. Wait a minute, Southwest was one of the few airlines that was still consistently in the black during these hard economic times yet I still got a full can of diet coke (my addiction), snacks, AND I checked two bags for free? Don't even get me started on how nice their new fleet of Boeing 737s are.
What the heck?
Juxtapose this treatment to a flight on American Airlines. The ticket is more expensive, the luggage is certainly not free, and don't even count on inflight meals anymore. How can one airline go from being the low cost airline, provide high amenities, and still remain solvent and profitable in this day in age?
The question is not so much how Southwest can do it but how can any organization remain both profitable and desireable simultaneously.
For Fraternities and Sororities, the costs are often less quanitfiable but no less real and dangerous. Poor planning amounts to uncomfortable delays, failure to collect dues leads to insolvency and less amenities, poor image and reputation (McDonnel Douglass jets or Rolls Royce engines anyone?) leads to few recruits, and hazers are those horrendous "customer service" agents who seem to serve no purpose except to keep you FROM getting to your destination.
On the other hand, Fraternities and Sororities can provide lots of "perks" for a very low "cost." You can create a new member experience that improves their GPA and encourages community involvement. In such a way, a person becomes more attractive in the so called "real world" after college. Your orgnization can provide safe and responsibile events that avoid the hassle and costs of a risk management investigations, or they can co-sponsor educational events with other Greek or NonGreek organizations. The trick is that, unlike the economic axiom that a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow, instead focuses on the idea that a party tonight IS NOT worth the embarassment, costs, clean ups, and opportunity tomorrow.
Now, we can talk theory and ideals all we want, but the real question is for YOU and you alone. Would you rather be a Southwest or would you rather be a TransWorld Airlines (or Continental, or Pan American, or Florida Coastal, or ATA, or...well, you get the picture)
Friday, November 12, 2010
Promoting Greek Relevance through promoting Entrepreneurship
I've always wondered why business was a bad word and what was so special about brotherhood. I've read a fair number of articles and I've talked with a few people from both the business world and (as a consultant) from undergraduate chapters and their advisors and I seem to fall back on this one simple (albeit probably unpopular) precept
BUSINESS and BROTHERHOOD are values neutral statements. They just...are.
This flies in the face of the rhetoric that follows both. The media, especially since the passage of TARP at the beginning of the financial meltdown, has talked about Main Street versus Wall Street. Big Business controls Washington and Academia, especially the liberal arts, stands in stark contrast to the profit obsessed culture of America.
Yet businesses create jobs, donate more philanthropy dollars, raise awareness, and drive innovation in today's society. And despite a tendency to demonize business, more graduate leave college joking about how their high priced degrees have made them well spoken barristas at starbucks at best and unemployable at worst.
This challenge is seen in the interfraternal world as well. On one hand, we talk about being "brothers for life" yet one of the biggest complaints I hear while I am on the road in big chapters or small is that seniors have dropped off the face of the earth, or worse, contributing to a deliquent culture against the wishes of the officers of the chapter. At the national level, volunteering and giving levels remain far lower than total "lifelong" membership would otherwise suggest was feasable.
As a Leadership Consultant for my Fraternity, my job is to look at some of these issues and develop solutions to address those problems. From my novice perspective on the field, it seems as if we spend a significant amount of time justifying our relevance rather than making ourselves relevent. We fall back on brotherhood or sisterhood and sometimes miss the overal point that our relevance is in fact very much linked with the concerns of undergraduates today - can I get a job for doing this?
Right now I'm working on a project that will try and reframe how we talk with some of our undergraduates about values. Specifically, by linking the values of Fraternity and Sorority life to that of the business world (responsibility, honesty, discipline, creativity, socialization / sales, and community involvement) I hope to make the case that being a good Fraternity Man or Sorority Woman has a direct impact on your appeal in the work force.
In other words, Fraternities can do what many complain their degrees may not necessarily be able to do on their own - get them jobs!
BUSINESS and BROTHERHOOD are values neutral statements. They just...are.
This flies in the face of the rhetoric that follows both. The media, especially since the passage of TARP at the beginning of the financial meltdown, has talked about Main Street versus Wall Street. Big Business controls Washington and Academia, especially the liberal arts, stands in stark contrast to the profit obsessed culture of America.
Yet businesses create jobs, donate more philanthropy dollars, raise awareness, and drive innovation in today's society. And despite a tendency to demonize business, more graduate leave college joking about how their high priced degrees have made them well spoken barristas at starbucks at best and unemployable at worst.
This challenge is seen in the interfraternal world as well. On one hand, we talk about being "brothers for life" yet one of the biggest complaints I hear while I am on the road in big chapters or small is that seniors have dropped off the face of the earth, or worse, contributing to a deliquent culture against the wishes of the officers of the chapter. At the national level, volunteering and giving levels remain far lower than total "lifelong" membership would otherwise suggest was feasable.
As a Leadership Consultant for my Fraternity, my job is to look at some of these issues and develop solutions to address those problems. From my novice perspective on the field, it seems as if we spend a significant amount of time justifying our relevance rather than making ourselves relevent. We fall back on brotherhood or sisterhood and sometimes miss the overal point that our relevance is in fact very much linked with the concerns of undergraduates today - can I get a job for doing this?
Right now I'm working on a project that will try and reframe how we talk with some of our undergraduates about values. Specifically, by linking the values of Fraternity and Sorority life to that of the business world (responsibility, honesty, discipline, creativity, socialization / sales, and community involvement) I hope to make the case that being a good Fraternity Man or Sorority Woman has a direct impact on your appeal in the work force.
In other words, Fraternities can do what many complain their degrees may not necessarily be able to do on their own - get them jobs!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Brotherhood, Spice, and Everything Nice: In Pursuit of a Better Brotherhood
I suppose I should apologize first for my use of the colon in my title. I was told that such fallacies are self-important and ostentatious. However, as a graduate in the political sciences, sometimes I cannot help myself.
I was reading an article in the New York Times today about marriage about what makes a good marriage better. The premise was summed up by the author nicely with the argument that:
"I started wondering why I wasn’t applying myself to the project of being a spouse. My marriage was good, utterly central to my existence, yet in no other important aspect of my life was I so laissez-faire. Like most of my peers, I applied myself to school, friendship, work, health and, ad nauseam, raising my children. But in this critical area, marriage, we had all turned away. I wanted to understand why. I wanted not to accept this."
I began thinking, what if we replaced the word marriage with brotherhood or sisterhood?
So often, once a brother (or sister) is initiated it seems to be the end of the line. When asked about what what defines a chapter, the word brotherhood comes up. If we take for granted that Fraternities and Sororities are not just vehicles to buy friends, then there has to be something about "brotherhood" or "sisterhood" that has a deep and meaningful impact in our lives. In many ways though, it is seemingly difficult to clarify through visits to 30+ organizations across the country and that to me is why this New York Times column was so interesting. Why are we content to leave brotherhood as a set of shared experiences embodied by our ritual and NOT challenge ourselves to Be Better Brothers.
I am going to apologize again, as I go forward, my pronouns will be Fraternity and gender specific (based upon my own) but should not constitute an exclusion to women, gender neutral organizations, or non-Greek groups as well. In many ways the arguments I seek to make here should be applied to any "assumed" relationship you or your social circles may have.
The first question I am invariably asked by most inquiring chapter presidents is "how can I fight apathy?" My response is almost always, "what do you like about being a brother of <<insert chapter designation here>> at <<insert school name here>>?" As I mentioned, brotherhood comes up. The "tightness" of a group and how close they are as friends is what distinguishes our chapter from every other Greek lettered fraternity on campus. Now, I'm sure if I asked other consultants and other groups, they would submit to me the same response. As a social Fraternity, I will not dispute that this is generally a fundamental part of our mission, especially at the local, undergraduate level. This response is certainly in line with everything I have been taught by recruitment specialists as well. "People recruit people" they say. Unless you are hazing your members (which is a whole other issue and for a discussion on Hazing please read both Kyle Hickman's blog and TJ Sullivan, of CAMPUS SPEAK, commentary), then there is no reason why you are not at least passing positive acquaintances with your fellow brothers.
But is being a good guy qualify you as a brother? Surely I have friends who are not brothers and I can absolutely promise you that not every brother I have worked with has been a good friend. The answer lies in how you define brotherhood to begin with.
Let's begin with so-called intangibles. Often times we all have difficulty in putting clear adjectives to our defintion of brotherhood. To quote Justice Potter Stewart in Jacobellis v Ohio, "[Obscenity,] I know it when I see it." Insofar as we meet “good guys” and don’t get creeped out by them, then we accept them as plausible candidates. The problem is that then we need to use the new member education process to get to know these men and thus it becomes easier to qualify them as outside of the brotherhood. This presents the basis of the hazing claim that the pledge is not a brother and therefore must "earn" his letters.
Instead, let us challenge that process and say that we won't give a bid to a man who has not already demonstrated SOME aspects of what good brotherhood is all about. Just like the "good" marriage, the "good" pledge maintains strong positives in academics, empathy, ability to socialize and have fun, honest, and loyal.
So, how does one challenge that paradigm and create a better brotherhood? The first aspect is labeling those good traits. Once you know what you're looking for, you don't need to force members through arbitrary activities that promote a false sense of loyalty. You can recruit the men you want, based on a set criteria. Once you have recruited them, you demonstrate those same qualities yourself. You hold you and your brothers to the same standards as those you bring in and set positive goals. You lead by example and you design activities and lessons based upon the principle that you want your new members to BE BETTER than yourself. You don't do the same traditions because you have done them yourself. Instead, you challenge the status quo.
Think about it like this, even when we're content to survive are we really a brotherhood or are we a club?
Ritual does not make brotherhood. Actions forge brotherhood. Knowledge forges brotherhood. Ideals forge brotherhood. Test yourself and your chapter with open an honest dialogue - about drinking, about hazing, about academic and personal excellence. Creating good brotherhood comes from creating excellence. Creating excellence cannot be accomplished through gimmicks.
The question for you is, what kind of brotherhood do you want? And how are you applying yourself to create a better brotherhood for yourself and your chapter?
Married (Happily) With Issues article from the New York Times
I was reading an article in the New York Times today about marriage about what makes a good marriage better. The premise was summed up by the author nicely with the argument that:
"I started wondering why I wasn’t applying myself to the project of being a spouse. My marriage was good, utterly central to my existence, yet in no other important aspect of my life was I so laissez-faire. Like most of my peers, I applied myself to school, friendship, work, health and, ad nauseam, raising my children. But in this critical area, marriage, we had all turned away. I wanted to understand why. I wanted not to accept this."
I began thinking, what if we replaced the word marriage with brotherhood or sisterhood?
So often, once a brother (or sister) is initiated it seems to be the end of the line. When asked about what what defines a chapter, the word brotherhood comes up. If we take for granted that Fraternities and Sororities are not just vehicles to buy friends, then there has to be something about "brotherhood" or "sisterhood" that has a deep and meaningful impact in our lives. In many ways though, it is seemingly difficult to clarify through visits to 30+ organizations across the country and that to me is why this New York Times column was so interesting. Why are we content to leave brotherhood as a set of shared experiences embodied by our ritual and NOT challenge ourselves to Be Better Brothers.
I am going to apologize again, as I go forward, my pronouns will be Fraternity and gender specific (based upon my own) but should not constitute an exclusion to women, gender neutral organizations, or non-Greek groups as well. In many ways the arguments I seek to make here should be applied to any "assumed" relationship you or your social circles may have.
The first question I am invariably asked by most inquiring chapter presidents is "how can I fight apathy?" My response is almost always, "what do you like about being a brother of <<insert chapter designation here>> at <<insert school name here>>?" As I mentioned, brotherhood comes up. The "tightness" of a group and how close they are as friends is what distinguishes our chapter from every other Greek lettered fraternity on campus. Now, I'm sure if I asked other consultants and other groups, they would submit to me the same response. As a social Fraternity, I will not dispute that this is generally a fundamental part of our mission, especially at the local, undergraduate level. This response is certainly in line with everything I have been taught by recruitment specialists as well. "People recruit people" they say. Unless you are hazing your members (which is a whole other issue and for a discussion on Hazing please read both Kyle Hickman's blog and TJ Sullivan, of CAMPUS SPEAK, commentary), then there is no reason why you are not at least passing positive acquaintances with your fellow brothers.
But is being a good guy qualify you as a brother? Surely I have friends who are not brothers and I can absolutely promise you that not every brother I have worked with has been a good friend. The answer lies in how you define brotherhood to begin with.
Let's begin with so-called intangibles. Often times we all have difficulty in putting clear adjectives to our defintion of brotherhood. To quote Justice Potter Stewart in Jacobellis v Ohio, "[Obscenity,] I know it when I see it." Insofar as we meet “good guys” and don’t get creeped out by them, then we accept them as plausible candidates. The problem is that then we need to use the new member education process to get to know these men and thus it becomes easier to qualify them as outside of the brotherhood. This presents the basis of the hazing claim that the pledge is not a brother and therefore must "earn" his letters.
Instead, let us challenge that process and say that we won't give a bid to a man who has not already demonstrated SOME aspects of what good brotherhood is all about. Just like the "good" marriage, the "good" pledge maintains strong positives in academics, empathy, ability to socialize and have fun, honest, and loyal.
So, how does one challenge that paradigm and create a better brotherhood? The first aspect is labeling those good traits. Once you know what you're looking for, you don't need to force members through arbitrary activities that promote a false sense of loyalty. You can recruit the men you want, based on a set criteria. Once you have recruited them, you demonstrate those same qualities yourself. You hold you and your brothers to the same standards as those you bring in and set positive goals. You lead by example and you design activities and lessons based upon the principle that you want your new members to BE BETTER than yourself. You don't do the same traditions because you have done them yourself. Instead, you challenge the status quo.
Think about it like this, even when we're content to survive are we really a brotherhood or are we a club?
Ritual does not make brotherhood. Actions forge brotherhood. Knowledge forges brotherhood. Ideals forge brotherhood. Test yourself and your chapter with open an honest dialogue - about drinking, about hazing, about academic and personal excellence. Creating good brotherhood comes from creating excellence. Creating excellence cannot be accomplished through gimmicks.
The question for you is, what kind of brotherhood do you want? And how are you applying yourself to create a better brotherhood for yourself and your chapter?
Married (Happily) With Issues article from the New York Times
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