Soundstage.edu

Hey Boosters - allow me to be candid…

~Mike from Soundstage.edu

I know this does not apply to everyone, but it applies to a lot of folks out there who are here quietly looking for advice…

But every group eventually comes to a crossroads where one group of people asks, “how can we improve” and another speaks up from the other side of the room and asks, “how can we protect the way we have always done things?” You know this argument. A scout personality comes forward with an idea, and the sentinel’s favorite response to anyone who questions process with the statement of “well, we have always done it this way…”

And what is interesting to me about that is that statement is coming from those who have the most to say when it comes to things like:

“We can’t find volunteers.”

“Nobody wants to help.”

“No one is coming to meetings.”

“Fundraising isn’t working…”

Well…. If the results aren’t changing, then maybe the process shouldn’t remain the same either. But that is just my opinion and we are all entitled to those.

Look… the world has changed. Parents have changed. Community dynamics have changed. Volunteer expectations have changed… so much has changed but somehow we are still trying to run a playbook for our organization from a manual that was written in 1998 by a boring and crusty old man… and I am 50, so I can say that. I was still practically a kid when that old playbook got adopted.

Listen - tradition is important. Tradition is valuable… I get that. I really do. But, tradition should preserve purpose - not problems.

The goal is not to abandon what works, the goal is to stop defending what doesn’t. Because eventually, “we’ve always done it that way” becomes “we’ve always struggled with that.”

And that makes life difficult for everyone.

Let’s raise the bar, together.

soundstage.edu