Presentation to the IBD 2025

Next year is Mensa's 80th anniversary — our "Oak Jubilee." Over eight decades, we have built a global membership organization that nurtures, supports, and celebrates intelligence. In an increasingly anti-intellectual world, we have created an environment where gifted people of all ages and nationalities can feel safe to "unfold" and be their true selves.

We've come a long way since two Brits met on a train, but despite the best efforts of hundreds of volunteers and staff, past and present, Mensa International faces several significant challenges in our quest to be the world’s foremost society for intellectually gifted people.

 

The sad truth is that the majority of our members probably don’t even realize Mensa International exists. Mensa International is a loosely connected federation of national groups; most members know little about activities in other countries, rarely meet or interact with international members, receive very little international news, are oblivious to international volunteering opportunities, and often remain unaware of or unable to access tools such as the international website or Hub. 

 

Many of our challenges boil down to resources: money and volunteer time.

 

Because resources have always been tight, International Mensa’s approach to technology and advances has been to repeatedly choose cheaper, quicker, easier options. We’ve cobbled together our infrastructure and policies one piece at a time, always focusing on the cost of the individual component being considered at the moment.

 

Today, we have a non-functioning CRM, two websites based on two different systems running on different hosts of different reliabilities, poor security, a lack of integration capabilities, a broken JCA, and missing or obsolete procedures. This fragmentation is no longer working for us. 

 

 

In the 1993 novel Men At Arms by Terry Pratchett, the character Captain Samuel Vimes muses about the Boots Theory of socio-economic unfairness:

 

The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. ... A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. 

... But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

 

It’s time for a reboot.

 

And this time, we're going to allocate enough resources, mainly volunteer time and effort, to do it right. The IMD project is like planting an oak tree for the benefit of future Mensa generations, and like an oak tree, it will be strong and long-lasting.

I keep contributing to discussions, but...

 

The Solution to Everything: Form a Task Force

There is a pattern where information is requested, but no action is taken once it’s provided. Why is that? 

My thoughts:

Mensa is a social organization. The people running it are therefore most invested and knowledgable about being social.

The Board is comprises people who are there because they like being involved, and who enjoy the social aspects of Mensa, and are thus well-known to voters. We get few AMC people who are genuinely skilled at being board members. Few who are there because they get a kick out of doing non glorious often tedious work out of the public eye. Nearly half this current AMC ran unopposed and were just declared elected because no one else felt like taking the roles.

We are all good at identifying areas that need improvement—funding allotments, governance structures, communication processes, making members happy and motivated, managing assholes, etc. So with the best of intentions, the AMC declares that they will address an issue by forming a task force to... um... to well do task force things and... um... well you know, address the problem. There. The Board is tackling the problem. Yay Board!

They assume “someone” will do the work of looking up ASIEs or crunching the numbers or writing the communication releases. No one wants to be that someone.

Some task forces return with a list of how to solve the problem. But then that list is handed over and no one knows how to drive the next fifty million steps to implement any solutions because we usually don’t have leaders and drivers- we have popular socialites. Additionally, often the recommended solutions require change that will make the AMC members uncomfortable— either because they’ll have to face howling members or they’ll have to give up some privilege.

Occasionally they will dig around for the quickest easiest solution so they feel like they did something. Need a better funding formula? Meh— just give everyone an extra dime and call it a day. Board struct too unwieldy and ineffective? Just toss the past and past past chairs, congratulate yourselves on decreasing the cost of their travel, and pat yourselves on the back.

But tear apart the funding structure, managing a brand new never-done process, explaining the nuances of how it really IS fair even though it might look like some Groups get more and some get less to members who want and hate change... too much work.

Improve finances? Slice the biggest expense and get rid of a staff or two.

Alter processes so that genuine skill instead of popularity at RGs is what gets you the delightful free travel and fame and glory... um... who wants to plot their own demise?

Get the ball rolling on a change that will take three or four years to come to fruition (because of the timelines of bylaw changes at AML or Mil level)? Why bother when this board won’t be here to get the credit and glory for it?

Have the battle with the IBD to change the constitution to enable easier removal of bad apples... waaaay too intimidating a prospect.

But form a task force... that’s an immediate thing to do that doesn’t require any actual doing.

Getting Stuff Done- Setting Goals and Rewards for Myself

I’m occasionally asked “How do you get so much done? Do you ever sleep?”

Yes, I sleep. And I eat and shower and keep the house relatively tidy. The key is that I’m hyper organized and a list-maker.

As Communications Officer, I keep two running lists on my little desktop notepad application: A TO-DO list for my several Mensa functions and a WHAT I DID list for the same categories.

As I think of things, or read questions or comments on various threads, I jot down action items for my To-Do list. For example, I might read a post from a LG Webmaster expressing a wish for a clickable owl icon that would lead to the Group’s Steemit account so their members can participate and earn money for the Group. I'd add “Clickable owl for LG Steemit account” to my To-Do list. A conversation at an RG hospitality might result in “Develop training for how to moderate a Mensa Connect community.”

Some of the items on my To-Do list are tiny, such as “Ask staff to confirm the ACE Awards are gone.” Some items are large: “Establish clear guidance on local group the websites & social media.” Some are medium: “Discuss Bulletin advertising policy update ideas with Staff and Marketing Officer” and “Find a spreadsheet guru for the Volunteerism Task Force project.”

I have an overall goal of doing at least something for Mensa every day. As I sit at my computer noodling around unproductively, I’m constantly seeing the To-Do list and scrolling through it to find a task that is the right size for my mood and energy at the moment. Sometimes I’m just not feeling super productive, so I pick an easy one like dashing off a “Hey Charles, whatever happened to the ACE Awards?” email. Somedays I’m swirling with ideas and energy and tackle a larger thinking and writing project. Occasionally, all I manage to do is bump a discussion post in one of my committees so it will get noticed again.

Some of the items on the To-Do list can be broken down into smaller steps. “Find a spreadsheet guru for the Volunteerism Task Force project” becomes “Draft ad for Volunteer Marketplace,” “Send ad to staff to upload” “Ask Staff if there have been any applicants,” “Review applicants and contact them with a yay or nay,” “Ask Staff to add new spreadsheet guru to the Vol Task Force.” Lots of tiny, doable tasks that I can reward myself for.

Which brings me to my second list—the WHAT I DID list. This is my reward—being able to add a bullet point of accomplishment. 

Here’s October 23-November 23, 2021 (yes, this covers only a single month):

Communications Officer 

• Asked CB to confirm that ACE Awards are no longer and to update the website accordingly.
• Asked past Comm Officers what they know about Com3
• Some back and forth with Tim V and staff about a couple members not being able to  have access to their regional MC community. Responded to the people who’d been suspended from the Region 8 MC—basically told them it’s not my bailiwick.
• Dug into whatever became of Com3, which is still listed in the TOS for MC.
• Reviewed Nov/Dec Bulletin
• Teleconference with staff and Vogt about MC issues and needs.
• Mucked around learning how to be an admin on MC.
• Long phone call with CommComm member about ideas and training materials.
• Drafted intro post to new MC community for admins. Leanred that there is great need for manuals and training.
• Two hour zoom call with staff to learn how to be a super admin.
• Participated in a Meet the AMC session at HalloweeM.
• Consulted with Lead MC Moderator on improved wording for automated moderation messages.
• Sent a letter to LG communications people covering return addresses, communication preferences, and using MC for sharing content fodder.
• Curated library content of Pubs Officer MC community.
• Long productive video conf with IT and Comm staff regarding many topics: Mensa Connect use, training, & promotion; AML’s servers and PHP upgrade plans; Wordpress sites on and off the AML server, LG Editors’ software & content; how the NO can safeguard LGs’ Facebook presence if the member who created it stomps off in a huff; and Website organization.
• Checked back and closed out on suggestions made for onboarding email to editors.
• Nudged CB again for a few things on the September and October request list.
• Helped several editors find the library section of their MC community.
• Began editing & updating MC TOS.
• Attended AMC meeting in Charlotte & presented an LDW on Communications.
• Created graphic explanation of Comm Pref options.
• Asked Writer’s SIG for contributions to the Editors' library.
• Worked with RVC2 to draft a document of members’ rights & responsibilities.
• Responded to more inquiries about Oral History Project communications.
• Filled out form to do a M&G session at the 2022 AG.
• Clarified newsletter indicia information and LG membership directory rules for LG Editors.
• Wrote article about Mensa Connect for Bulletin.
• Began clarifying regulations about Known Office of Publication for LG newsletters using periodicals permits.
• Discussed policy on advertising in the Bulletin with Marketing Officer and Bulletin editor.
• Attended Webinar on using WordPress.

Communications Committee

• Added Michael F.
• Tweaked draft of Editors Survey
• Michael conducted a 4 question PHONE survey of all 124 LocSecs to find out what software is used for newsletters, what SM venues are used, and a bit about LG websites. Results are interesting and generating many items on the growing To-Do list.
• Created a training video on the basics of using Mensa Connect.
• Began creating training videos on the basics of Administrating/Moderating Mensa Connect.

 Volunteerism Task Force

• Reviewed an old LDWs on the topic.
• Reframed some questions topics and posted to get everyone back on task. Bumped a few times.
• Looked at massive data pull staff did to correlate each groups’ geographical square milage and general population density.
• Generated and refined a list of volunteer role categories in Mensa.
• Reviewed and re-posted questions the TF wants to answer.
• Drafted Vol MP ad for a spreadsheet wizard.
• Wrote up more reviews of LDWs.
• Drafted scale for RVCs to use to rank their groups’ volunteerism levels.
• Wrote up summaries of two more articles.
• Discussed AML’s current “Volunteer management system” with Trevor.
• Asked RVCs to rank their groups volunteerism levels.
• Created second draft of formal report so far.

If I were Communications Officer…

(I'm not.)

Major areas needing attention:

• Facebook presence and functioning of that community so that it benefits Mensa as a whole. This includes finding a solution to the bullying without squashing the free spirit of the members who participate.

• Updating and enhancing communication methods between Local Groups and their members.

• Managing the vast amounts of information in a way that members can access it easily and effectively.

I know that data does not always support assumptions, as in the case of “large groups need less money because they spend less on newsletters due to economy of scale.” I want real objective facts and data first; those should determine the options and most effective choices.

Unlike many, I do not assume that my intuition and observations regarding these issues is the one and only correct view. I won’t even assume that the two or three solutions floating around are the best ones. I would start at the very beginning--by working with a committee to determine what exactly we need to know in in order to make the best policy decisions. And I’d want to use the PDQ to find at least one member with a background in marketing research survey construction, so we don’t just ask questions that lead respondents to answers we want.

For example, I want to know who uses the Facebook group and AML forums. What kinds of members are they? Why do they participate in that way, and what needs do those online venues meet that SIGs and in-person get-togethers do not meet? What kinds of members do NOT use those venues, and why? And by “kind” of member, I don't mean just age; I want to know about the sets of personality types and information-consumption habits of those who gravitate to or away from online communities.

I would arrange to interview (not just survey) members representing all ages about how they really get and manage information regarding Mensa participation options.

I want to know what actually motivates and enables volunteers at the LG level to create and maintain communication vehicles. Clearly it wasn’t the annual awards and based on research I did many years ago, it wasn't funding.

I want to know what sorts of members use what sorts of nationally-generated data/guides/archives/materials. Why do they use them? How do they most comfortably gather and consume what they need and want?

A "Natural" Size of 50,000 Members?

I’ve been cleaning my basement, and found an old Bulletin. I flipped it open to the Chairman’s column and read this (sharing because I found this mentality-of-the-past interesting in light of my post earlier this week.):

From Across the Table (Chairman’s column) March 1994

...Growth of the society has been a consideration one way or another during virtually all of my 25-year membership. We have promoted growth through both membership contests and heavy advertising. And, to some extent, the pursuit of growth was successful—obviously there are more Mensans now than there were 15 or 25 years ago. But Development Officer The Joyce Lundeen and I agree that we seem to have reached our peak at about 50,000 members. Heavy investments in advertising raised that number to nearly 56,000. Continued heavy investments in advertising maintained that number only tenuously, and have not been successful in increasing it.

Our working hypothesis is that Mensa has a “natural” size of about 50,000 and a “natural” annual attrition rate through all causes of about 12 percent. Our goal, then, is to shape and size a development program that is appropriate for our resources and that aims to maintain our natural size by minimizing attrition and attracting enough new members to prevent stagnation.

…Abandoning growth as an organizational goal does not imply a conscious effort to reduce the size of the society or to permit it to dwindle to nothing. It means only this: allowing the membership to stabilize in numbers. The fundamental idea is to manage today’s society with today’s resources rather than spending money we don’t have on a society that doesn’t exist....

Personally, I’m torn. The “spend what you have on what you already are”… seems rational. But looking only at what is and not at what could be… seems like a recipe for Mensa eventually heading the way of the pony express or Blockbuster.

A Toolkit for AMC and other Leaders

Now this looks like a very useful thing for leaders who are trying to think at high levels and still hope to accomplish something more practical than coming up with yet another "air is good—everyone should breathe it" type of strategic plan.

"All you need is a group and a goal: The CAT isn’t a rigid template for problem solving. It's designed to be flexible and accessible, with an action map and activities arranged into six categories, from building a group, to imagining new ideas, to planning change. The toolkit challenges groups to move beyond discussion to action, continually clarifying their shared goals based on what they learn through the problem-solving process. The result is a holistic approach to help groups tackle issues in their communities."


Download free

Confirmation Bias

I do a lot of research and report-creation because supposedly the AMC wants to make decisions based on objective information. Then I fume in frustration when the reports are ignored and change is  avoided. And then I fume some more when members complain that change is needed. Perhaps I'm just bashing my head against a brick wall.

The Misconception: Your opinions are the result of years of rational, objective analysis.

The Truth: Your opinions are the result of years of paying attention to information which confirmed what you believed while ignoring information which challenged your preconceived notions.

Read the whole article here.

Links to Some of My Reports

Matt helped me set up DropBox, and now I have several of the big reports I've written for Mensa available for anyone who wants to download and read them:


The RVC Conundrum Background Paper 2011
The Local Group Service & Funding Report 2011
Governance Task Force Report 2010
InterLoc Background Paper 2010
Name & Logo Workbook 2009
Local Group Service & Funding Report 2006

Old Goals from 2004-Still Pertinent Today

Double-posing today as I continue my review of old LocSec documents. Here are the goals I set for myself back in 2004. What fascinates me is how well they align with AML's current strategic goals.

Robin’s Goals as Local Secretary 2004

Goal #1. Major group functions will continue despite the failure of any one person.

Check that the following positions have updated job descriptions and details:

Pubs            Treasurer            Scholarship Chair

LocSec            Gifted Children Coordinator            GOBS Liaison

Editor            Activities Bulletin Editor            SIGHT Coordinator

Programs            HalloweeM  Chair            Secretary

Publicity            Hospitality Chair            Circulation Manager

Membership            Project Inkslinger /Literacy            CAP Chair

BusMgr            Testing /Proctor Coordinator           

            Actively request monthly reports for each of the above.

            Actively offer or locate assistance for the above.

            Actively solicit replacements before volunteers burn out.

Goal #2. The budget will end with a surplus.

            Ride herd on keeping costs down.

            Support fundraising projects

            Whip up volunteer enthusiasm for ‘Weem and MindGames.

Goal #3. Members will be informed about decisions affecting the CAM and AML.

            Review AMC minutes

            Write a monthly LocSec column.

Goal #4. Paperwork will be filed on time.

            Show up; stay on top of things; be responsive to requests.

Goal #5. Members will feel that they’re being attended to.

            Answer calls and email promptly.

            Attend a variety of local activities.

Goal #6. CAM will comply with all AML and CAM bylaws, Standing Orders, & ASIEs.

            Request guidelines, ASIEs, SOs, and bylaws from AML.

            Gather all CAM SOs, ASIEs, and bylaws.

            Comb through all minutes to finish up the above gathering.

            Appoint a CAM committee to review ASIEs and SOs and bylaws

Determine current appropriateness.

                        Draft motions for proposed changes.

                        Delineate steps for making bylaws changes.

                        Initiate bylaw changes.

Goal #7. CAM will overtake SFM as second largest group.

Support publicity efforts.

Goal #8.  Information will be consistent in announcements and publications

            SIGs

                        Contact Cat for AML definitions

                        Find CAM ASIE or SO about SIGs

                        Confirm or draft a CAM definition

                        Update ChiMe, Web site, etc.

            Admission Costs

                        Search holy documents for any information. If none is found, initiate

motion confirming age 7 (or 8) as age under which children are free.

                        Update ChiMe and Web.

This Week's Project: LGS&F

In addition to lawn mowing and prepping for a weekend party, I'm hoping to pull together all the  data and documents and survey results into a readable, useful report for the Local Group Service and Funding task force.

Here's what my dining room table looks like with all the information we're looking at. Some of what you see are 60-page report and surveys.

Just Sharing

I'm home and tired and I'll work on writing up more notes this week, but meanwhile, here is
Frank Fortin's blog post about Digital Now.

Notes from Digital Now: Strategic Thinking

I went to many presentations and scribbled notes. What follows are some of those notes and things that made me say "Ahah!" or "hmmmm..."

Operational effectiveness means performing activities better than rivals perform them. In contrast, strategic positioning means performing different activities from rivals or performing similar actives in different ways. Ideally, we need to do both.

Too many execs surveyed say they don't have the capabilities to support their strategy for success or have too many conflicting priorities.

Is strategy about the future, or is about how to provide services now?

This is what our strategic planning should be addressing:
* How will we create value for our members?
* What must we do well to deliver that value?
* What are we going to deliver to whom?




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Digital Now

Mensa collects members' cell numbers, but not permission to text them. Time to do that the same way we do with their email addresses.


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Digital Now

Oohhh... If we could send out renewal notices via SMS and take payment via SMS...


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Digital Now

keynote speaker: Tomi Ahonen www.tomiahonen.com

"In a connected age, sharing information is power."

How big is mobile? 5.2 billion mobile phone subscribers versus 4.9 billion television, Internet, personal computer users.

How addicted are we?Average user checks his phone150 times per day.

Text messaging is the primary use of cell phones, not voice calls.
SMS alone is 3 times as big as email. MMS is a little smaller, but that is the next wave.

42% of American teens can send text messages blindfolded. 61% would choose their phone over TV. Only .3% choose email for their preferred communication.

Where are Mensa's younger members? ON THEIR PHONES. Where are Mensa's social events? At homes, restaurants, and email lists. See the problem?


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Response about the Governance Task Force, Tecker, and Money

Daniel Gilmore asked, on MPol:

Well, I'm baffled. Isn't this the exact issue we just gave The Tecker Group $30,000 to help us with? As I recall (correctly) it was Recht's baby; now, he's the seconder on Elissa's proposal.

Regardless of who gets the fame and glory of being mover sand seconder, the AMC as a whole was very much in agreement that something needs to be done to make our governance structure leaner and more efficient and modern.

WHAT, pray tell, happened to our thirty K? I was told last year that even a 5% savings on a $600,000 NO budget would equal what we spent on Tecker (yes, I passed my grade school arithmetic courses; i concur) BUT I haven't seen the savings yet. 

I’m not sure how to address this question; I don’t recall thinking that Tecker was going to come in and tell us how to spend less on stuff. The AMC decided it wanted to have Tecker, and the Finance committee prepared a budget which arranged the money so we could, even if it meant giving up various other things, like updated bookmarks, new office chairs, an extra travel day for a staff person to the AG, whatever. We didn’t take funds from one specific National Office expense pot and put it in the  Tecker pot. We fiddled with all the numbers according to the priorities set by the AMC until the bottom line was something we felt we could live with. So I can’t tell you what, specifically, we gave up in order to have Tecker work with us.

And NOW we're doing a "task force"??

Please -- Robin, Elissa, John R -- someone -- tell me just what we've done with Tecker's 30K (or more) of advice, and when we plan to do with the new task force's recommendations. Is this or is it not covering the same ground we just covered with Tecker?

Ok, understand that you’re getting just my personal answer, that I’m not speaking for the AMC, and that I’m not on the planning committee. I’m basically supportive of the whole planning schtick, however. I think a Board of Directors should look ahead and give thought to long-term directions and goals and whatnot. On the other hand, I admit a hefty skepticism about the process, probably because I’m not as conversant with the modern business buzzwords and feel more comfortable just rolling up my sleeves and doing stuff... but that’s just me.

Anyway, what did we get for out $30K? We had Tecker folks come spend a few days with us, giving up some pretty good leadership development types of training. They walked us through many exercises that resulted in the AMC writing and approving a mission/vision/strategic plan, which we’ve actually referred to many times since. They drummed into our heads the process for gathering and analyzing facts and data and discussing “mega issues” before crafting motions—a good thing, I think. Before, someone would just propose an idea and we’d all chatter about it then vote—all too often emotionally, but rarely would any of us have the sobering objective data at hand with which to make really informed decisions. They gave us templates for how to develop background papers for “mega issues,” which we have used a few times. They gave us lots to read about leadership, planning, and roles of directors and staff and members. They rah-rahed us and pumped us up. We were to have had one more chunk of... training from them, including a detailed look at our governance needs and how to improve them, but we had to cut that session with Tecker from the budget because of the lawsuit. So now we have a GTF to do the job, instead.

Was the $30K worth what we got? Everyone has a different answer to that. Me, I’m on the fence. We got good stuff from working with Tecker. The AMC is working together and less emotionally than it used to. On the other hand, that was a lot of money. Too much? I dunno. I don’t know what other organizations spend for this sort of training. Did I personally vote yes for bringing Tecker in? Yes, I did, but skeptically and only because at the time of the vote we were in good financial positions (as in before the lawsuit).

Was it worth the cost in hindsight? Again, I’m kinda on the fence. I don’t know how to do an objective cost-benefit analysis of such a thing.  I’m not sure I got much out of it, which used to make me think I was being really dense for not groking what they were talking about, until I realized that my problem was that I’d been doing this plan-gather data-analyze before deciding approach all along (remember the Local Group Funding Report?). I just never used the fancy buzzwords for it. Well, if Tecker has made at least a few other national-level leaders start to think this way, then perhaps that is a good thing.

What will we do with the recommendations of the GTF? Um… I cannot answer that. I hold on to the hope that we will see some major bylaws changes on a ballot in the near future that will create a very different Board of Directors. I sure as hell hope we come up with something more than “kick off the past chairs and let everyone vote for the currently appointed officers.” If you are curious, I wrote a big long post about my thoughts on governance restructuring back in June.  

Mission Statements

Sometimes I just read and muse about leadership in general. I occasionally pick up gems from the Acronym blog.

On March 17, there was a post about mission statements... which have always annoyed me as just pretty words that, although agreeable, carry as much practical governance use as "Air is good to breathe."

Anyway, this blog writer  wrote that he wanted

"something that will help me justify killing a program or choosing one idea over another."

Yes!

Use as many or as few pretty words as necessary, but come up with a mission / vision / strategic plan / mantra that can, in a very practical sense, guide the active decisions we need to make on a daily basis.

Does AML have such a thing? 

Hmmm......

Robin’s Goals and To-Do list

Ugh. I'm so behind on all of this!

Communications Officer

• Ask ___ to head up Publication Handbook revision (replacing the current Editors’ Handbook and including information for Webmasters).

• Write occasional Editors and Webmasters letters or articles for AML Today.

• Nudge Thomas to review the 2009 PRP and prepare for the 2010 program.

• Write a quarterly letter to LG editors and Webmasters.

• Develop a FAQ for LG editors, to be sent each time a new editor comes onboard.

• Learn about and make decisions regarding Intelligent Mail Barcodes and Mailer Ids.

Communications Committee

• Create a list of all groups and how to find their e-versions.

• Develop a process so all the necessary eyeballs see all the electronic newsletters every month.

• Revise ToS for Online Community.

• Review the Elephant — will it stand up to service expansions such as chat or blogs?

• Write evergreen content for the Bulletin and InterLoc, such as how to subscribe to Interloc, NewsFlash, MensaWorld, online directory, find AMC agendas and minutes, forums, etc.

• Review guidelines and discuss the direction and purpose of InterLoc in an age of elists and forums, starting with identifying members’ needs and then determining how to best use all available services to meet those needs.

• Review PRP’s purpose and evaluate of whether it’s still fulfilling that purpose.

• Develop an annual newsletter survey to accommodate delivery mechanisms, postal permits, other editorial needs.

Name & Logo Committee

• Review all LG and SIG Web site for name and logo use.

• Write an article for InterLoc.

• Ensure all RVCs, and LG editors and Webmasters have copies of the N&L workbook.

• With the Communications Committee, develop a process so all necessary eyeballs see all newsletters every month.

• Identify steps to take when we learn of a newsletter or Web site violation.

• Develop standardized steps and letter/email templates for correcting internal violations.

• Tell Jared end of license plate idea.

• Create list for RVCs of what to look for .

• Create a reporting form for RVCs.

• Identify and present issues for revision to MIL N&L Committee.

• Update N&L Workbook pp 10-11 to clarify that AML owns the mark in the US.

  

Charter Committee

• Work w/ Howard & Heather to get it sent to LGs.

Finance Committee

• Review dept plans and priorities.

• Read and ponder and investigate all the financial stuff in preparation for January meeting.

• Maybe write a long response, with numbers, to Lee’s sky-is-falling questions.

Gifted Youth Committee

• Help GYComm develop goals.

• Help GYComm develop guidelines for publishing of kids’ info in Fred, LG newsletters, etc.

• Submit those guidelines to RM Comm for input.

• Help GYComm plan for what they want $ for.

• Work with ComComm to develop policy regarding kids’ info in FRED and similar publications.

LG Service & Funding Committee

• Conduct additional research as needed.

• Develop metrics for assessment of service delivery.

• Develop a funding and incentive plan to support Local Group service to members.

• Write a monster report.

MIL Name & Logo book

• Present questions to elist to solicit answers.

• Write new text sections for international audience and issues.

• Sew it all together and present.

AMC Communication

While digging through old emails for other reasons, I found this. Looks like the start --and end-- of a Mega Issue discussion about AMC Communications a year ago.

I asked the AMC:

1) What types of internal-AMC communication are necessary?
2) Of those, which are for the eyes of we 22 only?
3) When information becomes appropriate to share outside the AMC, who decides and how are the rest of us informed?
4) What communication venues does AML currently offer and support?
5) What are the technological comfort and skill levels of each AMC member?
6) What are the predicted technological comfort and skill levels of each incoming AMC member?
7) Why do some current AMC members rarely or never participate in electronic discussions?

Interestingly, my records indicate that I received no answers to these questions. Sigh. So much for a information-driven decision-making process. Maybe I'll nudge them again, since one  of the formally-blessed Mega Issues this AMC identified in July is about communication.