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.

New CommComm Project: Newsletters

Now that the giant LG Communications Guide is in the hands of the Leadership Development committee, awaiting approval ( or coming back to me for revisions), I find that my to-do list for Communications is sparse. I suppose that's good; it means I've gotten most of what I intended to do this term done. 

But it also means I'm bored.

So recently I got CommComm started on a new giant project to really dig deep into all aspects  of newsletters to see what we can learn that might help us better help Local Groups. Like all my big vague research projects, we're starting by generating a long list of questions we'd like to have answered.

• What correlations are there between LG size, geography, newsletter quality, and newsletter cost?
• What are newsletter purposes for different age demographics?
• Why do members choose paper newsletters
• Does age correlate to paper vs digital choice?
• What do we really mean when we say newsletters are a membership benefit?
• Is there a correlation between population density and the value members place on the newsletter?
• Does knowledge of a more expansive digital newsletter being offered make members-who-want-paper feel disenfranchised or undervalued?
• What do all the paper newsletters look like-- number and size of pages, content, efficient use of space, paper weight, color, etc.?
• How much do LGs spend on [paper] newsletters? Each LG does something different, but can we come up with a concrete average cost-per-quantity of content?

New Big Project!

As the LG Comm Guide project nears the finish line, I find myself casting about for something significant to do. And I've come up with my Next Big Project:

LG Newsletters-- current status, costs, who wants paper and why, etc.

I plan to approach this like I did with the Volunteerism project- generating a million questions, researching, and letting recommendations bubble up to the surface.

I feel energized again!

Getting Members & Putting on Big Events—that's all

I have several projects in progress, and every single one grinds to a halt when I get to the point of needing staff input. I’ve nagged and kvetched and nagged, to no avail. At last I’ve discovered why I can’t get anything to the finish line.

It’s not that staff disapproves of my initiatives. It’s not that they don’t like me personally. 

 

The problem is that the staff has been given other priorities that take up all their time all year long:

 

January to April — Renewal season. 

April to July — AG preparation and implementation. It’s the big event and every year more and more has to be done by staff.

July to September — Post AG catch up and perhaps a vacation or two.

September to November — All the tech work for the next AG, MindGames, and Colloquium.

November to December — More AG/MindGames, & Colloquium work.

December to January —Holidays, vacations, and prepping for renewal season.

 

In other words, we’ve only hired enough staff to tend to getting members and making the big national events happen. That’s it.

 

There are no man-hours available for improving websites, creating new this or that, or even having thick discussions about how current processes and policies could be improved.

 

The solution is to either allocate more money to hire more staff OR to reassign some of the work to volunteers. Unfortunately, the first option doesn’t sit well with the members or the AMC, and the second option doesn’t sit well with the staff.

 

And we wonder why AML seems so clunky and behind the times.

Brick Walls

Every project I set out to work on lately is running into a wall at the stage where I need information from someone else. While this happens all year long, it's particularly bad between April and June, when all of AML seems to shut down except for handling renewals and preparing for the AG.

That's a quarter of the year when progress on anything else grinds to a halt. I am beyond frustrated.

Lately I've been trying to work on the section of the LG Communications Guide that covers websites. There is ZERO training, and few resources provided by AML. Further complicating matters is the resources AML does offer are so outdated that they can't be used with the other resources developed by the Marketing Committee (WordPress templates). And those templates, while pretty and well-crafted, require a novice webmaster to know far far more than they do.

Everyone seems to be working in individual silos with no one coordinating and no one really considering their audience or applying appropriate education techniques. No wonder LGs are floundering.

Well damn, Robin, this sounds like a communication issue. If only AML had a proper Communications Officer to sort it all out.

Sigh.

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.

Why Do I Even Bother?

“We need a new formula for better LG funding."
Robin researches, surveys, crunches numbers, researches more, develops fancy spreadsheets and graphs.

“Here you go—a better way to fund Groups.”

... crickets.


“We need to improve our governance structure and systems.”
Robin researches , surveys, crunches numbers, researches more, develops spreadsheets and graphs.

“Here you go—a whole list of ways to improve our governance.”

... crickets.


“We need a comprehensive Code of Conduct.”
Robin gathers everything we already have and puts it into readable form.

“Here you go—a CoC that doesn’t require any additional motions.”

... crickets.


“We need to improve the quantity and happiness of volunteers.”
Robin researches , surveys, crunches numbers, researches more, develops spreadsheets and graphs.

“Here you go—more than a hundred ways to increase volunteerism.”

...crikets. 

The March 2022 AMC Meeting

The AMC meeting at the National Office went well this past weekend. It was long and covered a lot of topics, but things were calm, respectful, and productive. All the motions I put forward passed, including revision of Appendix 23, aka the Elephant!

There seems to be growing excitement and anticipation about the results of my Volunteerism Task Force, which gives me even more motivation and hopes for improvement.

All in all, I'm feeling positive.

AWOL Committees

I'm flabbergasted and frustrated beyond belief by people who eagerly join committees and then ignore requests for helping  don't participate in discussions. I mean, they just seem to vanish completely without ever telling anyone they've changed their minds about helping out.

Most of the time I just slog on without their help and input. But there are plenty of times when a project or process MUST have others' input in order to move forward. When those people simply don't respond... the project stagnates and goes nowhere. This is happening too often in too many committees.

Damnit, Robin, that's exactly the sort of thing your Volunteerism Task Force should be investigating and solving.

Yeah, well doing that would be much easier if I could get my task force members to... you know, read and respond!

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.

Feeling Frustrated

 

What's Up With Outdated Handbooks?

Once upon a time, there were Handbooks. Someone (or a small team of someones) would write and write and write about everything they could think of a specific officer might need to know how to do. Some would write formally. Some would write folksy. Some would use a question-answer format. Others would write prescriptively. Some would write bare bones and assume the officers reading the handbook would figure out the details on their own.  Some focused on old technology. Some were more in tune with modern computing and Internet possibilities. Some were overly opinionated; some were so neutral as to give no real advice at all.

Once in a while, someone would push to revise and update an entire handbook, never thinking about consistency with other handbooks. And of course, as soon as the ink was dry on the paper, the AMC would change a policy and information would be out of date again.  Additionally, finding a volunteer to edit 30 or 60 detailed pages was daunting and never done often enough.

No one reviewed them as a whole, which meant topics shared in different handbooks were inconsistent. As handbooks got more and more out of date, those inconsistencies became even more glaring. A few examples are references to Mensa Testing Day, Proctor Coordinators, InterLoc, blue pencils, Compuserve bulletin boards, newsletter exchanges, dues rates and LG reimbursements, IRS requirements, who to contact at the National Office for what, and so on.

As someone recently said, the Handbook revision process was broken and ineffective.

Very.

And so, two years ago, it was decided to scrap the entire concept of Handbooks and develop a new way of archiving and sharing and managing the ton of information officers and other volunteers need to know to do their jobs well.

No
More 
Handbooks.

Furthermore, we have developed a plan to ensure consistency of information and timely updates for all officers who share a need for certain sections of information (think of Treasurers and LocSecs who both need information about budgeting and tax reporting). All old-style handbooks are being ”ripped” en-masse into content sections that will be archived in the almost-ready-to-test-drive Compendium section of the AML Web site.

There will be hundreds of content sections. A LocSec’s Guide may, for example, comprise Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 13, 14, 29, 33, 34, and 56. The Treasurer’s Guide might comprise Sections 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 34, and 108. But going forward, both the LocSecs and the Treasurers will be reading the exact same advice and rules on how to create budgets, how to report information for tax purposes, and how to juggle RG finances. And when a LocSec suddenly finds herself having to wear the Gifted Youth cap as well, all of those content sections will be easily accessed and consistent with what he or she has already read elsewhere about the GY program and regulations.

It will all be updated online, though you will still be able to download and print out a pdf if you wish. The updating process will be ongoing— not “static until we get around to it again" like the old system. No one or two people will have to update an entire handbook ever again; subject experts will review and update a few pages at a time, which is a far less daunting task to ask of volunteers.

Many sections are policy or procedural information (what day of the month does distribution get mailed, what is the rate Groups are reimbursed for contacting lapsed members, what tedious accounting details does the IRS want this year, who is the staff person to call about a member not receiving a newsletter, etc) and will be  kept up-to-date by the staff as  necessary.

So where are we in this process?

I have pulled apart nine handbooks so far, focusing on the LG Officers (Treasurers, LocSecs, Membership Officers, Editors, Area Coordinators, GYCoordinators, Mediators, Testing Program, and SIGHT) and have created over 100 separate "Sections" that will comprise the new Leadership Guide file base. I anticipate having 200 Sections or so for these nine Guides when all is said and done.

The sections from the Gifted Youth handbook and the SIGHT handbook have been given to those committee chairs for review and revision. The pieces about the Testing Program are about to be passed on to the Testing Committee for input.

Howard and his team are working on the online structure that will house, organize, and maintain these sections. Howard expects to have a working demo ready for the AMC by December.

Hat Juggling

Wow, it's been forever since I posted anything.

But I have been plenty busy with my three main Mensa responsibilities: Exec Editor of the Foundation's Mensa Research Journal, Chair of the MIL Name and Logo Protection Committee, and AML's Officer Guide Coordinator. I still proctor for my Local Group now and then, too.

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

Local Group Expenditures

I should blog something, but I've been hard at work on the Local Group Service & Funding report. Just to take up space, here's a graph from the data I'm working with.

Local Group Expenditures ( EOFY 2010 reported data)

Goals for the Next Couple Months

Haven't posted in a while, sorry. For those of you who wonder what I do, here are my goals for between now and March ( assuming I ever get over this nasty cold I've got— two weeks and I'm still coughing up a lung a few times a day):

• Nudge the LG Service & Funding Task Force back into working mode and get that project done, including having a concrete list of what members most need and want from LGs and how much those things cost.

• Finish guiding the AMC through the process of prioritizing and big-picture vetting of the GTF recommendations.

• Choose a few more members for the new project, the Governance Blueprint TF, and get that set up and moving.

• Finalize and explain the menu of options to present to LG editors and circulation managers regarding newsletter distribution as the USPS tightens it's regulations.

• Tidy up the N&L presentation, including translating the whole thing into PowerPoint (I made it in Keynote) so it can be a turnkey LDW resource.

• Develop a flowchart for dealing with N&L violations.

• Get working on modern policy to cover N&L use in social media.

• Put  few more finishing touches on my campaign Web site.

• Review the preliminary budget and write up my standard 3 or 4 pages of questions and comments before the Finance Comm meeting.

• Write motions for the March AMC meeting to smooth the newsletter distribution changes.

• Attend the budget meeting.

Not a goal, just something I'm doing for my own enjoyment ( and on my own dime, if you care):
attending the Electronic Gaming Colloquium!

The Survey is out! The Survey is out!

I'm so excited! The giant Local Group Service & Funding survey went out today to... get this... TEN THOUSAND members!

We expect to get data about what members expected and need and want from their Local Groups. We also intend to gather information about what members want from local newsletters, what prevents them from participating more actively, how children and economic status impact their participation and requirements, and probably lots of other interesting things we will be able to correlate.

No more of these nebulous "ten percent of members are active" assumptions. If we want to improve Mensa, we need to have facts, not anecdotes and conjectures and opinions from only active leaders. And from there, we can revise what is asked of Local Groups and how AML supports those efforts.

No more working backwards by asking what LGs do and how much money does it cost. Instead, we're asking members what they want from LGs and then we'll figure out how to make that possible.

So, my question for my readers is this: what surprises do you think the results will reveal about members and what they want from Local Groups?

Starting to Think About Goals Again

I know I haven't posted in a while; this is one of those habits that seems to ebb and flow according to the things going on in my non-Mensa life. I'm still in South Carolina, but planning on heading home today. With luck and fair winds, I'll be home Tues night and able to think about Mensa again on Wed or Thurs.

Top priorities are Chicago Area Mensa nom comm stuff, helping the new Gifted Youth Committee Chair ( Lessa) develop goals for the year, and finalizing the LGS&F survey, which I want to get out before the new year.

Then I'll review all my other goals and perhaps even think to post them here, just so y'all can see and comment on my wanna-do list.

OMG... Y'all ?! I've been in the south too long, haven't I?

LG Service & Funding Progress

Finally getting back in the Mensa groove after travels and holidays and houseguest and parties.

Since Jean was in town, and Beth Anne lives in the area, the three of us got together on Sunday to make some progress on the Local Group Service & Funding project. Wow, it’s amazing how much easier it is to work face to face than by email!

We came up with some good ideas, and the trick is now to not rush to develop implementation strategies before we have actual data to support our hypotheses.

I have set a personal goal of drafting the monster survey about what members what and expect from Local Groups before the weekend is over so the rest of the committee (yes, Jared, I know you’re reading this) can edit and improve it. With luck, we can get it finalized, distributed, and raw results back before 2010.

Concurrently, I’ll be gathering data on newsletter costs; it’s been a few years since we updated that information and it’s rather essential to this project.