Local Groups Expressing Opinions

I appear to have drafted this back in June of 2015 but never hit "post." I'm publishing it now mostly because I'm tickled by my illustration in the last paragraph.

In a long long long Facebook thread, I commented that Local Groups are allowed to express opinions. One member reasonably requested that I point him to the policy upon which I based my statement. Here it is:

Constitution of Mensa

II. The Policy of Mensa

B. Mensa encompasses members representing many points of view. Consequently, Mensa as an organization shall not express an opinion as being that of Mensa, take any political action other than the publication of the results of its investigations, or have any ideological, philosophical, political, or religious affiliations.

C. Members or groups of members may express opinions as members of Mensa, provided their opinions or actions are not expressed as being those of Mensa as an organization.

So no one can say “Mensa endorses Jenny McCarthy for President.” (However Mensa can sponsor academic research and publish results which say that blondes who hate vaccinations statistically perform higher than billionaires who wear toupees on certain tests of political leadership aptitude.) Furthermore, groups of members may express opinions. Local Groups are groups of members. They just can’t present themselves as speaking for all of Mensa as a whole.

Tending to Committee Composition

This morning was spent looking at everyone on the various committees i inherited and composing messages to the people who haven't yet responded to my general messages on Mensa Connect. I need to figure out who is who, who does what, who signed up ages ago but lost interest, who was active but now has too much else to focus on in regular life, who should be shifted from this project to that project, and so on. This all takes more hours of work and writing than non-committee chairs realize.

But with effort and fair winds, I should end up with good groups of solid people.

Finding Old Research

I learned yesterday that even the staff don’t have a copy -hard or electronic- of the old Local Group Services & Funding Report we did back in 2011. I dug out the pdf and sent it on.

Sigh. I wonder what other probably useful research has been lost and forgotten. I wonder how many times Mensa has reinvented its own wheels. I know there is a committee supposedly working on a History Compendium of some sort; perhaps I’ll check in with them and offer the suggestion that old research reports be included in their archives.

AMC Meeting July 10, 2021

 So I’m home and recovered from my first AMC meeting of this term (as Communications Officer).

I was super pleased with how this board looks to be functional and even in the after-meeting schmoozing, got no sense of any particular factions  forming. The Marketing Officer, Tabby, and the Membership Officer (Kimberly) and I spent a lot of time talking together and we all seem to be on the same page as far as working and communicating together since really, most of what we do overlaps significantly. I think the three of us are going to be a very good cohesive team, which is fantastic.

I definitely got the feeling that I was wanted and welcome and valued by the others. I may no longer have a vote (not even on the committee I chair!) but I’m not worried that I won’t be treated and listened to with respect. I think we’ll be able to, as they say, get shit done.

I was amused a couple of times as people mentioned high priority concerns that should be tended to. One person wanted to look at how Local Groups are funded in order to incentivize them to do more for their members. I chuckled and said "I did that already, down to the granular level of how many pennies per member per month for what. Remind me when we get home and I can send you that report” (which no one seems to even know exists). Later, Lori asked me to help with the updating Officer Handbooks project. “Sure, I have those all done already. Ping me to send you all the files.” Another example of useful stuff that all got shelved because of politics back in the day.

All in all, I have high hopes for this term.

She's Back!

And so it begins... again

 I just wrote this advice to new AMC appointees and figured I'd post it here to remember it:

Brush up on basic parliamentary procedure, prepare many pocket folders and email folders and dedicate a spiral notebook for  notes when members call you with their brilliant “Somebody should…” ideas. Staying hyper organized is the key to not getting overwhelmed and tangled up by all the threads you’ll have to keep straight. Also, lean on your staff people; they have answers and access to more useful information and data than you can imagine.

Another piece of advice I have to offer from the been here done this perspective… you will often hear people refer to Mensa leadership as "herding cats.” This is not an accurate description. Instead, imagine yourself driving a conestoga wagon, holding the reins of a thoroughbred race horse, a Clydesdale, a mule, a Jack Russel terrier, a dolphin, and falcon. You have an ox yoked to the back and pulling in the opposite direction, and a pack of hyenas howling at you along the way.

Let the horses do their thing with minimal interference, give the mule a carrot, take the terrier out to piddle and chase rabbits now and then, listen to the wisdom of the dolphin, pay attention to the perspectives of the falcon, distract the ox, and shrug off the hyenas. And be patient; you’re driving a covered wagon, even when it looks like a Tesla.