[Sosfbay-discuss] Ideas

[Wes Rolley]

I am not sure that I have solutions, but I want to make two comments 
regarding Jim's comments about recruiting and retaining people.

The first comment is anecdotal.  I participated in the volunteer driven 
non-profit called the Digital Clubhouse <http://www.digiclub.org/sv/>.   
One of the founders had been a consultant with SRI.  His position was 
that the single most important task for a volunteer organization was to 
recruit and develop your successor.  Then, you can either step aside, 
retire or move on to bigger and better things.  The need to retain power 
is often disguised to ones self as "we need to get this done and no one 
else is stepping up, so I have to do it."  

People burn out. Interests change.  The health of any organization, 
especially one driven by volunteers, requires recruiting new leaders, 
giving them a chance to fail, but making sure that they don't.

The second comment is that the best people to ask about why we don't do 
better in retaining people are those who are no longer as active as they 
once were.  For example, Charlotte Casey.  She is still an activist, 
just not with GPSCC.  Maybe the old time members could make that list 
better than I .  We should ask them why they are no longer as active 
and, maybe more importantly, what we could have done to retain them.





-- 

I have been impressed with the urgency of doing.
Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Being willing is not enough; 
We must do. –Leonardo DaVinci
Wesley C. Rolley
17211 Quail Court
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
(408)778-3024 - http://cagreening.blogspot.com