Saturday, May 5, 2007

Mixed messages

A few weeks back, I discussed an organization that has suffered a membership drop from 1700 to 1100 over a ten-year but that spent countless hours discussing a membership status that was likely to affect only a handful of people, and even them for only a short time.

I had been and have been fretting about the membership attrition, but even more about my sense that all concerned were in total denial. The leadership if pressed would pass the buck to a vacancy in the Membership Director job (having lived for several years with someone obviously inept) -- and now, having filled the job, with making it her responsibility to reverse the tide.

Comes now the new budget, and lo and behold, the budget projects another 10% membership loss!

Now given my druthers, I'd rather see a budget that lowballs expectations and then exceeds them than one that is wildly optimistic with no plan to jutify the optimism. My guess is that this one was designed by "numbers" people who were trying to be realistic, and without input from "program" people with perhaps a broader vision.

Unfortunately, I won't be at the meeting where the budget is discussed. I suspect that no one will ask for a reconciliation between the money being paid for the membership director, recruitment advertising, etc. and the expectation of failure. We shall see.

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