ORGANIZING FOR SUCCESS Getting Started Grass root groups all start out as informally as around kitchen tables, in public corridors, and on the telephone. They almost always start in response to an injustice and the compulsion to right a wrong. Energy and commitment are present as they become a more organized entity. Preserving this level of initial passion is one challenge all groups face. * Be sure you have a common purpose: Be sensitive to the issues and experiences which are attracting your members to join the group. * Help the group develop its main mission as well as short and long term goals. * Prioritize goals and pick winnable goals at first. * What are the strengths members have that can help the group achieve its purpose. * Discuss organizational structure. Share leadership according to members' time and talent. * Discuss members' moral and political beliefs. Are there conflicts among members on what they feel are the problems and the possible solutions and tactics that could be used to achieve the goals? Respect the differences among members. Work to accommodate individual differences. Build on the strength of diversity and not its potential divisiveness. * Keep members involved. Learn how to delegate based on members' strengths. The level of members' participation won't be even. This is okay. * Members must feel valued. * Build on the natural bonding that the group has in being a support to one another as members struggle with their own needs. * Have fun. * Network for information and resources. ORGANIZING FOR SUCCESS Organizations' Strengths and Weaknesses The following organizational strengths and weaknesses were identified by individuals who participated in the Organizing For Success workshop in Erie, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Reading. Strengths Weaknesses * Common Goal Poor Time Management * Consistency Lack of Vision * Focus Too Rigid * Talent and Expertise of Members Personality Conflicts * Level of Caring Focusing on Details/Lack of Perspective * Networking Potential Size Makes Funding Efforts Difficult * Sense of Humor Lack of Support * Recognition of Members' Strengths Lack of Courage * Ability to Set Aside Personal Agenda Inability to Address Change * Global Perspective Too Loosely Organized * Unity and Purpose No Prioritization * Open Communication Inconsistency * Ability to Resolve Conflicts Cutting People Off * Personal Support Among Members Controlling/Dictating Approach -little or no delegation * Opportunity to Serve No Feedback * Not Being Afraid to Make Mistakes Overly Concerned with Protocol * Strong Commitment by Key Members Divisiveness * Building on Success by Selecting Winnable Gaps in Membership Goals * Passion for Organization's Mission Lack of Diversity * Selecting Members Who Have a Shared Judgmental Leadership Experience * Knowledge of Relevant Issues Focusing on Problems Without Considering Possible Solutions * Including Stakeholders in the Organization Lack of Involvement by Committee Members * Building on the Diversity of the Group's Poor Follow-Up Membership * Nurturing the Core Group of Main Workers Lack of Focus/Too Broad an Agenda Resulting in a Sense of Consistency Throughout the Years ORGANIZING FOR SUCCESS Strengths Weaknesses * Members Learning from One Another Through Poor Communication Sharing and Effective Communication * Having Fun and Socialization Lack of Effective Decision-Making * Members are Not Pressured Only 1 or 2 People do the Work * Flexibility No Planning * Good Communications e.g. Minutes, Memos, Grew too Fast Newsletter, etc. * Prioritized Objectives No Delegation of Responsibility * Recorded/Organized History - Don't Repeat No Clear Deadlines Yourself * Getting to Know the Membership's Interests Lack of Commitment * Making New Members Feel Welcome Lack of Motivation * Creativity Apathy * Everyone Feeling a Sense of Ownership * Building Consensus * Agreed Upon Time Frame for Accomplishment of Objectives * Good Delegation - Can Carry on Without the Leader * Organized to Make Use of Members' Strengths * Open to New Ideas * Participatory Management Approach * Consistent Meetings and Notices * Delegating Responsibility to all Members * Organized to Ensure Members' Interests are the Priority and Not Organizational Survival * Organized to "Reach Out" * Consumer Driven * Enthusiasm * Teamwork * Available Resources * Location ORGANIZING FOR SUCCESS Effective Time Management It is critical for a voluntary group to practice sound time management. This will reduce the incidence of burnout. Your group wants to control its precious time not be controlled by it. * Develop a strategic work plan which includes priorities, their respective tasks, deadlines, and closure. * In developing a list of priorities, think of the amount of work and time involved; don't overload your list of priorities. Every matter cannot be a priority. * With each strategic plan make a chart of progress, plotting each task and the deadlines. * Getting as many people involved as possible is important. * When planning a new activity, anticipate all that might go wrong so that you won't be forced to fight fires when an unexpected crisis occurs. * Don't answer the telephone during a meeting or project if it disturbs the flow of progress or causes you to waste other people's time. * Keep your desk and office organized so you have quick access to what you need. Put things in a place where you won't have to hunt for them. * Delegate effectively so you can make the best use of your time. * Communicate with the intent to be understood so that you don't have to send the same message twice. * Improve your listening skills so that you'll never be paralyzed by uncertainty about what someone has asked of you. * Save your most challenging work for the times of day when you are freshest and at your best. * Twice a day ask yourself, "Am I making the best use of my time right now?" Change tasks if you aren't. * Don't take over projects because others are not doing their jobs. Instead, teach or empower them to produce. * Discontinue unnecessary meetings; see that the ones you must attend are conducted more efficiently. * Don't overdo revisions when the cost of redoing the work exceeds the value of the improvement gained. ORGANIZING FOR SUCCESS Effective Meetings Most decisions affecting a group's direction and activities take place during meetings. Also, meetings can take a considerable amount of a group's time and their success can play a significant role in members' willingness to continue to participate in the group's activities. Therefore, it is critical that each meeting be well organized to achieve the maximum results. * Make sure everyone knows the date, time, and place of each meeting. * Identify a clear purpose and outcome for the meeting. * Provide participants with an agenda for their review prior to the meeting. * Start and end your meetings on time. * Begin each meeting by welcoming everyone, introducing new members, reviewing the purpose of the meeting, as well as, expected outcomes and the meeting agenda. * Stop doing any personal work as soon as the meeting begins. * Be sure that there are no unnecessary deviations from the agenda. * A good facilitator will say very little and model good listening to the group. * Encourage group participation. * Be positive. Maintain a problem-solving not a blame-placing posture; focus on the future rather than getting mired in the past. Focus on what can be done, rather than agonizing over the group's limitations. * Participate, speak up, and be candid, but don't monopolize the meeting. Encourage your colleagues to do the same. * When the meeting leader is failing to move the group in a productive direction, suggest ways to get the meeting back on track without threatening the leader. * Challenge bad ideas; present better ones. Don't attack people in the process. * Whenever the group makes a democratic decision that goes against your judgment, say so. But once your exception is noted, support the group's decision to the hilt. * End each meeting by reviewing what was accomplished, agreeing on the next steps and the date, time, place, and purpose for the next meeting. ORGANIZING FOR SUCCESS Basic Organizational Skills There are many exciting aspects to advocacy. Unfortunately, routine group operations are not among the most exciting, but they are necessary evils. In order for your group to run effectively and accomplish its objectives, members should be aware of and practice good basic organizational skills. The following ideas can be used in running a large corporation as well as small grassroots groups. ___________________________ Avoiding Clutter and Confusion Sometimes our best intentions at maximizing productivity are misdirected. Knowing what methods we need to use to accomplish our purpose requires an understanding of the difference between the following concepts: * Orderly v. Organized. Many people who collect information and keep it sorted in neat piles consider it organized. However, their orderliness lacks purpose or unity. To be organized is to be arranged thoughtfully around some organizing principle, such as a category. * Keeping v. Managing. Keeping records is certainly an important part of managing them, but there is a significant difference. Managing also includes the notion of control and care and the act of altering and manipulating. What you do with the information you have collected beyond filing is what transforms it into some level of management. * Structure v. System. Combining various elements in an organized way creates a structure or framework. It is the methods and procedures you use in interacting with the structure that turn it into a system. * Efficient v. Effective. Efficient means getting a lot done in a limited amount of time or with very little wasted time. Effective means getting the right or most important things done. __________ Prioritizing If you don't prioritize your tasks, some order will randomly evolve...and it won't be the most efficient, desirable order. Developing and abiding by your priorities keeps you in the driver's seat and on the road of your choosing. Prioritizing - ordering your responsibilities according to their importance - is based in the job itself, current priorities and your personal agenda. If these have been established, then day-to-day decisions become much more manageable. You will find that they fall naturally into one of these five categories: * Immediate and important. Approaching a deadline requested by a superior; long-term impact on your job; necessary so someone else can continue with a project. * Immediate but not important. Interruptions; requests that do not meet the criteria above and that relate to less significant aspects of your job. * Important but not immediate. Work that relates to major responsibilities and will become "immediate and important" if not started and done in an orderly way. * Maintenance. The housekeeping aspects of your job - handling routine mail, your desk top, filing, routine phone calls, correspondence, reports, keeping supplied and equipped to do your job, setting up meetings. * Marginal. Activities that are redundant, do not advance any major goals or objectives and should probably be eliminated or delegated to someone else so that you can maximize your time. ______________________ Information Management Keep records and you'll avoid doing things twice. Don't spend time wondering if you sent that letter, or what Senator Jones said to you at last Wednesday's meeting. Save time and energy with: * A mail-log and a file containing all your correspondence. * A central rolodex of resource contacts that members can access. * A simple phone-log recording highlights of conversations and need for follow-up. * A separate file for priority mail which needs immediate action. * A file for issues to be discussed at group meetings. * Separate files for persons and organizations with whom you frequently communicate. * A general reference file with various advocacy issue topics (e.g. housing, accessibility, etc.). * Develop a system, whether on paper or on computer, which enables you and other group members to know where material can be found in your files. Know where your files are so that you do not have to waste time "fishing around" for them unnecessarily. (Portions of this text have been excerpted from Collective Advocacy Handbook by Carol Marfisi, developed for the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council, 1995.) ORGANIZING FOR SUCCESS Good Business Etiquette There are certain rules of conduct in business that others have every reason to expect you will follow. By following good business etiquette, your Grass Roots group will be respected by all organizations with which it conducts business. * Treat people with respect and consideration, and they'll return the favor. * Return phone calls within twenty-four hours. When the person answers, ask "Is this a good time for you to talk?" * Don't keep appointments waiting without a personal explanation Answer letters within ten days. Respond to every request in them. * Get to meetings on time; don't monopolize discussions. If you lead meetings, start them and end them on time. * When making presentations, don't go even one minute over the allotted time. * Address doctors, judges, academics, and elected officials by their proper title. * RSVP within one week to all invitations. * Write thank-you notes to acknowledge any thoughtful act. (Portions of this text have been excerpted from Yes, You Can! by Sam Deep and Lyle Sussman, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1996.) ORGANIZING FOR SUCCESS Organizing an Action 1. Pick an Issue * Define the issue * Work out your demands for change 2. Select a Target for Your Action * Someone in the public eye or * Someone who is answerable to the public 3. Scout the Action Site * Go there days before the action to get a close look 4. Communicate the Date, Time, and Issue (Not Necessarily the Target or Location) and Where and When You'll Meet About It to Anyone Who Might Join Your Action 5. Have that Meeting in Advance of the Action to Hash Out the Group's Plan 6. A Day or So Before the Action * Call everyone to remind them of the time and place * Prepare and copy a flyer about what you hope to accomplish * Fax your press release to the media * Have fun making signs, placards, stickers, and props 7. On the Day of the Action * Call local reporters to see if they got your press release and to give them a late breaking development * Bring your signs, flyers, and press releases * Go early to meet with your people and to go over the plans again * Arrive before the press * Demand to speak with the person in charge * Have a small group deliver your demands 8. When You Meet the Person In Charge * Negotiations may take a while * Don't rush * Don't take charge by doing all the talking * Encourage your people to communicate directly 9. Possible Outcomes from this Meeting * Mission accomplished, your demands are met * Some but not all of your demands are met (know in advance what's your bottom line) * None of your demands are met, but the media gave you a shot spreading your word of protest 10. Celebrate With Your Activists * Rehash the day (you can learn from your mistakes) * Plan your next steps (This is a summary of the "Organizing an Action" article by Joe Ehman in the May-June 1996 issue of Mouth.) 3