Branch Goals and Methods ProcessDecember 31, 2016

Document audience: Management Board and Dance Teachers and Branch Members.

This document covers guidelines for a SCD Branch Goals and Methods committee.Outline: Value Proposition Goals and Methods Process Issues and Questions

Value PropositionWhat are the activities of the SCD Branch? Why does the Branch choose to pursue the activities? How can we confirm which existing methods continue to effectively accomplish the Branch goals, and identify a few methods that have become less effective over time? How can we consider new ideas that can better accomplish the goals? How can members learn how they can effectively contribute individually or collaboratively to the Branch goals?

We can imagine two contrasting views of the SCD Branch.

1. Management Board discussions focus on a minimum set of transactional topics with a bare essential group of collaborating partners, and prioritize to the bottom the transformational topics that explore what we are and want to be, goals and methods, etc. The Branch has no written vision or plan. There is an implied project list of dance classes and dance events, that is a rerun of what happened the prior year. The same group of members volunteers for the projects year after year. The membership is static and it is a matter of time before the Branch is dissolved as the aged group of volunteers becomes burned out.

2. The Branch has a written vision or plan with a defined project list. The Branch validates which projects continue to make sense the following year, and imagines exciting new projects that would attract more Branch members to want to participate in the planning. The dynamic and growing membership, with its diverse interests and abilities and with a varying amount of time to volunteer, buys-in to shared goals and self-leads actions how best to help.

The Success Indicator chart by MaryEllen Tribby lists contrasting factors of successful people and unsuccessful people. The table below lists the factors in a more readable form. Successful People Unsuccessful PeopleHave a sense of gratitude Have a sense of entitlementCompliment CriticizeForgive others Hold a grudgeGive other people credit for their victories Take all the credit for their victoriesRead every day Watch TV every dayTalk about ideas Talk about peopleShare information and data Horde information and dataExude joy Exude angerEmbrace change Fear changeKeep a "to-do/project" list Fly by the seat of their pantsAccept responsibility for their failures Blame others for their failuresKeep a journal Say they keep a journal but really don'tWant others to succeed Secretly hope others failKeep a "to-be" list Don't know what they want to beSet goals and develop life plans Never set goalsContinuously learn Think they know it allOperate from a transformational perspective Operate from a transactional perspective

We can partition the Successful People factors into two categories:1. Positive energy of friends working together to accomplish Branch goals and methods.2. Natural curiosity to test existing methods and try new ideas in order to adapt to changing

conditions and member interests and abilities.

Factors that enhance process effectivenessPositive energy of friends working together to accomplish Branch goals and methods

Natural curiosity to test existing methods and try new ideas in order to adapt to changing conditions and member interests and abilities

Set goals and develop life plans Operate from a transformational perspectiveKeep a "to-do/project" list Keep a "to-be" listShare information and data Continuously learnKeep a journal Read every dayExude joy Talk about ideasWant others to succeed Embrace changeHave a sense of gratitudeComplimentGive other people credit for their victoriesAccept responsibility for their failuresForgive others

We can read a set of mini articles on leadership, by beloved Granite Rock CEO Bruce Woolpert, that supports the Goals and Methods concept and is relevant in a volunteer organization.http://www.rscds-swws.org/doc/Leadership.pdfKey points are: Communications and a clear purpose described by goals build teamwork and success. Tell the truth, avoid blame, build relationships. Measure performance objectives to fuel improvement. Try innovative ideas to move beyond status quo, expect some failures.

Volunteers buy-in to shared goals, self-lead actions how best to help. Use customer feedback to correct problems and strengthen satisfaction.

Goals and Methods ProcessGoals and Methods

A Goal is a result that we want to make an effort to accomplish. It is measurable, either objectively or subjectively.

A Method is an action we perform in order to accomplish the Goals. (A Process is a series of actions or steps taken to accomplish the Goals.)

What are the SCD Branch Goals and Methods? We can record them in evolving documents and have productive discussions to agree on projects and methods, based on prioritized goals, test the methods for defects and propose solutions, and train volunteers. The exercise needs to be fun and easy in order to gain buy-in.

We can begin with Methods. The SCD Branch currently has a set of methods in order to accomplish projects having to do with supporting Scottish dance classes and events. We have learned that the dance checklist of methods is helpful to accomplish putting on a dance. We also have a combined "Annual Calendar" to remind us to perform certain actions during the calendar year in order to accomplish the checklist methods at the optimum time.

Methods are easier to document than Goals. I read a collection of Management Board meeting minutes and observed activities of the SCD Branch, and I made a list of existing methods and categorized them according to officers and committees. Each component lists interface methods that are visible by others.http://www.rscds-swws.org/doc/BranchMethods.doc

Describing the Goals helps us understand why we are performing the Methods, and are necessary in order to gather data and measure effectiveness of methods. We mainly perform the methods because these are what the same people did the previous year. Each volunteer has an idea which goals are being accomplished by the methods. However the goals are mostly communicated nonverbally. A person performs a method and observes the behavior of partners. When a partner also performs the method or expresses approval, then we assume the partner agrees with the related goals. A partner might ignore the method, which signals there might be some misalignment of goals’ priorities, or the partner lacks the interest or ability to collaborate. Finally, a partner might disagree with the goals and take action to undo the results of the method.

Decision Analysis

The Decision Analysis process (pioneered by management consulting company Kepner-Trego http://www.kepner-tregoe.com) can be an effective tool to analyze methods in Goals and Methods discussions. We can view an example to select a newsletter publishing method. Over the years, we have transitioned from printed to email to website with historical index as the newsletter publishing method. http://www.rscds-swws.org/newsletters.htm

We can view the Branch Newsletter Decision Analysis document below or access the file.http://www.rscds-swws.org/doc/DecisionBranchNewsletter.xls

A Decision Statement clarifies the scope of the decision.

We consider Alternatives (Methods) that have a good chance of satisfying the objectives. We identify the list of objectives criteria which are important to making the decision. The Must Objectives (Goals) are the minimum requirements that can be used to immediately eliminate some alternatives. The Want Objectives (Goals) are used to measure relative performance of the remaining alternatives.

We prioritize the Want Objectives by assigning Weight factors and Relative Performance Score values in the range 0-10. We observe the Weighted Score values steadily improve: printed 5.6 email 8.2 website 10.0.

A challenge with the process is that Want Objectives can state overlapping objectives. This can have the effect of distorting the Decision Analysis by giving an exaggerated weight to a particular objective. We can compensate by reducing the Weight of objectives that are partially represented by another objective.

A benefit of the process is the decision group can document the Want Objectives and have a deeper discussion to share opinions about the Weight factors and estimate Relative Performance Score values. Everyone understands the factors that led to a fair decision being made, even if a person’s favorite alternative is not selected.

The final step is to evaluate the consequences of the choice and assess risk among the best alternatives. We explore factors we have not considered, factors that would cause us to regret the decision. We wait until the end of the process to assess risk, in order to avoid bias during the process.

We make the decision and answer whether we can accept the risk for the best performing alternative. If not, we go to the next best alternative and repeat.

After making the decision, we can gather data and validate the Relative Performance Score values.

Branch Newsletter Decision AnalysisMarch 3, 2013

Decision Statement: Select a newsletter publishing method for the RSCDS Southwest Washington State Branch.

Alternatives … (Methods)   Printed Email Website

Must Objectives (Goals)  Y Y Y

Want Objectives (Goals) WeightTransmit the fun, social interaction, friendship, cultural elements, and health benefits to our readership. 10 10 10 10Broaden interest by including other authors with diverse styles and experiences in our contributor base. 2 4 7 10

Help keep former dancer friends who have become socially or geographically distant, informed of our activities so that they will continue to be interested in visiting us when they're in our area when our classes or dances are being held. 7 3 8 10Member benefit; generates additional members and revenue. 8 10 10 10Read by a wider audience; attract and influence new dancer friends and dancers from other folk dance groups. 7 2 4 10Capture history of SCD group. 6 10 3 10Simplify publishing process; minimize printing and delivery costs. 10 4 10 10Support color photos and internet links. 10 5 10 10Simplify layout generation process. 7 5 10 10Proofread newsletter issue prior to initial publication. 7 3 8 10Make corrections to an issue after initial publication. 7 3 6 10

81Weighted Score   5.6 8.2 10.0

Alternatives

Printed. A copy of the newsletter issue is printed for each subscriber. The copies are mailed or hand-delivered to subscribers. A copy is added to the newsletters archive.

Email. The newsletter issue is contained within an email that is electronically sent to subscribers. A few copies are printed and delivered to subscribers who cannot receive email. A printed copy is added to the newsletters archive.

Website. The newsletter issue is uploaded to the SCD Branch website. An email is sent to subscribers to announce the procedure to download and view the issue. A few copies are printed and delivered to subscribers who cannot receive email. The website provides a newsletters archive, which has the opportunity to obsolete the printed archive.

Issues and QuestionsEstablish a Goals and Methods standing committee that has periodic discussions. All Management Board and Dance Teachers and interested Branch Members are committee members.

Q: Why evaluate a method that seems to be working well?A: We can test a method for defects or weakness and identify solutions to improve the method. We

can try to identify superior methods, and then evaluate the risk to adopt.We will identify inferior methods and gain confidence that the existing method is close to the best.Existing methods that used to be effective can become less effective as the underlying conditions change. Similarly, a new method that used to be impractical can become attractive. Brainstorm collaboration. Build on each other's ideas.Alternative methods might not be mutually exclusive. We can test an alternative method while continuing to perform the existing method.

Q: How do we determine prioritized goals?A: We individually determine our prioritized goals and methods, and observe our partners’

behavior to determine collaboration opportunities. Each person has a different view of what they believe the Branch prioritized goals are, so we might be collaborating inefficiently. Partners can brainstorm a combined list of goals. Each individual assigns their own prioritized weights to the goals. For example, one person might rank a goal as 8 while another ranks 0. We can reach a consensus on prioritized goals or agree to disagree.The Branch can record its list of prioritized goals and methods, and periodically review the list as conditions change. Newly arrived partners who are unfamiliar with the Branch goals and methods can read the document and more easily evaluate how they can contribute.In order to identify goals, confirm that this is something we can accomplish and measure.We can ideally begin with the three top-level Branch goals and identify methods, some of which can be goals that have their own methods. The picture might quickly become too complex to easily comprehend. It is easier to identify goals in the context of evaluating alternative methods on a smaller scale.

Q: How can partners effectively share opinions about prioritized goals?A: I read in the book Facilitation at a Glance! that the following conditions need to be in place

to ensure a successful collaboration outcome. have sufficient trust among themselves to open up and be supportive of each other when necessary have a positive intent to work towards a win/win solution have relevant information on hand to make a sound decision have the time to make this decision believe the topic is important enough to warrant spending the time it will takeThe Goals and Methods committee chair possesses facilitation skills and leads more on process and less on content. See introduction.http://www.rscds-swws.org/doc/Facilitation. pdf

Q: What is the value of curiosity?A: Curiosity is a strong desire to know or learn something, and is necessary in order to

overcome the primitive brain's resistance to change.We can read chapter 11 of Emotional Equations by Chip Conley that discusses the topic.http://www.rscds-swws.org/doc/Curiosity. pdf Curiosity is one of the Four Cs (curiosity, confidence, courage, constancy) that Walt Disney, Albert Einstein, and Sony founder Akio Morita valued to make dreams come true. Curiosity fuels creativity, and enables us to become open to learning options. Warning: curiosity requires admitting you don't know what you don't know. Without curiosity, we avoid asking questions for fear of finding answers that threaten our beliefs and status quo, compared with facing the big questions with a curious heart and mind. We can develop our mind-set for how to deal with failure; Fixed: dread failure, consider a negative reflection of our abilities, unwilling to risk being curious or risk-taking; compared with Growth: we see failure as a constructive path toward improvement. Make curiosity a habit. Ask questions, become open to bigger questions.

Q: What are reasons for inaction or curiosity block?A: Many conditions need to be satisfied in order to perform an action.

Any of the following factors can block action:Awareness: person is unaware of the idea for the action

1. Failed to receive the idea2. Failed to understand the idea3. Forgot about the idea

Motivation: person is unwilling to perform the action4. Lacks sufficient interest to perform the action5. Feels the action is uncomfortable or fearful6. Disbelieves or is indecisive that the action effectively accomplishes the goals7. Has low priority to commit the time or resources for the action

Ability: person is unable to perform the action8. Personally lacks the knowledge, physical ability, skill, or resources9. Has insufficient cooperation from others

Reasons why an individual is more productive vs collaboration with others: Person is unaware of the idea for the action

o If individual's own idea, eliminates awareness block Lacks sufficient interest to perform the action

o If individual's own idea, higher interest level Disbelieves or is indecisive that the action effectively accomplishes the goals

o Individual can more easily arrive at a personal consensuso Risk of missing alternatives and distorted prioritieso Lower probability others will adopt the action

Low priority to commit the time or resourceso Individual probably has higher priority to commit their time

Has insufficient cooperation from otherso Individual has a low need to collaborate

How to enhance curiosity: List ideas, with little concern for risk or effectiveness or commitment Keep idea list visible in order to optimize awareness and interest Partners build upon each other's ideas Confirm existing methods are superior Identify a new idea to try that might be superior Capture data to measure effectiveness

Q: What are factors for effective documentation of methods?A: We can apply the following guidelines.

Identify the Must and Want objectives, then identify method options Compared with the view that documentation "boxes you in", the goal is just the opposite

Guidelines provide a framework to learn a process and discuss improvements Exercise curiosity, ask questions, identify options A methods document eliminates the word "should" and substitutes a positive verb

Organize according to hierarchy of detail. Identify the audience Branch Methods audience = Board + Teachers + Members Displays a list of methods that are visible to others The detailed branch methods are separate documents whose audience is Officer or Committee Is a training manual. When the expert has departed, 1/3 of non-documented knowledge

will be forgotten or inaccurately recalled

Balance the document length with usefulness Able to learn methods Able to search for desired information Able to review document for accuracy Able to evaluate effectiveness of current and new methods vs goals Able to access methods after the authors have departed Board reviews Board Guidelines annually to maintain relevant accurate info

o Process prevents documentation from becoming excessively large and irrelevanto Identify issues, questions, and defectso A non-documented process is subject to ambiguity and misunderstanding.

A document identifies miscommunication for further discussion.

How a methods document helps overcome reasons for inaction Person is unaware of the idea for the action

o Failed to receive the idea Website access can inform more people compared with other forms Newsletter archive is a good source of ideas

o Failed to understand the idea Person captures knowledge by reading and talking and creates a document Person tests understanding with others and revises the document

o Forgot about the action Person can refer to the document to refresh understanding Checklist to accurately perform a process

Person is unwilling to perform the actiono Disbelieves or is indecisive that the action effectively accomplishes the goals

Perform goals and methods process Identify Must and Want objectives, evaluate methods options Gather questions, issues, defects Share individual goal priorities, find collaboration opportunities

Person is unable to perform the action

o Personally lacks the knowledge, physical ability, skill, or resources Person can permanently access the knowledge, receive training and ideas Periodically review document accuracy, adapt to changing conditions

How the methods document process contributes to The Success Indicator by MaryEllen TribbySuccessful People … Talk about ideas Share information and data Embrace change Keep a "to-do/project" list Keep a journal Keep a "to-be" list Set goals and develop life plans Continuously learn Operate from a transformational perspective

Heath Brothers books

I would like to circulate my notes from reading three books authored by Chip Heath & Dan Heath. I came upon the books a couple years ago, related to psychology and sociology of effective decision making, marketing communication, and leading change. The books contain numerous examples to illustrate the benefits. We can access materials at the website http://heathbrothers.com/

Decisive - How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work - 2013

The WRAP decision process can be useful for the Branch Management Board to make more-effective decisions. We can read the Chapter 1 from the Heath Brothers website, or at the following link.http://www.rscds-swws.org/doc/decisive-chapter1.pdf I listened to the audio book on YouTube and recorded notes at the following link. I appended a section titled “Text with Nuggets of Insight” about topics that particularly interested me.http://www.rscds-swws.org/doc/decisive-notes.pdf

Made to Stick - 2007 - marketing process notes

(I am testing out some of the ideas from the book with this post.)

Why are more than 95% of the public non-dancers? How can the Society motivate more of the public to try Scottish Country Dance? The marketing ideally sells Scottish Country Dance, with low effort by branch and group leaders.

Related to the RSCDS strategic aim number 1, to promote Scottish Country Dance, we observe that HQ and branches websites and facebook pages/groups continue to display mainly text and still photos, which fail to communicate to the public the feeling of moving to music. When Scottish Country Dance leaders and dancers view a photo of dancers standing in lines, they can imagine their own dancing in vivid emotional detail. The public can view the same photo and have no idea what the dancing is like. Consequently, leaders believe their marketing is effective, when in reality the marketing is ineffective.

How can we effectively communicate the beneficial feelings of Scottish dance? For example, John Wilkinson stated in a video report to members the belief that the fantastic Health Strategy had the potential to double the number of members.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLxB1-XL_x4#t=120The actual result was the initiative has had an insignificant impact. The Health Strategy communication method seeks to persuade instead of inspire dancers to feel something beneficial.https://www.rscds.org/article/health-strategy

The Society can consider the ideas in Made to Stick to assess its marketing processes and potentially make improvements in cooperation with branch and group partners. The book explores how we can deliver messages that are understood and remembered, and have a lasting impact. The SUCCES acronym defines six qualities of sticky messages. Leaders need to overcome the

“curse of knowledge” in order to effectively design the public marketing messages, when we are trying to communicate the Emotional benefits we know to people who do not know.

We can read the Introduction from the Heath Brothers website, or at the following link. http://www.rscds-swws.org/doc/made-to-stick-intro.pdf I listened to the audio book on YouTube and recorded notes at the following link. http://www.rscds-swws.org/doc/made-to-stick-notes.pdf

The notes reference a short video book review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX5V1EXVKTI

Mike Greenwood has generated several SCD videos and I have experimented with embedding the video clips on the Southwest Washington State Branch website, that are periodically refreshed for variety and freshness. http://www.rscds-swws.org . (At the moment, we have an excerpt from the RSCDS 2016 AGM Ball, and the Euromaxx profile of SCD for Spring Fling 2016.) I imagine a model in which HQ generates the emotionally compelling marketing videos, and conspicuously embeds and periodically refreshes the videos for the public on the home web page https://www.rscds.org/, and branches worldwide share the videos on their websites and facebook pages/groups, in order to amplify the marketing messages.

Switch - How to Change Things When Change Is Hard - 2010 - leading change notes

The Society is poised to implement the Strategic Business Plan 2017-2020 with its prioritised actions, in cooperation with HQ staff, Management committees, branches, and affiliated groups. How can we motivate all these groups to cooperate and accomplish the Business Plan?

The Society can consider the ideas as it implements the Strategic Business Plan. The book explores the rational and emotional sides of the human brain, in order to effectively lead change in an organization or social group. We need to direct the rider (rational brain), motivate the elephant (emotional brain), and shape the path (e.g., rational brain outsmarts the emotional brain).

We can read the Chapter 1 from the Heath Brothers website, or at the following link.http://www.rscds-swws.org/doc/switch-chapter1.pdf I listened to the audio book on YouTube and recorded notes at the following link. http://www.rscds-swws.org/doc/switch-notes.pdf

The notes reference a short video book review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmmwWxVzSsw

I am interested to explore the Identity model of decision making, compared with the Consequences model, related to recruiting Scottish dancers. Also a Growth mindset, compared with a Fixed mindset. We can read the detailed text of Chapter 7.http://www.rscds-swws.org/doc/switch-chapter7.pdf

Strategy to Recruit New Scottish Dancers

We Scottish dancers like to talk with friends about coming to the classes to try SCD, and we are puzzled why so few people are curious enough to try SCD one time? I visited a website that introduces books by the Heath Brothers http://heathbrothers.com/ and gives insight about two psychological blocks: "Curse of Knowledge" and "Speaking to the Rider instead of the Elephant". The book titled Made to Stick lists six principles that help us overcome the Curse of Knowledge, about how we can deliver ideas that are understood and remembered, and have a lasting impact.

The Tappers and Listeners experiment demonstrates the Curse of Knowledge. Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has "cursed" us. It becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others, because we cannot readily re-create our listener’s state of mind. In the experiment, each tapper was asked to pick a song and tap out the rhythm to a listener, by knocking on a table. The listener's challenging job was to guess the song, based on the rhythm being tapped. Over the course of the experiment, 120 songs were tapped out. Listeners guessed only 2.5 percent of the songs: 3 out of 120. Before the listeners guessed the name of the song, tappers were asked to predict the odds that the listeners would guess correctly. They predicted that the odds were 50 percent. The tappers got their message across 1 time in 40, but they thought they were getting their message across 1 time in 2.

How does the Curse of Knowledge relate to recruiting new Scottish dancers? One example is the use of still photos for publicity, compared with a video. When we experienced dancers view a photo of a dancing set, we can imagine the movement and the beautiful music, while an inexperienced person can see the happy faces and the dancer clothing but totally miss the feeling of dancing.

This leads us to the second psychological block: Speaking to the Rider instead of the Elephant. The human brain has a thinking part (Rider) that can process language and rationally analyze options and determine methods to accomplish goals, and an emotional part (Elephant) that communicates with feelings and significantly governs behavior.

Scottish dance leaders tend to be analytical and communicate in words, like engineers and librarians, while everyone relates to feelings. Messages to recruit new dancers focus on words that are received by the Rider. We need to design feeling messages that speak to the Elephant, since the elephant significantly controls behavior to try dancing. The rider becomes exhausted after trying to influence the elephant. The elephant is unable to relate to words.

Better are messages that appeal to the senses. For example, a video that engages the viewer with dancers having fun moving to music is superior to still photos that show neither movement nor music. This relates to principle number five, to inject emotions into a Made to Stick message and make the audience feel something.

I individually came up with a list of beneficial feelings that unifies the methods I have read or imagined to attract new dancers. I organized the feelings according to the familiar friendship, fun, and fitness categories, and assigned a Strength or priority/importance to the categories. I then wrote a document that describes my favorite tactics in some detail for increasing Scottish country dancers. http://www.rscds-swws.org/news/stories/ReportRscdsTactics.pdf

SCD Leaders could similarly build their own list of feelings, and imagine methods to attract new dancers to the beneficial feelings of Scottish Country Dance.

We can use knowledge about the human brain to help understand factors that motivate dancers and ourselves as Branch leaders. The Elephant (emotion) and Rider (reasoning) model tells us to focus on “feeling” motivation messages. Inspiring the elephant is more effective than trying to persuade the rider.inspire : fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel somethingpersuade: cause (someone) to do something through reasoning or argument