michael h schneider
06-13-2001, 05:11 PM
06/13/2001
Proposal for an NAWCC Idea Bank
(Frank Del Greco)
Summary
An Idea Bank (IB) is a simple report, such as a table or spreadsheet, that
documents ideas suggested by members that may help the Association.
We rely heavily on the membership to provide knowledge for dissemination to our
members. A perfect example is the Bulletin. Our members create the articles to
educate other members. Our members often have good ideas and suggestions for
improving the way the Association runs, and for providing better benefits and
services to the membership. It is unfortunate that some of those ideas get lost
and never get properly evaluated by management (Council or national committees).
An IB provides a place to capture those ideas. The purpose of the IB is to allow
members to offer ideas to management that will improve the NAWCC and its
membership satisfaction. It allows members to build upon one another?s ideas. It
puts the best ideas out in the forefront, in front of management, and helps
Council decide which initiatives provide the best benefits to members. It allows
members to know where ideas stand, and who to contact to offer support,
suggestions and funding. Finally, it keeps ideas moving (off top dead center),
or at least cataloged in case some are put on hold.
The IB is not a place to dump ideas where the originator is insincere about them
or is just looking for a place to unload grievances. Here is a general philosophy:
1. There are no ?dumb? ideas. However, some ideas are definitely better than others.
2. It is really important for the originator or author of an idea to continue
to be involved in it down the road and throughout the proposal, justification
and implementation processes. All too often, someone suggests an idea, then
takes a giant step backward and wants no involvement in getting it to become a
reality. I believe that the author needs to keep his or her hands in the
initiative, contributing, reviewing and ensuring that his or her vision becomes reality.
3. Members need to understand that not all ideas will be pursued, and that
should not be taken as a personal insult. In many cases, the probability that an
idea will be pursued is directly proportional to the effort that the author
makes in ?selling? the idea and getting management and other members to support it.
Part I ? Creation of the IB
I propose that an IB be created. It will consist of a table or spreadsheet. An
example is shown in Figure 1, with an entry included for illustrative purposes
only. [The chart (Figure 1) is at: http://members.aol.com/fdelgreco/IBchart.pdf ]
The president will select an IB administrator who will act as a secretary to
keep the IB up to date and ensure that it is communicated to the membership. The
administrator will not make any decisions about ideas in the IB.
Part II ? Operation of the IB
I envision that ideas and suggestions would get installed in the IB and acted
upon in the following manner:
1. An idea is suggested to a council member or committee chair. The idea or
suggestion should be submitted in writing with a paragraph or two about why the
idea ought to be implemented and how it might be implemented; e.g., qualitative
statements on benefits vs. costs, and an outline of an action plan. Suggestions
via email are acceptable.
2. The idea is sent to the IB administrator who enters it into the IB.
3. The administrator also keeps a copy of each original written suggestion in a
Word document for reference.
4. The president takes a look at the idea and issues a gut reaction. ?Go,? ?No
Go,? or ?Hold.? A ?Go? simply means that the idea sounds plausible and we ought
to look at it reasonably soon. It does not guarantee that we are going to
implement it. A ?No Go? might mean that the idea is too nebulous at this time,
or we definitely don?t have the money; or perhaps there is another project in
the works that gets the same thing done. Sometimes the author just needs to
clarify the idea to change this into a ?Go.? A ?Hold? might mean this is the
wrong time to implement the suggestion, but we might want to in the future, etc.
This ?gut reaction? is simply an indication to the author (and members) whether
the idea, in its present state, is likely to get the support of council. The
president may wish to confer with the originator, members of council, or
committee chairs before issuing the gut reaction. The IB administrator updates
the IB.
5. Once a ?Go? is received, the next step is to create a formal proposal that
lays out the idea: the vision, objectives, benefits, costs, proposed funding,
implementation plan, maintenance plan, etc. This is essentially the background
document that a council member needs to submit with his or her motion to
Council. In order to create such a document, the president should assign the
idea to a council member and perhaps a committee. The council member acts as the
project champion and works with the author and the committee to create that
proposal. Creation could take a week, or six months, depending upon the
complexity of the idea, how much research needs to be done, whether the idea
needs private funding, etc. That council member will eventually take the
proposal to council for a vote. The IB administrator updates the IB as progress continues.
6. The council member submits the proposal and motion to Council, either at a
live meeting, or on the council forum, and gets it approved.
7. The idea obtains funding and the implementation process begins. The author
will probably be involved in the implementation process as well.
8. Once implemented, the author is asked to do a formal critique.
Part III ? Communications
It is important that the IB is available for review by all members of the
Association. It helps members build on other members? ideas, and also provides a
basis for which members may volunteer to work on those ideas or contribute
funding for them. I recommend the following communication methods:
1. The IB will be available from the NAWCC web site, possibly via the new NAWCC
News board, or directly from a link in the members? documents section.
2. The IB will be printed in the back of each Mart magazine. A short write-up
on some of the active projects by council members or committee chairs could also
be included.
Motions
Motion 1: I move that an NAWCC Idea Bank, as described in Part I of this
proposal, be created in order to capture members? ideas and suggestions for
improving the
Association.
Motion 2: I move that the process for capturing and acting upon ideas and
suggestions added to Idea Bank, as described in Part II of this proposal, be implemented.
Motion 3: I move that the contents of the Idea Bank shall be communicated to the
membership in a variety of methods, as described in Part III of this proposal.
Frank Del Greco, NAWCC Director-elect
fdelgreco@aol.com
Proposal for an NAWCC Idea Bank
(Frank Del Greco)
Summary
An Idea Bank (IB) is a simple report, such as a table or spreadsheet, that
documents ideas suggested by members that may help the Association.
We rely heavily on the membership to provide knowledge for dissemination to our
members. A perfect example is the Bulletin. Our members create the articles to
educate other members. Our members often have good ideas and suggestions for
improving the way the Association runs, and for providing better benefits and
services to the membership. It is unfortunate that some of those ideas get lost
and never get properly evaluated by management (Council or national committees).
An IB provides a place to capture those ideas. The purpose of the IB is to allow
members to offer ideas to management that will improve the NAWCC and its
membership satisfaction. It allows members to build upon one another?s ideas. It
puts the best ideas out in the forefront, in front of management, and helps
Council decide which initiatives provide the best benefits to members. It allows
members to know where ideas stand, and who to contact to offer support,
suggestions and funding. Finally, it keeps ideas moving (off top dead center),
or at least cataloged in case some are put on hold.
The IB is not a place to dump ideas where the originator is insincere about them
or is just looking for a place to unload grievances. Here is a general philosophy:
1. There are no ?dumb? ideas. However, some ideas are definitely better than others.
2. It is really important for the originator or author of an idea to continue
to be involved in it down the road and throughout the proposal, justification
and implementation processes. All too often, someone suggests an idea, then
takes a giant step backward and wants no involvement in getting it to become a
reality. I believe that the author needs to keep his or her hands in the
initiative, contributing, reviewing and ensuring that his or her vision becomes reality.
3. Members need to understand that not all ideas will be pursued, and that
should not be taken as a personal insult. In many cases, the probability that an
idea will be pursued is directly proportional to the effort that the author
makes in ?selling? the idea and getting management and other members to support it.
Part I ? Creation of the IB
I propose that an IB be created. It will consist of a table or spreadsheet. An
example is shown in Figure 1, with an entry included for illustrative purposes
only. [The chart (Figure 1) is at: http://members.aol.com/fdelgreco/IBchart.pdf ]
The president will select an IB administrator who will act as a secretary to
keep the IB up to date and ensure that it is communicated to the membership. The
administrator will not make any decisions about ideas in the IB.
Part II ? Operation of the IB
I envision that ideas and suggestions would get installed in the IB and acted
upon in the following manner:
1. An idea is suggested to a council member or committee chair. The idea or
suggestion should be submitted in writing with a paragraph or two about why the
idea ought to be implemented and how it might be implemented; e.g., qualitative
statements on benefits vs. costs, and an outline of an action plan. Suggestions
via email are acceptable.
2. The idea is sent to the IB administrator who enters it into the IB.
3. The administrator also keeps a copy of each original written suggestion in a
Word document for reference.
4. The president takes a look at the idea and issues a gut reaction. ?Go,? ?No
Go,? or ?Hold.? A ?Go? simply means that the idea sounds plausible and we ought
to look at it reasonably soon. It does not guarantee that we are going to
implement it. A ?No Go? might mean that the idea is too nebulous at this time,
or we definitely don?t have the money; or perhaps there is another project in
the works that gets the same thing done. Sometimes the author just needs to
clarify the idea to change this into a ?Go.? A ?Hold? might mean this is the
wrong time to implement the suggestion, but we might want to in the future, etc.
This ?gut reaction? is simply an indication to the author (and members) whether
the idea, in its present state, is likely to get the support of council. The
president may wish to confer with the originator, members of council, or
committee chairs before issuing the gut reaction. The IB administrator updates
the IB.
5. Once a ?Go? is received, the next step is to create a formal proposal that
lays out the idea: the vision, objectives, benefits, costs, proposed funding,
implementation plan, maintenance plan, etc. This is essentially the background
document that a council member needs to submit with his or her motion to
Council. In order to create such a document, the president should assign the
idea to a council member and perhaps a committee. The council member acts as the
project champion and works with the author and the committee to create that
proposal. Creation could take a week, or six months, depending upon the
complexity of the idea, how much research needs to be done, whether the idea
needs private funding, etc. That council member will eventually take the
proposal to council for a vote. The IB administrator updates the IB as progress continues.
6. The council member submits the proposal and motion to Council, either at a
live meeting, or on the council forum, and gets it approved.
7. The idea obtains funding and the implementation process begins. The author
will probably be involved in the implementation process as well.
8. Once implemented, the author is asked to do a formal critique.
Part III ? Communications
It is important that the IB is available for review by all members of the
Association. It helps members build on other members? ideas, and also provides a
basis for which members may volunteer to work on those ideas or contribute
funding for them. I recommend the following communication methods:
1. The IB will be available from the NAWCC web site, possibly via the new NAWCC
News board, or directly from a link in the members? documents section.
2. The IB will be printed in the back of each Mart magazine. A short write-up
on some of the active projects by council members or committee chairs could also
be included.
Motions
Motion 1: I move that an NAWCC Idea Bank, as described in Part I of this
proposal, be created in order to capture members? ideas and suggestions for
improving the
Association.
Motion 2: I move that the process for capturing and acting upon ideas and
suggestions added to Idea Bank, as described in Part II of this proposal, be implemented.
Motion 3: I move that the contents of the Idea Bank shall be communicated to the
membership in a variety of methods, as described in Part III of this proposal.
Frank Del Greco, NAWCC Director-elect
fdelgreco@aol.com