On Change

by Beber's Ghost | Dec 13, 2006 | Members

People hate change. People love change.
Some people react to any change with fear and doubt – holding on to tradition with fists tight and minds closed. Some people react to change by enthusiastically adopting every new thing just because it’s new, without thought of consequence.
Both views are flawed.
Those who reject change blindly ultimately fail to adapt to the world. Like dinosaurs, their fate is to vanish into fossilized memory.
Those who accept change blindly strew havoc and destruction in their wake, not realizing that their new approach may be inferior to the tried and true.
Change is a partner, one who should be courted and examined thoughtfully before being invited to move in.
Change and BBYO
BBYO is currently facing change. You’ve heard the words:
Engagement – Updated Policies – Dashboard – B-Linked
These all represent significant changes for BBYO. Over the days to come, I will explore all of these in more depth.
But I’m going to give you a preview now.
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BBYO Phone Conference

by Shane's Ghost | Dec 12, 2006 | Members

(I’m pleased to welcome a new author to BebersGhost.com: ShanesGhost [read more about him on our about page]. Posts by ShanesGhost do not necessarily reflect the opinion of BebersGhost, but that’s ok, because posts by BebersGhost don’t necessarily reflect the opinion of ShanesGhost either. I’d also like to take this opportunity to note the arrival of Max Baer’s Ghost on “The Dead Aleph’s Society”. With so many ghosts, it’s like Halloween every day. Trick or treat…  – BebersGhost)
Last night there was a phone conference between international staff and members of BBYO. I use the term “between” lightly, because it was really just International staff speaking for an hour and twenty minutes while members tried in vain to get their questions past the Grand Aleph Godol’s selection criteria. While I was not privileged enough to sit in on the conference call, I did have a link forwarded to me containing the audio log of the call.
After listening to the mp3 in its entirety, and pondering over it for a good amount of time, the biggest concern I have is that the members, and the staff do not see eye to eye. In the beginning of the call it seemed that the members had one understanding of how these changes would affect their chapter, and the staff had another. But by the end, it seemed as if nothing had changed that, and the conference call had only served to reinforce each side’s arguments. With the plethora of mysterious whispering, and the almost mocking laughter from Ian aside, the conference call seemed to run in circles. Some great questions were answered, but the energy seemed to die off with statements from staff conveying a message that seemed to say “We are not convinced”. So what does it take to convince a member of international staff, and how can you get both sides to see eye to eye?
Well, it is in the inherent nature of all members of BBYO should have slightly different goals than that of staff, but is this the cause such a disagreement? While it was clear that BBYO Inc. is highly concerned with the safety of every member, and the members of BBYO were highly concerned with the hassle and burden of the proposed red tape, is there no grounds for a compromise? I can guarantee that this dispute will only be calmed if both parties gain a level of mutual understanding, and both parties agree to some form of eye-to-eye communication.
-Charles

Do, or Do Not. There is No Try.

by Beber's Ghost | Dec 11, 2006 | Members

These words by Yoda are perhaps the most important philosophy in the Star Wars saga, and one uniquely appropriate for BBYO. The history of BBYO shows that teens are able to do far more than anyone ever gives them credit for Рit is no clich̩ to say that they can change the world.
The simple truth is, that most of the time when a member fails to achieve their goals; it is because they give up. Perhaps they stop when they find other members aren’t supporting their efforts as much as they would like. Perhaps they give up because the task seems too hard – they simply lack the confidence in their own ability to make a difference. Perhaps they accept the view of society that a mere “kid” can’t pull off what they have in mind.
The great leaders in BBYO (and elsewhere) are not the smartest, or the most charismatic, or the most popular or even the most skillful. The truly great ones are the stubborn ones – the ones who won’t give up, even when the odds seem against them.
Ultimately, succeeding in a goal is a choice that you make. Like Yoda says – the power to achieve our goals lies within each of us.
But what about impossible goals? What if it truly is too hard? What if the odds really are hopeless?
To answer this question, I encourage you to rent the movie “Man of La Mancha“. It’s the story of Don Quixote, a “knight” who fights hopeless odds and loses and about the fictional author of the story who is also defeated. But their defeats planted the seeds for countless victories. Perhaps (after you watch the film or read the book) even one of yours.

Trust: The 8th Cardinal Principle

by Beber's Ghost | Dec 8, 2006 | Members

Trust. It’s something we hardly ever talk about in BBYO. Yet it impacts every aspect and level of the organization. Think for a moment about all of the places where trust comes into play:

• Chapters trust their board members to do their jobs
• Members trust other members to be kind and friendly (fraternal)
• Chapter leaders trust members to meet their commitments (planning events, doing jobs they commit to)
• Parents, members and staff trust advisors to keep members safe and to interpret policy wisely (a lot of trust that, when you think about it)
• Advisors trust the chapter (more on this in a moment), and trust regional staff/international to support them in their work.

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Et tu Brute?

by Beber's Ghost | Dec 5, 2006 | Members

Great Ceasars Ghost! Yet another blog has appeared relating to BBYO. The ripples of the Vegas advisors conference continue to spread. Their first post “I’m all right Jack, keep your hands off my stack” addresses the question of chapter bank accounts.

On Democracy and B-Linked

by Beber's Ghost | Dec 1, 2006 | Members

There’s a tension that occurs often in chapters and regions (in fact, in any organization, but we’ll focus on chapters and regions for now). It goes like this:

• The members elect their leaders (board officers, regional board, etc.)
• The leaders expect to be respected and trusted to do their jobs and make wise decisions
• Something happens where the members find themselves in disagreement with their leaders or at least want to be involved in the decisions.
• This results in conflict between the members and leaders

I’ve seen this happen many, many times. Occasionally the leaders have been real jerks – even corrupt. But far more often they honestly mean well and intend the best for the group. In fact, they are often upset, even offended that they are not trusted to make the right choices. They feel like the doubt expressed by members of the group is a personal attack – even unfraternal.
At those times, one of the things I try to do is educate both the members and the leaders as to their situation and the nature of their own democratic institutions.
Here are some of the basic principles that are fundamental to a fraternal democratic organization:
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Facts and Myths and Facts

by Beber's Ghost | Dec 1, 2006 | Members

Truth is a funny thing.
In the recent letter from BBYO, Lane Schlessel stated the following (which was also virtually identical to a release by the youth leadership on B-Linked):
Some of you have may have misunderstood what you heard about the proposed policies or we may have not have properly clarified. Rumors have been circulating on b-linked and elsewhere, but much of the information being shared is inaccurate.
Let us consider one of these proposed policies. In the same message the following is stated:
MYTH: The BBYO logo must be included on every piece of clothing created.
FACT: The BBYO logo must be included on all high-quantity items used for external community purposes. AZA/BBG spirit items, Chapter t-shirts and other internal BBYO memorabilia do not need to feature the BBYO logo.
So it’s all one big misunderstanding, right?
Consider the following included in the material handed out to the advisors:
Any time a local entity wishes to produce merchandise or apparel as a fundraiser project or for self-promotion, the producing entity must adhere to the guidelines hereby established:

• The BBYO logo must be on the piece;
• (many other requirements follow)

And it was explicitly stated to the advisors that “local entity” included the chapters.
So, was this whole ruckus a misunderstanding?
Or is it possible that BBYO staff listened to the comments of the advisors and youth and have backtracked?
Perhaps the staff is just confused about what was stated in the Vegas conference? It seems that the “facts” from Vegas have magically become myths. And that’s good, because it’s increasingly clear that somebody has to put some serious work and thought into these new policies before they become facts.
It’s a good thing that I’m a nice ghost, and think the best of people. I’m sure this is all a result of poor and ineffective communication. I’m sure the authors of the release did adjust the policy based on input from the advisors, and just neglected to mention that. I’m sure they are looking at some of the other proposed policies (that I’ll discuss later, having now received a copy of some of the material handed out in Vegas) and are putting some serious thought into what impact they will have.
I’m sure of these things because the alternative would be that the international staff was lying about what was presented at the advisors conference, both to the youth leadership and to the advisors who were not there. And if that were the case, then the problems facing BBYO are far greater than a selection of misguided policies.