The Squadron Rejuvenation
Program
A Self-Directed Energizer
STF/C Margaret Barber, SN
How Do You Rejuvenate a Squadron?
• The need must be real and recognized
• The leadership has to be motivated and willing
to address it
• A strategic plan that fits your squadron must
be developed
• The leadership MUST stay focused on the plan
• Everything you do should relate to the plan
This is the
path we
want to
take
FUTURE STATE VISION
This is
where we
are today
STRATEGIC PLAN
CURRENT STATE
HERE
THERE
This is
where we
want to be
tomorrow
Strategic Planning
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Mission
Vision
Analysis
Goals / Outcomes
Objectives
Mission Statement
A brief expression of the organization’s purpose
It should answer the questions:
– Why do we exist?
– What, at the most basic level, do we do?
Mission Statement
To educate our members and the public to make
our waterways safe, provide civic services to
enhance our community and engage in
fellowship opportunities to strengthen and
enhance our relationships
Vision Statement
A description of the organization’s desired
future state
• It answers the question:
– Where do we want to be?
Vision Statement
Be the Go-To-Boating Organization in our
community to enhance safe boating in our area
Goals
Goals are expected or desired outcomes of a
planning process
Goals/Outcomes
Focus on and increase our membership
involvement and retention
Objectives
Precise targets are necessary to achieve the
goals
2015 Goals and Objectives
How do you get there from here?
• There are tools and models that will guide you
through the process
• You can conduct the process in-house
• That’s what we will look at today
Before You Begin
• Go back to your squadron and assess the
viability of conducting a SWOT
• Ask yourself and other leaders:
– Can you find a champion (someone who will be in
a position to support and follow through for
several years?)
– This is a long term project. It takes time to
accomplish
Before You Begin
• Do you have people who will stick with the
process?
• Do you have the time and resources?
If you answer yes to these questions, you are
ready
Now You Can Begin
• Immediately start socializing the process
• Get excited and be enthusiastic
• Sell it to the people you want to be involved
and recruit them for the effort
• Tell them you attended the Annual USPS
Meeting and learned a process that can help
revitalize the squadron
Facilitating an Effective SWOT
Analysis
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
What is a SWOT Analysis?
A tool that identifies the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats of an organization
Specifically, SWOT is a basic, straight-forward
model that assesses what an organization can
and cannot do as well as its potential
opportunities and threats
The Benefits of Conducting a SWOT
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•
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Simple to do
Low cost
Can be done quickly
Collaborative
Very productive
Why Collaboration?
• Allows all members of a group to participate
• Shows the members that there are many
points of view
• Forces the group to verbalize the brutal
realities
• Promotes “Buy In”
• Lays the foundation for future actions
The Mindset for a Successful SWOT
• Requires creative (right brain) thinking
• Requires participants to think big and outside
the box
• Collects many ideas in a short time
• There are NO bad ideas
• Every idea and comment are valid and should
be captured
Role of the Facilitator
• Should be a person with no vested interest in
the outcomes
• Should capture the ideas as offered by the
participants on a flip chart that is in clear sight
of everyone
• Should keep the ground focused – right brain
thinking only
Role of the Facilitator
• Remind Group that History is not important in
this process
• Solutions will be developed later, not now
• A strength can also be a weakness
• A threat can also be an opportunity
The Participants
The best groups are:
• Demographically diverse
• Have a wide range of experience, longevity,
opinions and responsibilities within the
organization
• Newer members can introduce new thinking
and ideas
Grouping of Participants
• Typically a small group (6-10)
• If more than 10, split into smaller groups, each
with their own table and flip chart
• Two groups of 6 will develop twice as many
ideas as a group of 12
• Make each small group diverse
The Setting
• Avoid a traditional setting
• An off-site location works best in stimulating
creative thinking
• Avoid traditional seating arrangements for the
safe reason
The Materials
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Ensure that there are ample supplies
Different color markers
Chart stands
Chart paper with adhesive backing (Post-itNote variety)
• Or a roll of Painters Masking Tape (the blue,
low adhesive type)
The Process
• Brainstorm a list for each area – strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats
• Clarify the responses
• Identify the top 3-5 responses for each area
• Summarize the final results
• Use the outcomes to develop an action plan
Brainstorming Guidelines
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Everyone participates
5 minutes to write down your thoughts
Generate lots of responses
No evaluation – that comes later
Go around the group for one response at a
time
• Continue until ALL responses are captured
Examples of Strenghts
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Leadership abilities
Decision-making abilities
Course materials
Advertising
Member participation
Commitment
Let’s Try Out the Process
• Instead of using a fictitious squadron, let’s use
the United States Power Squadrons
• Everyone jot down all the strengths of USPS as
quickly as you can
• You have 5 minutes
Examples of Weakness
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Leadership abilities
Decision-making abilities
Innovation
Quality courses
Quality instructors
Lack of advertising
Examples of Opportunities
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Additional partnerships
Increased member involvement
New courses
Additional instructors
On-the-water training
Co-chairs for committees
Examples of Threats
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Burn-out
Economy
Competition for time
Many activity choices
Declining membership
Aging population
Next Steps
• Develop the organization’s Implementation
Plan to achieve the desired goals
• Objectives:
– The steps that have to be accomplished to reach
the goal (How?)
Objectives
• Expand our boating activities to reflect the variety
of interests of our members
• Activities include:
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–
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Sailing
Power Boating
Kayaking
Fishing
• Have a new member town hall meeting each
quarter
• Have an open house with coffee and donuts and
a program one Saturday each quarter
Implementation / Action Plan
• This is the organizational “user’s guide” to the
strategic plan
• It identifies the accountability, resources, time
frames, check points and priority for each
strategy and tactic
• The implementation plan answers the questions:
– What are our specific priorities?
– How can we pursue our plan in a logical and feasible
fashion?
Implementation / Action Planning
• The process that guides the day-to-day
activities of an organization or project
• It answers the questions:
– What needs to be done?
– When does it need to be done?
– Who needs to do it?
– What resources or inputs are needed to do it?
• It is the process of operationalizing your
strategic objective
Implementation / Action Planning
When you go through the action planning
process, you end up with a practical plan to
enable you to resource and carry forward the
steps needed to achieve your objective/s and
contribute to your long-term goal
4 Elements of an Implementation /
Action Plan
• Responsibility:
– A clarification of who will be responsible for
making sure that each step is successfully
completed
• Who / Department / Committee Chair
• Time Frame:
– Some kind of time schedule for when each step
must take place and how long it is likely to take
• When
4 Elements of an Implementation /
Action Plan
• Checkpoints:
– Reporting points to keep on track or make
adjustments
• Accountability
• Resources:
– A clarification of the resources that are needed
• Inputs
Questions?
Thank You for Participating