Realizing that I have had vast experience
in organizational work (I was once appointed Keeper of the Cards in the
Nipomo Men's Club and Poker Society), several people have inquired as
to how they too could be as successful in organizational work as I have
been. As a public service I will now answer some of your questions.
Q. I have recently been urged by mail to become a "stakeholder?" What is that?
A. Generally, if the dues of an
organization are less than $50 a year such people are known as
"members." Once over that threshold mere members become "stakeholders."
See how much more important and impressive that sounds? Henceforth when
people see you at the auction barn they'll point to you and say, "See
that guy over there, the guy with his shirt tucked in, he's a
stakeholder!"
Q. What is required of a stakeholder?
A. Let me put it in terms you might
understand. For there to be leaders we must have followers. Have you
ever seen a cow in heat followed by several steers? The steers have no
idea why they are following the cow and if they caught her they wouldn't
know what to do with her. Even if they did know what to do, they
wouldn't be very effective because they are, well, they're steers now
aren't they? But they do serve a purpose. The rancher will know which
cows are in heat and can then inseminate them. That's why we need people
like you as stakeholders. Got it?
Q. I think so. Does that mean I should aspire to become a leader or officer of a club or organization?
A. Meetings are a male dominated ritual
much like musical chairs… and when the music stops you definitely want
to be sitting in one. This is known as "going through the chairs." The
primary benefit of going through the chairs is that when you attend your
annual convention several gaily colored ribbons will dangle from your
name badge, thereby setting you apart as someone who has enough working
knowledge of parliamentary procedure to bring the cocktail hour to a
close.
Q. How does one rise to ascendancy in organizational work?
A. I can best answer that question by
comparing it to the life of a cattle grub, and I mean that in a
flattering way. After you get bitten by the bug to be a politician you
begin your organizational life in its lowest form, on the membership
committee in charge of recruiting new members. This is tough duty.
You'll soon learn what a heel fly feels like walking around in manure 24
hours a day. But soon you will begin your upward ascendancy through the
body of the organization. If you only speak when spoken to and use the
proper fork when eating your hearts of palm at the annual banquet,
eventually your time will come and you'll one day pop out the top.
Q. Are there any short cuts to the top?
A. It's imperative that you feel
obligated to speak in a solemn voice whenever a crowd of three is
gathered. Preferred topics include estate tax relief, ancestor worship
and where the next vacation, I mean meeting, will be held. You must
sprinkle these impromptu speeches liberally with key words such as
paradigm, unity, empowerment, strategize, Power Point, human resources,
synergy, cloud-centric, actualize and empower. Talk a lot about your
"vision", even if it is somewhat impaired from the previous night's
executive session in the hotel bar.
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