I brought home a lot of ideas from Convention. I have discussed several at our recent Board meetings. I also promised to share that information on the blog for all of the leaders in our club (that includes everyone)! I hope you gain as much from the following as I did. (Please note: this is my interpretation of the “Charge Into the Future” training session from Convention, 2010. For more information please visit the website for Cynthia D’Amour, Leadership Strategist by clicking here.)

Be A Lazy Leader

I know some of you just gasped at reading that. What? A lazy leader? How will our club ever survive? Well it’s quite simple. Imagine having one person give 110% to Quota. They are busy taking care of all the details, overseeing many things at once, dipping their hands into everything that is going on within the club. Now picture one person who is only giving 60%. She is having fun, she is able to bring more people to the club because she has the time. Her friends and fellow club members see that she is getting things done and is delegating tasks. Each one of us has our own special talents. For instance: don’t ask me to take care of Treasurer’s Reports, that is NOT what I’m good at, but I can manage the blog. I digress, our 60% member has now brought in seven other people, each giving anywhere between 20-40%. Remember the Martyr Leader? She’s stressed out, burnt out and is headed toward a melt-down. She didn’t want to let Quota down and knew that if she didn’t do things, nothing would get done. Let’s look at those eight members whose total percent of “giving” equals 200% (estimated on the low side). See how more people are more effective at being lazy, than one person who is being a martyr?

Okay, now you know how to be lazy, the members will start pouring in right? They will if you know how to approach them. We have to paint a vivid picture of who Quota is. If you want someone to join Quota, do you tell them why you joined? That’s a great way to start the conversation, but even before you get to that point, you should start from the beginning. What are they looking for?

Hot Buttons

• Personal/Professional Development
• Contribution to a greater good
• Community

Let me start by explaining the Hot Buttons. When you’re talking to someone about Quota and you’re trying to get them as excited about it as you are, the best way to do that is to find their hot buttons. What are they interested in. What is important to them. If you are talking to them telling them how much you love Quota because it gives you the chance to serve others, but they are really looking for a social group, then you’ve not only missed their hot button, but you’ve lost their attention. If you start off by asking what they are interested in, then you can hit their hot button because Quota really does relate to all three. Let me explain how.

The first one in that list is Personal/Professional Development. Do you know some companies hold training sessions that cost their employees $200-$300/session? We offer the same development through our speaker’s for our one year’s dues. Did you ever think to look at it that way? I certainly had not. It can be one more persuasive tool when speaking to someone about Quota.

Next is Contribution to a greater good. In other words: Service. That’s what we do in Quota. We help those in need. We provide many service opportunities throughout the year.

Last is Community. Before each meeting we hold a social time. We catch up with each others latest news. We have fun, we laugh and we get together outside of Quota too. Perhaps the person you are talking to wants to meet more people or even network with other business women. That’s what we do and who we are!!!

Great! Now you can find out what the potential Quota member is looking for and tell her how Quota meets her needs. We need to remember to focus on what we are and who we are helping.

One good way to bring in outside people is through our service projects. We have a walk coming up. Have you asked everyone you know to join in a walk around the park? You don’t have to ask everyone for money, but if you ask them to walk then you’ve opened to door of Quota to them. By asking someone from the outside to join us for a service project, they’ll see how much fun we have and they’ll get to know Quota better.

I will leave you with this quote from Cynthia,

“If not you then who? If not now then when?

Ginny sent a card to the club thanking us for the flowers we sent. The card reads: (outside) “For A Special Friendship… (inside) To My Caring Friends I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate our friendship and I’m glad we have each other to always count on. -Thanks a million”

She included the following letter:

“I walked outside to feed my dog (Sandy) and there on the table on my porch was a gorgeous plant from Eastern Floral.

The big blue and white container held a plant with big green leaves and delicate white flowers called Cyclamen. Beautiful! You made me feel like the queen of the show. Quota friends really do care. Thank you and thank you again.

My agenda does not include losing my balance over nothing and injuring my hip again. See you soon and I hope with out a cane which I put down and can’t find most of the time.”

Ginny

Mark your calendars, Grand Rapids is hosting the 65th District 20 Conference! More information will be coming soon, but we have the dates verified as May 20th- 22nd,  2011.

Click here to see our video invitation.

The Membership Committee would like to remind you of a couple of things.

• Please remember to invite your guest back to the March Meeting. Talk to your guest about joining Quota. Ask them; are they making a difference in the community?

• Quota Dollars! We are still running this program on its two-year trial basis. You haven’t heard much about it, but here’s a reminder!

Quota Dollars (click to see how you can earn, purchase or redeem them)

• Who do you know that you can invite to Quota? Do you know someone named; Sandy, Penny, Ruth, Irma, Natalie, or Ginger? It only takes one simple question; would you like to come and see what Quota does?

Remember, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.” -Helen Keller

Membership Committee Update

For six long months the Membership Committee has been working hard on our Membership Awareness Event.
WOO HOO!!! Did you see all those stars shining on the 21st? It was very bright! THANK YOU! I would like to thank my amazing Committee and extra helpers (Maureen, Elaine, Gwen, Sue, Peggy and the invitation makers, and Joyce our in-house photographer) for all the hard work you put into this event. Without ALL of you, this would not have been as successful as it was! To all of the Members of the Club, thank you for bringing guests, bringing yourselves and representing who Quota is in Grand Rapids. How great was it to see how we Make A Difference in so many ways!

We had a total of 42 in attendance!!! 22 of those were Members. Diane passed out all fifteen membership packets! Please remember to follow up with your guest. With that many guests, we don’t want to lose anyone. You know who you invited, so please help out the Membership Committee and check in on them. Remember to invite them back to the February meeting and be sure to invite them back in March when the Cool Cats will be at our meeting! If you would like one of the Membership Committee Members to call on your guest, please send their name and contact information to Emily.

January 21st

Be A Star & Lighten the Burden.

Please use the Evite to post your rsvp. If you are bringing a guest, they can either rsvp to Emily, or you can use the Evite to add your guest. The Membership Committee is excited to share what Quotarians have been up to this past year. This is a fantastic way to spread the word and work of Quota. Are you feeling a little left out, or left behind? Make sure you join us for our special January meeting to shine bright for another year of service in our community.

Spots are limited, be sure you get your rsvp in by Jan. 14th, 2010. You won’t want to miss this!

Rosemary Scott

Diane Friar sent me this very interesting speech made by our own Rosemary Scott on February 23, 1995. As most of your know, Rosemary broke many barriers as one of the first women lawyers in Grand Rapids. Whether you knew her or not, I think you will find her speech to be very interesting. And it provides a side to Rosemary that we didn’t always see.

Thanks for sharing this, Diane!