When trying to save your bowling club, it is easy to be put off or put down by people or comments from within the club.
The trouble is that you will never please everybody.
If you’ve read my Manifesto for a Successful Bowling Club you will know about the importance of making a club policy that locks in the direction you are going in at least until the consensus of opinion is changed.
If you’ve read my Bowling Club Survival and Turnaround eBook you will know about the 80/20 rule or Pareto Principle. This is a rule that turns out true for so many different areas of business and life in general that it’s hard to ignore it; simply put this principle says that 80% of the effect will be gained from 20% of the effort. It is also true that 80% of the work will be done by 20% of the people and of course that 80% of the moans, groans and negativity will come from 20% of your members.
If you set out to try to please everybody, your project will stall early.
Make sure you communicate your intentions well, and that the ideas you want to progress with are group decisions; then get them locked in to policy early on.
Communicate regularly and consistently on how progress is being made.
Expect that only 20% of the members will actively take part in the process.
Don’t be put off by the negative comments from the 20% that don’t agree with anything.
Just do your work, communicate it well and make sure to report on measurable changes frequently to show the progress you are making.
Don’t allow a clique to form, keep trying to get fresh input regardless of how hard it seems to do.
Above all keep going, it will all be worth it.
