Category Archives: planning

Train ‘em, Trust ‘em,….

Posted on by • Posted in blog, Character, comments, Journey to Excellence, Leadership, Methods, Patrol Method, planning, Scouting, teamwork • 1 Comment

I have said this so many times it is almost becoming cliche’.. but I’ll say it again…
TRAIN ‘EM, TRUST ‘EM, AND LET THEM LEAD!

Last night the SPL of our Troop held the Patrol Leaders Council meeting.  Because of a work conflict, I knew that I was not going to be able to be there, but two of the Assistant Scoutmasters of the Troop would be attending to maintain a safe environment and open up the meeting hall.
I called into the PLC for my two minutes of points that needed to be passed on from the committee and things that I thought needed to be attended to.  It was fun for the Scouts to be on a conference call with the Scoutmaster.  The SPL put his iPhone on speaker mode and placed it in the middle of the table.
I spoke my piece and asked if any one had questions.. then said good-bye.
Later that evening I got a call from… yeah.. you guessed it.. “Frustrated Dad”.  He wanted to know why I was not at the PLC meeting and who was running this show?  Well the answer to the second part was obviously easy.. The SPL is running the show.  As to why I was not there.. Work, sorry, moving on.
Once again I had to explain to him that I trust the SPL.  I know that he has been trained and mentored well and that we had talked before the meeting so he could bounce he agenda off me.  He will be shooting me an email sometime today also to recap the meeting.  Not that I asked.. he just does it.
When we train the Scouts, trust them to do the right thing, and let them do the leading.. they do pretty darn good.  The decisions that they are making, planning for, and executing are shaping them to be better leaders.  They are practicing communication skills, working with others, and yes learning from mistakes also.
The question was asked, “How can you teach them if you are not there?”  Well, I said, I am there.. I am there for them always.  I will be able to coach and teach the SPL when ever he needs it.  Again, going back to the prep work that the SPL did before the meeting.  That was a good time to coach, and I did. 
Remember that Baden-Powell told us never to do what a boy can do for himself… well that does not stop at setting up his tent and fluffing his pillow.. that is directed at the leadership of the Troop.  Never lead the Troop.. that is why they hold elections and serve.
I had to remind Mr. Frustrated that none of the adults in Boy Scouts have the word “LEADER” on their patch..  That stops at DEN LEADER…

Well, I am proud of our PLC, they held a meeting, that I am sure went well, they are leading the Troop, which I know is going well, and they are having fun.

Have a Great Scouting Day!

Learn How to Build, Recruit, Retain Strong Units and Volunteers

Posted on by • Posted in blog, Journey to Excellence, Leadership, planning • 1 Comment
From our Friends at  BSA Internal Communications  Here is a repost of a recent article that can be found on the Scout Wire.  It is two new resources have been created by Membership Impact.  The New Unit Retention guide and a Guide for Strengthening Organizations Through Scouting.  I have reposted on the Unite retention guide here.
You can scan the QR code right off of this blog to get the guide.  Yes it works I tried it. 

New-Unit Retention Guide: This book provides extensive new-unit resources covering the following topics:

Know Your Market, Build Your Team, Make the Call, and High-Performing Units. The guide is available on www.scouting.org/membership or by scanning the QR code at left with your smartphone. Spanish and English/Spanish editions available soon.

This is all good information that can help you and your unit.
Give it a Shot!
Have a Great Scouting Day!

Troop Information Board

Posted on by • Posted in blog, comments, Journey to Excellence, Oath and Law, Patrol Method, planning • 1 Comment

I am sure that most if not all of you have a nice information board that you use to attract prospective Scouts and their families.  You break it out on recruit nights and open houses, take along to community events, and generally show it off when ever the opportunities arise.
Well, tomorrow we have a crew from the Outdoor channel coming to hang out with our Troop for a week.  They will be taking some of our Scouts on a week long adventure.  This is a huge opportunity for our Troop, our Council, and the Boy Scouts of America to show Scouts and Scouting and tell our story!  We are honored to have been chosen.
But this also became a good time to update our information board.
So, after yard work and some tinkering with the hammock.. I updated (completely overhauled) our information board.
We keep ours up all the time in the Knights of Columbus meeting Hall.  This way our Charter Org. can see what we are up to and know that we are doing the right thing.
With the Troop of the Year trophy sitting prominently in the hall, as well as the Pack of the Year trophy, the Knights sponsored Cub Scout Pack won this year also, having Scouting out front is exactly where we want to be.
If you have an information board, what kind of stuff is on it?  Let us know, drop a comment in the comments section, an email, or feel free to leave a voice mail by calling 503-308-8297.

 

 

 

 

 

Have a Great Scouting Day!

Journey to Excellence Pt. 2

Posted on by • Posted in Advancement, blog, comments, Journey to Excellence, Leadership, Methods, Patrol Method, planning, Scouting, Webelos to Scout Transition • Leave a comment

Ok.. so the first post on JTE has been met with some resistance.  Let me just say this, then I will move on.
As a Scoutmaster or Committee Chair, you need to have a way to measure the success of your unit.  Going camping, having Scouts cross over, and holding a Court of Honor or two is not an accurate way of knowing that you are delivering the promise of Scouting to the youth of your Troop.  We all can stand back and say that we are doing a good job, but can’t we do better?  Sure.
I heard a comment about JTE as it applied to the old Quality Unit program in that they were always a Quality Unit, and now they may not be in the new system.  Well then, maybe your unit needs to work harder in the areas that you fall short.  Other comments reflect a need to pass it off to the youth leadership.  And while I agree that Scout units are to be Youth led, every unit should have a plan that is part youth driven and part adult driven.  The Troop committee must have a plan that supports the plan of the PLC.  Handing off the JTE program to the PLC will only get them so far down the road.  This is not setting them up for success.  The Journey to Excellence program is designed to bring out the best in the units leadership both adult and youth.
OK.. so having said that, lets dive into the program.
In this post I am going to discuss the first couple elements of the JTE program.  Advancement and Retention.
Advancement.
The objective is to increase the percentage of Boy Scouts earning rank advancements.  To earn the Bronze level you need to have 55% of your Scouts earn one rank or have a 2 percentage point increase.  I think this is important especially if you have older Scouts that are not going to advance in the year.  Lets say a Scout is Life, it is likely that he will not earn Eagle in that next year.  So having a percentage increase helps your score when you have younger Scouts earning Tenderfoot to First class in that first year.  This is attainable in every unit.  For the Silver level 60 % of your Scouts need to advance or 55% AND a 2 percentage point increase.  The Gold level requires that 65% of the Scouts advance AND a 2 percentage point increase is attained.  I find that these goals are within reason and with encouragement from the committee and Scoutmasters, every Scout, especially those younger Scouts can assist your unit in achieving this goal.
So what is the PLC’s role in this objective.  If the PLC encourages each Patrol to shoot for the Honor Patrol award, then Patrol members will advance.  The Troop guides play a major role in attaining this and working the younger Scouts on the trail to First class.  So its not just a number, it is a goal that assists your PLC and Troop Guides in properly functioning within the structure of their leadership roles.
Retention.
Simply put the objective here is to improve your retention rate.  So you have to retain and reregrister 76% of your Scouts or have a 2 percentage point increase from the previous year to earn the Bronze level.  80% for Silver and 85% for Gold.  I think this is a worthy goal.  My only heart burn with this goal is retention in general needs to be thoughtfully considered with each Scout.  Here is what I am saying.  I believe that every young man should be in Scouting.  I don’t however think that every young man fits in Scouting.  I have often said that I would rather have 10 Scouts that want to be there than 100 Scouts and no one really wants to be there.  Having a large troop that has a small percentage of active Scouts is just as good as having a small troop.  I like the idea that the Boy Scouts of America wants us to retain everyone, but at 85% retention that means we are really allowing for those that do not want to be there to find a fit elsewhere.  I like that.
So in my Troop I can lose 6 Scouts (not that I want to) and still have an 85% retention rate.  Last year we gained 9 and lost 6.  Our retention rate was still at 85%, but our net gain for the year was +4.  This would be a 40% gain for the year and qualify for the Gold in the JTE program for both retention and Building Boy Scouting.  Most of us would agree that these numbers are reasonable and easy to attain, as long as we are building a good program that the Scouts want to be a part of and establish good recruiting habits and relationships with Cub Scout packs.
Now, more than likely I lost many of you that are tired of the numbers.  Those of you that think that Scouting should not be about the numbers and that this is just an excercise in helping the DE’s look good.  I beg to differ though.  I think that periodic looks at the numbers keep your unit on track.  Further, I think it is important for the Scouts of your PLC to understand some of this.  It is a tool that they can use to assist in recruiting for the future of your troop.  Who better to recruit then the Scouts that enjoy the program?
This is just as much a function of the Patrol leaders council as the Troop committee’s.  They, working together will achieve success as a unit on a Journey to Excellence.
As much as the PLC of my Troop wants every year to be the Troop of the Year, the Journey to Excellence is a part of the program that gives them goals and tangible results.
I know that I am not going to convince some of you.. and you are probably the same Scouters that balk at anything that “National” forces on you.  Like methods and Aims.. you reluctantly went along with Quality Unit and this has no meaning to you either.  So be it…  I am sure you can run a great program without it also.  As for me.  I like the tools and I like to teach and mentor Scouts to do the hard things in life.  To set goals and plan to achieve them.  This is yet another opportunity to do that with our Patrols, our committees, and our Scoutmasters.
More later. 
Your comments are welcome.. send them to tbirdironchef@gmail.com or simply leave a comment here or at the SMMVoice mail 503-308-8297.
Have a Great Scouting Day!

Journey to Excellence. Part 1

Posted on by • Posted in blog, camping. planning, Journey to Excellence, Leadership, Methods, Patrol Method, planning • 3 Comments

Now before I even get started on this.. let me tell you that as much as I like patches.. this is NOT about a little patch.  This is about measuring success.  In the world that I live in, working for the Big Brown, I am totally in tuned to everything being measured.  I do believe in measuring, it gives us good solid data that we can learn from and grow.  When we measure things based on a standard, we can see where we are and where we need to go in order to be successful.
Here is the beauty.  In most cases in life, we get to decide what success looks like.  And so we get to determine what that measurement is.
ENTER JOURNEY TO EXCELLENCE.
Quality Unit was a program that, well kinda measured what a unit was doing.  I say kinda, because at the end of the day.. if you had a pulse, went on a few camp outs, recruited a Scout or two (read held a cross over ceremony) and got your charter turned in.. you were a quality unit.  I saw units in our district that got Quality unit and then did not recharter the following year.  HUH?  How is that possible.  Quality unit one year and dust the next.. errrr… something was wrong with this.
The Centennial Quality unit, was not much better.  The same old take on Quality unit, but cooler patches.
Now we are heading down the path to the Journey to Excellence.  This program is actually performance based and not just numbers.  Where the old programs of Quality Unit measured a process.. the Journey to excellence (JTE) measures the performance of a unit.  NOW STOP READING HERE if you are afraid of delivering a good Scouting program to your Scouts.
Over the next couple posts I am going to share and discuss the Journey to Excellence program as outlined and defined by the Boy Scouts of America.
There are three levels of levels of performance in the JTE.. Bronze, Silver, and of course Gold.  It is the unit that will decide at what level they have performed based on real numbers and expectations set out in their annual plan.
The JTE will ask of units to actually look at certain areas of their program and improve on them.  The beauty of the program is that measured success can be tracked all year long and point values are attached to the areas of concern.  It is a total score at the end of the year that will determine your success.. falling short in one area can easily be over come by larger success in others.  But the point is that rather than a simple sheet filled out at recharter, the JTE is a tool that a unit can use to measure and track success all year long.
There are 13 individual criteria that is measured in the JTE. For a Boy Scout Troop they are:  Advancement, Retention, Building Boy Scouting, Trained leadership, short term camping, Long term camping, Patrol method, Service projects, Webelos to Scout transition, Budget, Courts of Honor/ Parent meetings, Reregister on time, and a final annual assessment.
I will go into all of these in greater detail in the next few posts.
Here is the bottom line.  If you have no goals or a plan then you will not improve.  There is not a unit out there that is perfect in every way, and the JTE is a tool that will move you to greater success.  Building your Scouting program is important, not only for your unit, but for Scouting in general.
I like the new JTE program, and I hope I can share some information here to help you achieve that success your unit deserves.
Have a Great Scouting Day!

Grandma always told me…

Posted on by • Posted in blog, Character, Citizenship, Ideals, Journey to Excellence, Leadership, Methods, Patrol Method, planning, Scout Law, Scouting • Leave a comment

“You are either part of the problem or part of the solution…”  a great approach to being a part of an organization.  You truly are either part of the problem or part of the solution.  When we teach our Scouts how to lead, being part of the solution is the driving force that they need to quickly embrace and practice.  Never is it ok for a leader to be a part of the problem.  We and the youth leaders of our units are problem solvers.. never problem makers.
I never allow a youth leader to make excuses.. there are none, ever.  We are accountable for our actions, decisions, and the outcomes of our leadership.  It’s never the committees fault, the districts fault, or the council’s fault.  We are unit leaders, us and the youth, and we run our units.  If something is broke, we fix it.
Last year during our recharter, a couple of our Scouts were inadvertently dropped in Scout Net.  Now I could have raised hell and blamed everyone and their brother.. but what good does it do?  Rather, we took our copy of the application down to the Scout office and got it fixed.  Real simple.  What shocked me though was when the gal at the Council service desk informed me that usually this issue is met with irate leaders that want satisfaction.  Satisfaction at what expense?  Tearing into someones hide?  Very Scout like don’t you think?  Lets assume that all of our units do a good job at record keeping.  Well then there is no issue, right.. we just take down our copy and done.
We are either part of the problem or part of the solution.  It is easy to point fingers and assume that things will be messed up.  Patrol leaders try this all the time.  They try to pass the buck or play the blame game.  This is always a great teaching opportunity. 
In my Troop we use the Happy Hand approach to rules. 
1.  Hold up your Thumb.. Everything is OK.. working together we will get through it.
2. Your Pointer Finger is not to be used to point at anyone.. remember there are 3 fingers pointing back.
3.  Your Middle finger is never to be used by itself.
4.  The Ring finger represents committment.  We are committed to each other all the time.
5.  The pinky finger is fragile…  A reminder to be safe.
Everything there keeps us in the problem solving game and not the blame game.  Teach the Scouts to solve problems and seek areas to improve.  Never allow finger pointing and backing out of events because they think it will not be worth their time.  So many times Scouts with great attitudes can swing a sub standard event.  I have seen it many times.
If they want to complain, they need to offer a solution.
NOW.. that goes for you adults to… How you act is how your Scouts will act.  You are either part of the problem or part of the solution.  PICK ONE.

Have a Great Scouting Day!

Standing on the shoulders of Giants

Posted on by • Posted in planning, Service, teamwork • 1 Comment

When I became a new Scoutmaster a good friend took me aside and gave me some great advice.  He told me that its all about the Troop program.  We were building a Troop from scratch and so he assured me that if we built a great program, the Scouts would come and we would have a troop that would do great things.
That was 7 years ago.  We built a great program and as the Scouts got older they all added to that program building it stronger and stronger each year.  Annually our District, like every other District in the BSA hosts their District Dinner or Annual Awards Banquet.  For the past 4 years Troops 174, 544, and my Troop (664) have been competing for the Troop of the Year.. Trading off between the three of us, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places, typically separated by 1 or points between Troops.  My Troop has never been number one.. until now.
Last year Troop 174 won the top honors and we came in a very close second.  There was a 3 point spread between 1st and 3rd place.  This year there was a 4 point spread between 1st and 4th place and once again the three Troops were in the hunt.  When they announced that Troop 544 was third place, I immediately thought.. “Well, we got second again this year”, then they announced that 174 was the runner up.  My committee chair looked over at me and we smiled.  “And the Troop of the Year is 664!” our Awards chair announced.  7 years of building and working with our Scouts to build this program and here it is the Troop of the Year for our District.
I am proud of the work that the Scouts have done, the support of a fantastic committee, and the dedication of some great Assistant Scoutmasters that made this all happen.
It all started with a Giant helping me get started.  Thanks

Have a Great Scouting Day!

Getting the Hammock Ready

Posted on by • Posted in Backpacking, blog, Camping, camping. planning, gear, Just fun, planning, Wood Badge • Tagged • 3 Comments

Here is a quick video on me getting the Hammock ready for my week up in the Oregon Coast Range for the 2nd session of Wood Badge.
I removed the stock Hennessy suspension from the hammock and replaced them with Whoopie Slings.  This has reduced the weight and the packed room for the entire hammock, I am really happy with this modification.
Check out the video, its just me hanging in the garage.  Took a great nap out there too… ahhh… I love the hammock.

Have a Great Scouting Day!
#100daysofscouting
Reviewed Tickets for the Patrol I am Troop Guide for.
Got gear together for Wood Badge
Did some last minute prep for Camporee this weekend.

Emergency Preparedness

Posted on by • Posted in Advancement, blog, Citizenship, planning, training • Tagged • 1 Comment

The BSA has a very good Emergency Preparedness program.  It encourages our Scouts and Adults alike to plan and prepare for an emergency.  You can read more about it at http://www.scouting.org.
One of the important aspects of the Emergency preparedness program that I find valuable is the extension beyond the family and house.  But having your Troop prepared to help the community in such an emergency.  Are you prepared to cook, help in First Aid, and comfort those that are displaced by a natural disaster or emergency?  Having a unit plan for this is a great idea.  Work with other local agencies to provide simple services that will get your Scouts involved and ready to act when the time comes.
But Emergency Preparedness really does start at home.  The company that I work for recently got on board with Emergency Prep plans in the wake of recent hurricanes, tsunamis, acts of terrorism, and the threat of a pandemic influenza.
I found that there were a few good take home drills that go beyond what we have done through Scouting.  I thought I would share a few of those ideas.
First.  Most Scouts and most families for that matter have multiple cell phones.  Our kids have them and we communicate with them either by voice or text.  Now I understand that some emergencies or disasters will knock out cell coverage or emergency agencies will occupy the bulk of cell coverage, but even inJapan, cell communication proved to be reliable and an efficient way of communicating.

So here is a drill that you and your family can do (practice) to aid in your Emergency preparedness.
Texting ‘drill’
Conduct a family drill in which you call all family members and let them know you will be evacuating from work.
Step 1: Input the text messages for HELP and SAFE which you can find at safeamericaprepared.org.
Step 2: Practice returning messages from each family mem­ber and memorize emergency family meeting places.
Step 3: Text a follow-up message. Set a ‘time’ when all should arrive. Explain what should be done if some­one has trouble in traveling to the home/alternative rendezvous site.
Step 4: Complete the drill by having all family members text that they are ‘SAFE’ to return to their routine and review the process later at home–exploring lessons learned.
Another idea in Emergency Prep is the Shelter in Place.  That is to say that you will have to stay in one place, typically your home for an extended period of time.  Are you ready?  Try this.
Shelter in Place
Plan a drill in which you practice how you would remain at home for an extended period of time (without power). Steps that you can consider include the following:
Step 1: Check your family pantry for an inventory of key supplies you’d need to stay at home for one week. These might include potable water, food, medical and sanitation supplies (toilet paper, etc.).
Step 2: Determine how you would cook and/or survive without power for 3-5 days. Make a plan to heat/cool your home–and stay in rooms that are the best insulated as well as best lit.
Step 3: Review procedures to shelter non-family/neighbors that may not have adequate supplies. Discuss how many you can shelter–and any special rules/regulations you might want to enforce.
Step 4: Plan a three-day simple menu to avoid cooking.
Step 5: Consider how you would dispose of waste if you could not take garbage outside your home.
Step 6: Have a communications system (battery radio) tested to make sure it works. Also check flashlights.
Step 7: Pretend that you have to sleep in one room. Have all family members ‘bed down’ and see how to make themselves comfortable.
Step 8: Complete the drill, asking for suggestions of what could make people ‘more comfortable.’ Consider what chores might need to be shared–for adults, teens and children — and explain the value of practice — just like a sport or dance production.
This drill is very much like that which you will find in the Emergency preparedness merit badge.  It is a great idea not just to discuss this plan, but try it.  Not for the full 3 to 5 days.. but at least an hour or two.  Think about how you are going to gather water, wood, and other materials that will add to your comfort and survival.  As Scouts we are prepared, we have stoves, fuel, water purification techniques, and shelter.  We have the knowledge to tie knots, build simple structures that add to the protection of our shelter and of course basic First Aid.  With that knowledge comes confidence that in the event of an emergency, we will be able to react and not panic.
A good plan and solid preparation is your ticket to emergency preparedness.

Have a Great Scouting Day!

The Troop Annual Plan

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Everything starts with Planning. If you fail to plan well, you will have a hit and miss year of Scouting. If you plan effectively.. you will have a terrific year of Scouting.. it really is that simple.
Even the units that do not execute the plan all that well will have a great year given they plan it well.

Podcast Show #8 discusses the Troop Annual Plan. It outlines the tools needed to establish the plan, why we need to plan, and how to conduct the annual planning session.


Listen or Download here
Standard Podcast [32:56m] mp3 format

Happy Scouting!