Quick - name a successful corporation or venture that uses an organizational structure where a single Chief Executive Officer oversees 21 subsidiaries and over 20 Vice Presidents! Hopefully, it didn't take you long to figure out that there aren't any. It simply isn't possible to adequately support such a large span of control. So why do we think it will work here in Kiwanis? Over fifteen years of steadily declining membership confirms to me that it does not.

Consider the grand icon of franchise success - McDonald's Restaurants. First, we must accept that McDonald's would not be a successful corporation if its individual stores did not succeed. Everyone above the retail store has a vested interest in doing what it takes to help those stores succeed. That includes a management structure that includes an owner, a division manager charged with supporting a finite number of franchise owners, an operating region manager to support the division managers, a zone president to support the operating region managers, and ultimately, a corporate staff that supports the zone presidents.

I believe this model would prove equally effective in Kiwanis, where everyone above the club level must have a vested interest in the clubs' successes. Using this model means our club Presidents function as store owners, our Lieutenant Governors function as "Division Managers" supporting 5-10 stores (clubs), our District Trustees serve as "Operating Region Managers" supporting the Division Managers (LTGs within their region), the Governor serves as the "Zone President" to support the Operating Region Managers (Trustees), and Kiwanis International serves as Corporate Headquarters, supporting the Zone Presidents (Governors).

Currently, our governing documents call for the District Governor to serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the District, and in doing so, to have direct lines of authority to all 21 Lieutenant Governors and over 20 committee chairs. I believe it is time to 'fess up and finish what we started with the Shaping Initiative over two years ago.

Some may recall that one of the most controversial recommendations to come from the Shaping Initiative Committee - indeed there were strong disagreements even within the committee - was whether or not the District Trustees should be in the line of authority. Ultimately, we stopped short of implementing that, confident that simply instituting the Trustee structure with staggered three-year terms was a significant step forward, and accepting a "wait and see" approach would keep open our future options. Indeed, that 15-year membership decline finally bottomed out as this change was implemented.

Folks, the future has arrived, and I recommend we revisit this matter. Although our current Bylaws (Article V, Sections 9f and 9i) contain language that allows the Governor to empower Trustees with oversight of Lieutenant Governors and committee chairs, such a move is entirely up to the Governor. That means one Governor could choose the organizationally effective path of supporting eight Trustees, thus managing the District through them, while the next Governor could go back to the ineffective options of trying to support over forty "supervisors".

Let me put this in another context that most of us can relate to. Children need and deserve their parents' attention in order to grow to be productive members of society. The more children a set of parents attempts to raise, the less time they have to devote to each child's unique needs. Admittedly, this analogy stumbles somewhat simply because it takes time to have a large family, and that means older siblings can often help with the younger ones. But what about those 21 new Lieutenant Governors whose circumstances, challenges, experience and abilities vary greatly? No older siblings to help there! That means, under the current structure, the Governor is left trying to single-handedly support them so that they can, in turn, properly support the division's clubs. Like a single parent trying to support and raise a large family, everything will suffer to some degree. Predictably, the Club Support Committee Chairs and Lieutenant Governors will not get the adequate, timely support and follow-through needed to foster successful clubs.

Only by making the leap and bringing the Trustees into the line of authority will we be able to support our necessary revitalization adequately. As such, empowered Trustees can serve as the primary support resource for a small handful of Lieutenant Governors and a couple of Committee Chairs.

In closing, I once again thank you for everything you do for Kiwanis. But more importantly, I thank you for everything you do to make your communities better places to live. Now, let's get this topic on the agenda for the next District Convention.

With a Kiwanis servant's heart,
Tom Ganse

P.S. As always, I'd like to hear your views! Please e-mail me at tganse@earthlink.net.