[Lnc-business] LNC Goal for the 2014-16 LNC term

Norm Olsen region1rep at doneDad.com
Mon Sep 15 19:58:58 EDT 2014


Thank you, Brett . . .

 

. . . for pointing out that goals are of value only when they are associated with a plan of action (in addition to being SMART).  Setting a goal of 20,000 members is nice, but  in the absence of a plan which includes specific actions that we will take to increase membership the goal is totally meaningless; just simple dreaming.

 

For the sake of discussion, let’s assume that we have decided that “running lots of candidates for office” is our strategic plan for our future success.  Then, we would devise a list of actions to increase the number of candidates that run as Libertarians in 2016.  Given the list of actions which we plan to implement, and having balanced those plans against the funding available, only then can we set a (several) goal(s) that we strive toward.

 

Simply stating a goal with no relation to an appropriately funded plan to achieve that goal is pure folly.  We might as well set as our goal a filibuster proof majority in the US Senate.

 

Norm

--

Norman T Olsen

Regional Representative, Region I

Libertarian National Committee

7931 S Broadway, PMB 102

Littleton, Colorado  80122-2710

303-263-4995

Norman.Olsen at lp.org

 

"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Gandhi

 

From: Lnc-business [mailto:lnc-business-bounces at hq.lp.org] On Behalf Of Brett Bittner
Sent: Monday, September 15, 2014 2:01 PM
To: lnc-business at hq.lp.org
Subject: Re: [Lnc-business] LNC Goal for the 2014-16 LNC term

 

Joshua,

 

There is still debate about the reason our party exists, 43 years after its founding. 

 

There is no clearly defined vision, nor is there a plan to achieve it, and arguments about both abound in our discussions. There are no defined goals that support a plan or a vision that are more than Dr. Lieberman's (and others) suggestions via e-mail.

 

My apologies for using the S.M.A.R.T. terminology. We can build goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely to support a defined vision and plan. 

 

Or we can continue to fight about the reason our party exists, and the 4908 visions our membership has for it, and the 9816 plans for achieving those visions.

 

Personally, I'd like to see some strategic planning, rather than the "by the seat of our pants" method it seems is the status quo.




Brett C. Bittner

 

brett at brettbittner.com

404.492.6524

 

"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it." -- Thomas Jefferson

 

On Mon, Sep 15, 2014 at 3:47 PM, Joshua Katz <planning4liberty at gmail.com> wrote:

Not having gone to business school (well, having stopped after a term) I am having trouble understanding what is being said.  How are "having as many Libertarians in office as possible" or "40 state ballot access in December 2016" not strategic goals?  I agree about the need for both a plan and a vision.  In my years as EMS Chief, then as Department Head, and even now as an Emergency Planning consultant, I think that my main work as a leader is to have and transmit a vision - and if I can fire up the people around me to buy into my vision, and then assign each a part of achieving it, they will then do what they need to do to actualize their piece - so breaking it up is the plan, and firing them up is far better than requiring them to do it.  If my employees - direct reports all the way down - aren't fired up about what we're doing, that's my fault, not theirs.  I get that.  What I don't get is how the things being proposed don't fit that.

 

Anyway, I will say this.  Having, again, spent one term in business school, and having a reason to leave, I will not participate in any discussion using terms like SMART, SWOT, Sigma, 6th Degree Black Belt, Moving My Cheese, Road to Abilene, or whatever else is floating around in business terminology nowadays.  It was banned from the administrative office when I was EMS Chief, and it was banned from my department when I was Department Head.  It is currently banned in any Health and Safety meeting I am asked to consult for (especially the one where I am an external chair.)  I don't mind if you want to use these things, but I'll put my head down.  I just can't take this stuff.  Seriously.  I can't.  I'm sorry.  

 

Accounting, on the other hand, uses terminology I love.

 

Joshua Katz




Joshua A. Katz

Westbrook CT Planning Commission (L in R seat)

 

On Mon, Sep 15, 2014 at 3:38 PM, Brett Bittner <brett at brettbittner.com> wrote:

Colleagues, 

 

As we are discussing goals, I see a glaring failure among libertarian groups, whether political, social, or otherwise. We are not setting strategic goals, period. Full stop.

 

This is something that I shared during my tenure as the Executive Director in Georgia. I've edited a few things to make it pertinent to our discussions here.

 

It's my belief that the Libertarian Party needs a VISION for our existence. In my opinion, that vision should be optimistic. We have yet to define what we are doing, and why we are doing it.

We also need a PLAN to attain that optimistic vision. That plan should be strategic and broad,  yet focused enough to achieve that vision.

To supplement that plan we need GOALS that are aligned with the S.M.A.R.T. goal philosophy ( http://topachievement.com/smart.html ), so that there is no question about their focus, achievement (or lack thereof), and position on the path to success.

These goals should have action plans that assign TASKS designed to achieve them. They should be assigned to individuals or roles within our organization with defined timelines for completion with actionable consequences for failure.

I believe once we've defined these items, we will be on a path TOWARD success, and I believe that we can then move to focus on the standards by which we  operate.

As I believe we have discussed, it is my belief that the LNC should be working toward defining the "big picture" for our organization, our members, and our progress. All of which can be accomplished via the items I've outlined above.

During my tenure as Executive Director in Georgia, I saw the body float in between "fires" in need of extinguishing without any true, singular vision or even general direction goals. This makes accountability impossible. It also makes misunderstandings about roles, responsibilities, and actions much easier to bubble up. We've seen them turn into "fires," burning those who are genuinely loyal to our Party's success.

For me personally, it made the position stressful and tenuous at times, while being reassured that things are "going well." Often, I felt as though I was rowing a boat in a fog without a map or GPS and no idea if the people in that boat are rowing in the same direction, or if they even have paddles or are in the boat with me.

I share these sentiments to provide you with some feedback that I feel is important to our success and a continued relationship working for liberty. 

Thanks for taking a bit of time to read this, and I look forward to your response.




Brett C. Bittner

 

brett at brettbittner.com

404.492.6524

 

"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than those attending too small a degree of it." -- Thomas Jefferson

 

On Sun, Sep 14, 2014 at 9:53 PM, Scott L. <scott73 at earthlink.net> wrote:

 

>From the minutes of the Nov 2010 LNC Session:

 

“the main motion became that the LNC adopt the following goals for the 2010-2012 LNC term: 

 

 

1. Membership: 20,000 sustaining members by April 15, 2012

 

2. Organization: Operational affiliates in 48 states (out of 51 “states”). Defined as...

 

a. Runs at least 2 candidates for non-partisan or partisan office every 2 year election cycle 

 

b. Has a REAL web site (not a Meetup Group or Blog) that is updated with news or 

meeting info at least once per month 

 

c. Has a Chair or Contact Person who responds to most inquires within 2 business days 

 

d. Place candidates on the ballot and attempt to maintain ballot access. 

 

e. The affiliate will provide the latest copy of their bylaws and constitution to the national 

office or post the same on their state website. 

 

3. Fundraising: $1,400,000 gross revenue for calendar year 2011. 

 

4. Training : Several seminars around the country in 2011 to include training on winnable and party-building campaigns, and training that teaches affiliate development 

 

5. Political: 

 

a. 200 U.S. House of Representative candidates in 2012 

 

b. 200 elected Libertarians by Apr 15, 2012 (for the purpose of this goal, Inspectors and Judges of Elections in Pennsylvania only count as 1/3 of an elected Libertarian) 

 

c. 30 state ballot access by Apr 15, 2012 (that means actually certified by the SOS or equivalent), which puts us in position for 45 or more state ballot access by Election 

Day 2012”

 

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

 

Somehow I ended up moving the motion above, but most of the original wording was suggested by Dr. Lark.

 

 

 

Now, here is my handy-dandy ballot access chart:

 

 

Number of states where the LP had ballot access

 

Dec 2000      25           

 

Dec 2004      26

   

Dec 2008      27

 

Dec 2012      31

 

 

As you can see, this chart shows how well the LP retained ballot access after each of the last 4 presidential elections.

 

The noticeable bump after the Johnson campaign was not because Gov. Johnson himself did well enough to retain ballot access in a bunch of states, but more likely because his coattails were able to boost a few more statewide candidates past the ballot access retention threshold.

 

 

I will let other LNC members come up with scorecards that detail how well that LNC did with respect to the above goals.

 

 

Here is the problem – after being in existence for 42 years, we are STILL a $1,000,000 per year organization, with fewer than 15,000 dues-paying members.  Yet, we keep coming up with long lists of goals, but no realistic way to accomplish them.

 

 

So – the BHAG:

 

>From Wikipedia:

 

A Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) is a strategic <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_planning>  business statement similar to a vision statement <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vision_statement>  which is created to focus an organization on a single medium-long term organization-wide goal which is audacious, likely to be externally questionable, but not internally regarded as impossible.

 

 

I would like to suggest that we partially put aside our unofficial Mission Statement, and have just one BHAG

for the next 2 ¼ years.

 

Yes – I really mean it.  One goal.

 

40 in 16

 

That means the goal of this LNC would be to provide our affiliates with 40 state ballot access on December 1, 2016.

 

If we accomplish that, and we can at least maintain that number in the 2018 mid-term election, that means we would go into the 2020 Presidential year with only 10 states where we would need to petition. That would be a huge psychological boost to our members, and it might attract some presidential candidates who don’t want to gamble on the LP achieving 50 state ballot access for them in Nov 2020 if we go into January 2020 with only 31 state ballot access.

 

The neat thing is – this goal is achievable.  I have some ideas on how to accomplish this goal without gigantic amounts of money, but before I divulge that part, I would like to see some feedback from the rest of the LNC regarding this idea.

 

    Scott Lieberman

 

 

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