Leadership Matters
The Kiwanis tipping point
TREND
It all adds up
Sometimes little changes have big effects. That's what led to a tipping point in New York City. The Big Apple became "infected" with an anti-crime virus a few years back after it established a zero tolerance policy for:
- Graffit
- Prostitution
- Panhandling and petty crimes
- Drugs
Within five years, beginning in 1992, the murder rate fell by two-thirds.
Think about it. What small changes could lead to a dramatic change for Kiwanis?
Source: Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point |
Embracing change
"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventruous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
Alan Cohen, lecturer and author |
Why did crime in new York City drop so suddenly in the mid-'90s? How did a dead brand like Hush Puppies go from selling 30,000 shoes in 1994 to 2 million in 1996? In essence, the question i am asking is this: How does something become so contagious that it infects millions of people and takes on a life of its own? In the Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell describes how little things can make a big impact and how one match can start a fire that burns down an entire forest. Every epidemic, every fashion trend, every company that experiences exponential growth--they all share at least one common trait: They all have a tipping point, a point at which the idea of rht disease "tips" and spills out, and the epidemic begins.
At Kiwanis,. we are trying to create a social epidemic. We are working to make Kiwanis so contagious it spreads like a virus around the globe. We are studying every trend and analyzing every best practice to discern what combination of factors is going to make Kiwanis spread as fast, or faster, than we can control it.
In the situation of New York City's dramatic crime drop, it was an unrelenting commitment to some extremely focused objectives that ultimately made crime almost disappear. But the interesting thing is, although the foundational work took years to develop, the success came almost overnight. At some point doing all of the "right things right" made this situation 'tip."
From 1992 to 2005, Kiwanis experienced a decline in membership. Steps have been taken in the last few years to halt the decline, and now it's time to grow. As our staff and volunteers focus Kiwanis on the things that will make us viral, we know we still have several years of hard work ahead of us.
At some point, possibly 2011 or 2012, Kiwanis will "tip" and experience exponential growth in the final years of the plan. Since epidemics by their very nature are difficult to manage or control, it is difficult to predict how, or when, this will happen. We are confident that if we focus on the right things and deliver them with excellence and consistency, Kiwanis will become contagious--as contagious as a smile--and spread around the globe. We look forward to celebrating with you and a million other Kiwanis members in 2015. |
