"Our personal Strategic Plan"
So we were invested as B&B and, for the balance of Canterbury Faire, felt very buoyed up by both the goodwill and the desire for simple fun which we'd hoped for. CF is a good event to step up at!
Our primary aim as the Faire ended was to capitalise on that goodwill and on the usual post-CF psychological bounce before it all wore off, and use it to set in motion (or re-emphasise) several long-term strategies. These were:
The more we could document -- if accurate and adequately up to date -- the easier it was for new folk, stewards or officers to take up their roles, with fewer unexpected surprises and also something to refer back to when questions or discussion arose.
[There's a danger there of information or traditions getting ossified, but the Barony will just have to cross that bridge.]
On our step-up, we deliberately extended the transparency principle to the B&B role, publishing several documents designed to de-mystify both the role and ourselves - the Court webpage, our personal Credo, Court positions (job descriptions) and "Bartholomew and katherine 101".
You'll find them linked in the right hand column - they are too long to reproduce here.
Doing the research and thinking for those documents was excellent homework, by the way. We've had relatively little feedback on them from the populace over the years, but we're pretty confident they have been read. WE certainly find the Credo useful to refer back to now and again, and wouldn't change a word.
We held a Court meeting as soon as we could after CF -- there was no chance beforehand, talk about a running start! As mentioned in an earlier post, only our Chamberlain and Herald had any previous Court experience at all -- including ourselves. This may have been refreshing for the populace, but risky for us!
We tried to choose Court members who projected a friendly and outgoing image and, as you'd expect, have tended to favour relative newcomers in subsequent appointments. We deliberately set fixed terms for Court members, so as to de-politicise any changes needed, encourage us to keep getting new folk involved, and to make the roles less daunting than an indefinite term would be. Apart from odd occasions where we found it hard to find new members, this has worked, and has meant that Court has not closed around us as a kind of clique or pseudo-household.
Around that time we also established the first of many small or short-term mailing lists (court, champions, singing, siege, trailer, fort, financial committee...) to help manage subgroups and subprojects. This was typically in areas which were hard or inefficient to do in person, and which would impinge too much on the main mailing lists if done there.
We found such lists indispensable. They perhaps gave us more influence over some areas than would otherwise have been the case, and that's not necessarily healthy. But you won't hear us complaining, because it meant many details got discussed and/or sorted quickly and quietly, without the formality or delay of waiting for a Council meeting, or the unfocused spiraling often found in a group-wide mailing list discussion once you get to details.
Some lists had clearly defined membership, e.g. Baronial Champions, Financial Committee, Barony/Canton/College Seneschals. Others were opt-in for anyone who was interested and this was clearly stated when they were set up. All had a specific purpose and/or life, and not one has been even close to being a "kitchen Cabinet".
Our lack of an established SCA household was a very helpful factor in dealing and being seen to deal even-handedly with folk from across the Barony. This is not a new idea, but I strongly reinforce the recommendation that Baronages who have their own household must work extra hard to consult often and conspicuously across their whole Barony, to avoid forming the impression of a narrow power base. The latter is fatal to both morale and good governance.
That doesn't mean you must divorce your household and friends (an idea which has its own major downsides if taken too far), but be very very clear to everyone that you're looking at the whole Barony, all the time -- never just one corner of it.
With the then-Seneschal, Mistress Roheisa, we used the post-CF bounce to launch three concepts:
A key facet of our launch plan was the first Baronial Anniversary, held in March that year. This was extremely ambitious, in that we were using the Feast to launch or reinforce several distinct initiatives:
The design was done and approved and a general costing known but Council (at a meeting we couldn't attend, being away) asked to see samples and costings of the cardboard to be used at their next meeting, before giving a final go-ahead.
We came back to this decision, which would have meant the cards couldn't be produced until after BA. So we made a case for quick action to the brand-new Financial Committee (set up under auspices of the brand-new SCANZ). They approved.
The cards were made and distributed to excellent effect (we've since done reprints and kept the BA convention going, and they have almost certainly contributed to the doubling in the Barony's participants in the past three years). But we received some quite strong criticism from at least three people from different parts of the Barony who felt we should not be starting our tenure by being seen to override Council's wishes.
We thought they had a point, and said so. I also explained as carefully as I could why it had mattered so much and what procedure had been followed, which mollified at least one objector.
But I also think that this occurrence marked a signal turning point in Council's previous tendencies to engage in minutiae (yep, the stapler thing again). Never since has there been much objection to the concept of giving someone responsibility and a budget for a task and just letting them run with it. And it's much more clearly understood now than it was then, that the Financial Committee and/or Seneschal have both the authority -- and the occasional need -- to get things done in a hurry, if we are to take excellent opportunities or avoid problems like lost venues.
One good outcome was that this incident quickly led to a clear set of guidelines being defined and published for the Financial Committee (see http://sg.sca.org.nz/about.htm#law). I think that greatly helped to prevent problems in this area since then. Mind you, I'd rather see slightly more and clearer financial (and FC) reporting than we've had recently -- the only reason it hasn't become too much of an issue is that the Barony has very healthy finances, and most of its expenditures are unremarkable.
So BA happened and went off very well. Then katherine and I rapidly packed our bags and went off to our first-ever event outside the Barony. This was Rowany Festival 2005 where, having received a Royal command to do so, we declared war. More on that next time.
FWIW, I view the listening, thinking, writing and unfolding of various plans that we undertook in those first three months -- from the time our selection was announced until BA -- as absolutely critical to much of the success we feel the Barony has enjoyed since.
Not every idea has equal merit, and perhaps not all of them succeeded as well as we think they did. In fact, each of the aims and activities above might seem relatively unexceptional in isolation. But we do feel the sum of them helped build on the initial boost we got from stepping up, and fostered in the longer term an atmosphere that helped the Barony grow and prosper.
Knowing that the talent was never lacking (though energy might be :-), we'd focused on the climate.
Our primary aim as the Faire ended was to capitalise on that goodwill and on the usual post-CF psychological bounce before it all wore off, and use it to set in motion (or re-emphasise) several long-term strategies. These were:
- greater transparency - people are more willing to get involved and help to run things if they aren't feeling uncertain of processes or protocol, and don't have to ask every five minutes what's supposed to be going on.
- more public profile and recruiting - if people are feeling good, they are more inclined to bring their friends along, or to make newcomers feel welcome. Therefore the timing was perfect for a recruiting campaign, and, if it was successful, the mere fact of recruits would have its own positive effects.
- modelling a generally lighter, more open and trusting approach at Council - towards officers, event stewards etc. -- but without ignoring the details that need to happen (generally, trying to deal with those under the radar if they seemed in danger of being neglected, rather than allowing someone to be hauled over the coals after the fact. In other words, lots of gentle email questions or reminders).
- at the same time, improving recognition of the principle of Council oversight of CF in particular, i.e. making it clearer that it's a core event with steward-inspired enhancements, not an event that should be re-invented from whole cloth by each stewarding team. The main way to achieve this was improving institutional memory via the website, especially the CF subsite, booking process and annual review document.
- more forward planning - the Barony had seemed for a while to be working month-to-month (or, at most, quarter-to-quarter), but real world factors like site availability plus any desire to properly handle larger-scale events like Crown, both required a longer planning horizon. Even before we stepped up we found ourselves in conference with the Seneschal and the CF Site Manager, who wanted a firm pencil-booking for the site the following year. These days they want it two years ahead!
The more we could document -- if accurate and adequately up to date -- the easier it was for new folk, stewards or officers to take up their roles, with fewer unexpected surprises and also something to refer back to when questions or discussion arose.
[There's a danger there of information or traditions getting ossified, but the Barony will just have to cross that bridge.]
On our step-up, we deliberately extended the transparency principle to the B&B role, publishing several documents designed to de-mystify both the role and ourselves - the Court webpage, our personal Credo, Court positions (job descriptions) and "Bartholomew and katherine 101".
You'll find them linked in the right hand column - they are too long to reproduce here.
Doing the research and thinking for those documents was excellent homework, by the way. We've had relatively little feedback on them from the populace over the years, but we're pretty confident they have been read. WE certainly find the Credo useful to refer back to now and again, and wouldn't change a word.
We held a Court meeting as soon as we could after CF -- there was no chance beforehand, talk about a running start! As mentioned in an earlier post, only our Chamberlain and Herald had any previous Court experience at all -- including ourselves. This may have been refreshing for the populace, but risky for us!
We tried to choose Court members who projected a friendly and outgoing image and, as you'd expect, have tended to favour relative newcomers in subsequent appointments. We deliberately set fixed terms for Court members, so as to de-politicise any changes needed, encourage us to keep getting new folk involved, and to make the roles less daunting than an indefinite term would be. Apart from odd occasions where we found it hard to find new members, this has worked, and has meant that Court has not closed around us as a kind of clique or pseudo-household.
Around that time we also established the first of many small or short-term mailing lists (court, champions, singing, siege, trailer, fort, financial committee...) to help manage subgroups and subprojects. This was typically in areas which were hard or inefficient to do in person, and which would impinge too much on the main mailing lists if done there.
We found such lists indispensable. They perhaps gave us more influence over some areas than would otherwise have been the case, and that's not necessarily healthy. But you won't hear us complaining, because it meant many details got discussed and/or sorted quickly and quietly, without the formality or delay of waiting for a Council meeting, or the unfocused spiraling often found in a group-wide mailing list discussion once you get to details.
Some lists had clearly defined membership, e.g. Baronial Champions, Financial Committee, Barony/Canton/College Seneschals. Others were opt-in for anyone who was interested and this was clearly stated when they were set up. All had a specific purpose and/or life, and not one has been even close to being a "kitchen Cabinet".
Our lack of an established SCA household was a very helpful factor in dealing and being seen to deal even-handedly with folk from across the Barony. This is not a new idea, but I strongly reinforce the recommendation that Baronages who have their own household must work extra hard to consult often and conspicuously across their whole Barony, to avoid forming the impression of a narrow power base. The latter is fatal to both morale and good governance.
That doesn't mean you must divorce your household and friends (an idea which has its own major downsides if taken too far), but be very very clear to everyone that you're looking at the whole Barony, all the time -- never just one corner of it.
With the then-Seneschal, Mistress Roheisa, we used the post-CF bounce to launch three concepts:
- Musters -- a casual, semi-regular, publicly-sited tournament-plus-A&S event designed to bring the Barony together and also give it some public visibility. The first, which I ran and promoted widely, was held in late February. Muster was a key term, note, not a "bash"; we wanted to emphasise more than just fighting.
- Stuff Night -- a relaxed monthly workshop at a neutral venue incorporating just about any Baronial project that happened to be in the works, plus occasional A&S workshops, plus whatever projects people wanted to bring work on themselves in good company. As this evolved, both dance and rapier groups started attending to do their own thing, creating an excellent vibe, and ensuring that it gained critical mass to feel busy.
- Quarter Days - the concept of four formal "Court" events a year (would that they were all!) anchoring the Baronial calendar. Deliberately excluding CF, which we see as a Crescent Isles or even Kingdom-focused event, our Quarter Days were Baronial Anniversary in March/April, Yule in June, Spring Tourney or similar event in September, and Christmas Revel or a larger event in November/December. These are the events where people expect to see Baronial Awards and such happen, and also (bless 'em) the Peerless Kitchen pies... The aim wasn't to rigidly define what a Quarter Day had to be, but just to loosely define when those key Courts might occur. For example, we tie calls for recommendations to that cycle.
A key facet of our launch plan was the first Baronial Anniversary, held in March that year. This was extremely ambitious, in that we were using the Feast to launch or reinforce several distinct initiatives:
- recruiting - we encouraged lots of people to invite their friends, and personally invited several old-timers who hadn't been seen for a while - also the introduction cards mentioned below
- encouraging more intermixing and personal acquaintances in the Barony - mainly via the "reverse OP" grand procession at the start of the Feast, so people were at least reminded of the names of some of their colleagues!
- war plans (see next post)
- educating people via a relics procession about several existing traditions and relics -- in the process tacitly showing that we were strong supporters of the Barony's history and accomplishments
- using the best models of some traditions to make some new ones, including the transferable Caidan Shield for new fighters
The design was done and approved and a general costing known but Council (at a meeting we couldn't attend, being away) asked to see samples and costings of the cardboard to be used at their next meeting, before giving a final go-ahead.
We came back to this decision, which would have meant the cards couldn't be produced until after BA. So we made a case for quick action to the brand-new Financial Committee (set up under auspices of the brand-new SCANZ). They approved.
The cards were made and distributed to excellent effect (we've since done reprints and kept the BA convention going, and they have almost certainly contributed to the doubling in the Barony's participants in the past three years). But we received some quite strong criticism from at least three people from different parts of the Barony who felt we should not be starting our tenure by being seen to override Council's wishes.
We thought they had a point, and said so. I also explained as carefully as I could why it had mattered so much and what procedure had been followed, which mollified at least one objector.
But I also think that this occurrence marked a signal turning point in Council's previous tendencies to engage in minutiae (yep, the stapler thing again). Never since has there been much objection to the concept of giving someone responsibility and a budget for a task and just letting them run with it. And it's much more clearly understood now than it was then, that the Financial Committee and/or Seneschal have both the authority -- and the occasional need -- to get things done in a hurry, if we are to take excellent opportunities or avoid problems like lost venues.
One good outcome was that this incident quickly led to a clear set of guidelines being defined and published for the Financial Committee (see http://sg.sca.org.nz/about.htm#law). I think that greatly helped to prevent problems in this area since then. Mind you, I'd rather see slightly more and clearer financial (and FC) reporting than we've had recently -- the only reason it hasn't become too much of an issue is that the Barony has very healthy finances, and most of its expenditures are unremarkable.
So BA happened and went off very well. Then katherine and I rapidly packed our bags and went off to our first-ever event outside the Barony. This was Rowany Festival 2005 where, having received a Royal command to do so, we declared war. More on that next time.
FWIW, I view the listening, thinking, writing and unfolding of various plans that we undertook in those first three months -- from the time our selection was announced until BA -- as absolutely critical to much of the success we feel the Barony has enjoyed since.
Not every idea has equal merit, and perhaps not all of them succeeded as well as we think they did. In fact, each of the aims and activities above might seem relatively unexceptional in isolation. But we do feel the sum of them helped build on the initial boost we got from stepping up, and fostered in the longer term an atmosphere that helped the Barony grow and prosper.
Knowing that the talent was never lacking (though energy might be :-), we'd focused on the climate.
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