For the past several years, Rotary International and The Rotary Foundation have been engaged in long-term planning. In the coming months, The Rotarian will take a look at this evolving process, the people behind it, and the results to date: the RI Strategic Plan 2007-10 and The Rotary Foundation Future Vision Plan. We’ll also be exploring the benefits of strategic planning and how it can help clubs and districts operate more effectively.

This month, we hear from Elio Cerini, a member of RI’s Strategic Planning Committee, who discussed the RI strategic plan with Editor in Chief Vince Aversano. A past governor of District 2040 (Italy) and member of the Rotary Club of Milano Duomo, Cerini held various management positions, including president, with Sperry Univac for 23 years. He also worked for Banca Popolare di Milano for six years and served as chair of the editorial society of the Diocese of Milano before he retired in 1999.

How was the RI strategic plan formulated and created, and what is the impetus behind it?
In 2001-02, Rotary International launched the development of a strategic plan to guide our association as it prepared to enter its second century of service. The previous and current plans outlined seven major goals developed after careful consideration of data collected at the leadership, staff, and grassroots levels as to the important issues and challenges that Rotary will face in the coming decade.

Why is the strategic plan necessary for the success of Rotary?
One aspect, long debated in Rotary, is the challenge of a service organization committed to working in a rapidly changing environment with a leadership that changes every year. Strategic thinking leads to a less complex and chaotic organization in which everyone, in their respective role, has a sense of where the organization is going and their own part in getting there.

How will the strategic plan build on the organization’s continuity?
Long- and short-term objectives can often conflict. Governance decisions involve this kind of short-term/long-term trade-off all the time. The short-term issues are usually opportunities toward immediate results, disregarding the durability of the achievements made. The long-term issues are generally more qualitative, as they try to anticipate the consequences of what is being done. It is important to keep in mind that while decisions should not neglect the short-term objectives, good governance demands we keep the long-term view in mind at all times.

Do you feel that one goal in particular will affect clubs the most?
One of our core values is leadership, and one priority of the plan states: “Optimize leadership talents within RI.” This indicates clearly that motivated Rotarians are key in implementing improvement, overcoming limitations, and ultimately achieving success.

What are the roles of the RI president and the Board of Directors in terms of the strategic plan?
I see the president of RI as facilitating a collective process of generative thinking with the RI directors. This is a great challenge for the Board. Rather than addressing problems, the Board must become proactive in identifying problems, framing issues, and giving direction to the organization. Strategy is ultimately the responsibility of the Board of Directors. This is not implying that the Board has to do everything by itself; the committees and senior staff members are there to conduct appropriate research and analysis and identify ideas for Board consideration.

What is the committee’s role in RI’s strategic planning efforts?
My experience in the past two years with the committee allows me to say that the committee is constantly concerned about not working in a vacuum. Everyone is encouraged to bring in his or her experience, with the expectation that we are capable of expressing the expectations of our constituencies. Furthermore, we constantly focus on implementation, with the concept of ownership that assumes the success of the plan will be achieved only when the base buys it.

Why do you feel you were chosen to be on the committee?
After 30 years of experience in Rotary, there is always a lot to find out and learn. I am certain that my service on the Strategic Planning Committee is by far the most interesting and challenging learning experience I have ever had in Rotary. I am grateful for the appointment and very obliged to my fellow members of the committee.

What have you learned as a Rotarian that can be applied in your role on the committee?
I am more and more convinced that Rotary is filled with great ideas and thoughtful, caring people. In Rotary, we can find generosity, determined optimism, and inclusiveness – the best of our collective inclinations. Participating in structuring the ways that we approach the future of our organization helps me to see Rotary’s potential in bridging the many gaps existing in our society, its consolidated experience in bringing people together, and its unceasing effort in proposing alternatives, advocating for change, and implementing remedies. All these aspects are built into the RI strategic plan, and they surface [when one reads] between the lines.

How do you feel the strategic plan will be viewed by diverse cultures around the world?
The strategic plan culture and approach represent a tremendous change in the organization. Generally, change is perceived as potentially threatening, confusing, and tough. To help our clubs, we must prepare to respond to their questions: What do you want us to do? What is in it for us? What will you do to help us make the change? Our grassroots stakeholders will understand the benefits of structured strategic planning for RI only when they own it. With a well-conceived, well-designed, and well-delivered communication strategy, we shall have the opportunity to make the implementation efforts well accepted. We must communicate clearly to our clubs: (1) what the plan will be, (2) what four or five things we must do to get there, and (3) how to align the work of each person (beginning with district governors and club presidents) with the goals we have identified. We should expect all kinds of reactions from the clubs, but I know our members will try their best because of their sense of belonging in Rotary. It will be a great challenge. We have no choice; it will take time, but in the end it will be a success story.

What can Rotarians do at the grassroots level to help achieve the strategic priorities and goals in order to strengthen the organization?
It will be important that Rotarians develop an open and cooperative attitude to this important exercise. District governors and club leaders will have to work on building awareness and generating enthusiasm among the club members. They have to get involved in the appropriate education programs and discuss the outcomes with their fellow Rotarians. As key stakeholders in the project, they have to ensure engagement and commitment to implementation at the respective levels.

How have local clubs in your part of the world addressed the need for long-range planning?
Our clubs, though all focused to meet the Object of Rotary, are totally autonomous in the way they organize and conduct their activities. This explains why they are so different. Notwithstanding four years of experience in strategic planning in our organization and the efforts to introduce the new Club Leadership Plan, only one-third of the clubs reported – in the Strategic Planning Survey conducted in August 2006 – that they have implemented a strategic plan. The comments obtained from that survey, however, are encouraging and indicative of a culture of better planning that is beginning to permeate the association.

What resources have you seen utilized to help clubs and districts conduct long-range planning?
The new Club Leadership Plan is the best resource made available to our clubs in this respect. In fact, point 1 of the plan implementation worksheet clearly states that the club should develop a long-range plan for the next three to five years that addresses service goals, projects, membership, The Rotary Foundation, and leadership development.

What will be the benefits of successful long-range planning for the organization?
Every organization today, and nonprofit organizations in particular, must learn continuously in order to survive the unprecedented changes we witness on an almost daily basis. The learning process is fostered by a two-way flow of information, up and down the organizational structure. Achieving results and measuring effectiveness represent a great challenge for Rotary since our service capability demands personal collaboration from a vast web of individuals. A well-disseminated strategic planning system will give RI a better vision of the variety and ingenuity of activities conducted at the club level and will strengthen the clubs’ sense of belonging.