Organizational Forward Planning Endeavors

A recent conversation with the President of the Indian Entrepreneur’s chamber Melaka brought some Good News as news of concrete steps taken recently to bring focus to the creation of a Foundation for the Chambers to run and also the creation of a new Club House which would be seconded to the members of IEcM on a paid subscription basis (as part his larger plans to bring strength to his  Homestay Business which will also share the same location) was discussed.

The question he threw to me as the secretary of IEcM was how we could sell the idea of membership for the proposed Club House to further both causes. My reply was rather flowery and long, but in summary was that we are to first, not concentrate on the sales or commercial aspect of this noble endeavor but to work on the fundamentals of creating a cogent band of brotherhood that can offer the prospect of aspiration and create a sense of belonging to the individual.

In my contention, this by itself will create willingness within the individual to seek out our membership and to provide incentive to the individual to seek and buy into that sense of familial bonding.

Joseph Campbell ( a writer renowned for his discourse on comparative Religion) once wrote “The rise and fall of civilizations in the long, broad course of history can be seen largely to be a function of the integrity and cogency of their supporting canons of myth; for it is not Authority but Aspiration that is the motivator, builder, and transformer of civilization.  (or in this case our new business chamber)

So, if IEcM is to succeed in the long term, she has to aim to emulate the successes of other organizations (i.e. culture).

It is important to note that for organizations to succeed, the individual member must be commited. For him or her to be committed they must believe…..in the organization.  

A  good weapon to use in this aspect is to copy organization that use symbols, and rituals which, ineffable in import by which the energies of members aspiration can be evoked and gathered toward a focus..

So, to put it into perspective we need to create and sustain an organization that has a reliance on rituals and symbols similar to the Rotarians, the Toastmasters and the Lions. These rituals are important because they provide our members with a sense of privilege and strength.

There are two path ways to creating this : 

One is creating a pseudo-ritualistic aspect to the common meetings and relationship building efforts, by way of  copying the existing organizations 
or 
the other is the political interpretation of  having stories and events propagated to the advantage of the group within the minds of our members, or as one better business  chamber within a group of business chambers .” ( The Way of Myth-Joseph Campbell)

So the way forward is to create a membership that will buy into our modern attempt to create a “myth “ that is the IEcM , members must be given the platform that can allow them to belief that they can aspire to something greater . 

The members  must recover the myths that inform them that their livescan be better, not pretend to have transcended (or indeed, in this case descended) into a state of literal exceptional ism, but through actual success of their networking connections

IEcM ‘s attempt to create this bond or band of brothers  is in making the  ‘myth becoming reality’.

It may need some modification as the ethical and moral universe shifts from  across time and platforms (agenda)  but then that is called evolving …..