by Matt Mattson
This post was on my Facebook Newsfeed yesterday, and it made me smile. Social Excellence DARES us to engage with not only the people around us, but also the society around us. A line in the definition of Social Excellence reads, "The deepest level of societal participation and contribution."
So, at this vital juncture in our time as Americans, will you choose to engage? Will you choose to talk to your neighbors, representatives, family members, classmates, co-workers, and friends about the future of our society?
If you’re new to engaging with people about the important topics of our time, try some of these questions (you’ll note that none of them are, "So, who are you voting for?")
This election feels important, what issues are most important to you?
If you were in charge of the country for a day, what impression would you want to leave?
Who are the political leaders that you really admire?
How can we get more people in our [neighborhood, school, workplace, club, etc.] to vote?
We know it can be a bit scary to talk to people during election season — with all the sharp tones, accusatory mailers, incessant political phone calls, and attack ads, the tone of public discourse is not exactly pleasant — but that’s why Social Excellence matters right now. Will you talk to the people in your life about THE FUTURE OF OUR NATION? Our nation requests your service in this regard. It is what we’re founded upon. Just do it in a Socially Excellent manner.
Go talk to people. It is your civic duty.
by Matt Mattson
You’re busy. Especially if you’re a high performing college student. Especially if you’re a fraternity/sorority leader or recruitment chair. Class, homework, significant other, organizational meetings, call home every once in a while, try to have a social life… Every day is slammed. How do you fit in being SOCIALLY EXCELLENT , or for that matter, DYNAMIC RECRUITING ?
Focus on the "Moments in Between."
It doesn’t take an hour (or even a 1/2 hour) to accomplish important tasks that can result in your organization growing.
It’s amazing how much time is often available in most people’s day to do "results producing activities," but they just don’t know it. That’s because that free time is often found in chunks of time that are two to 12 minutes long. Many organizational leaders who want to recruit don’t have a full hour to devote, (or even a half hour) on many days. But
they do have a handful of something close to 12-minute chunks of time. What can you do with five 12-minute chunks?
Most phone calls to prospects on a Names List (to invite them to small activities or one-on-one meetings) take 90 seconds. THAT’S 40 PHONE CALLS.
Something like this takes no more than 5 minutes, "Excuse me, we have class together and I noticed you’re in a sorority. Can I talk to you for about 3 minutes? I’m trying to identify men on campus who could be considered ‘diamonds in the rough.’ These guys don’t go out hunting for fraternities. I’m looking for guys that someone like you would respect, appreciate, and really think highly of. Who are three to five guys you can think of right now who fit that criteria? I’d like to call them and buy them a cup of coffee to explain what fraternity could really be." If you did that 5 times in your "moments in between," you could add 25 names to your names list a day.
Take advantage of the "Moments In Between." Every moment is a choice… What will you do with your moments?
[P.S. It's o.k. to take a "moment" to breathe every once in a while too. Moments alone, in reflection, or just being playful can re-charge and re-energize you so your moments of results-producing activity are even more effective!]
Phired Up celebrates its 10th birthday this year. We’re pretty excited about that, and it has us reviewing the evolution of our message.
Not too long ago, S.P.A.M. was a centerpiece of our fraternity/sorority recruitment curriculum (we rarely teach it anymore). We thought now would be a good time to share publicly, for the first time on our blog, the S.P.A.M. message. Also, keep an eye out on social media and this blog for some other fun S.P.A.M. themed cartoons, pictures, and more. Just for fun.
Here’s an explanation that can be found in slightly altered form in our books, Good Guys and I Heart Recruitment .
Have you ever had the pleasant opportunity of cracking open an ice cold can of meat? That’s right, we’re talking about canned, spiced, efficient, delicious pork and ham cubes.
What comes to mind when we mention “S.P.A.M?” Go ahead, make your own list of words that you think of when you hear “S.P.A.M.” Don’t just limit yourself to the strange meat product, what about email spam?
Typically, when we ask those questions, we get responses that include the following terms and statements:
Yuck
Disgusting
Canned mush
Annoying
Gelatinous goo
Nasty
Mystery meat
Repetitive
“Not much substance”
Stinky
“Yum, I love that stuff.” (There’s always one person)
“What is it?”
“A can of nothing”
“What do those letters mean anyway?”
“Leftovers stuffed together”
“You could eat it, but you probably don’t want to”
“It’s technically food, but… gross”
“I’d rather eat a steak”
“I’d rather eat my own arm”
Most people have a very clear opinion of S.P.A.M. and, most often, it’s not a good one. Ironically, the overwhelming majority of Americans have never even tried it. They just “know” it’s not for them.
Now, here’s a different question. Do you have anyone on your campus that is anti-Greek? Duh… We know you do.
Here’s a better question. Do you think a few of those words listed above describing salty meat products and billions of annoying emails might be similar to the words that your anti-Greek classmates would use to describe the fraternities and sororities on your campus?
Go ahead and read the list again.
It’s not a fun analogy, but sadly it works. Many of the fraternities you’ll encounter around the country actually are rather disgusting, annoying, canned meat, without much substance, living together in a mysterious box with strange letters on the front that nobody understands.
Now consider how those anti-Greek folks might describe your recruitment efforts: repetitive, in your face, strange, annoying tactics to con people into joining something they don’t actually want. Sounds a lot like email spam, don’t you think?
Now imagine what a dozen S.P.A.M. cans might resemble if we lined them up next to one another… Yep, Fraternity/Sorority Row on your campus. A bunch of houses lined up that all look the same, with strange letters on the outside and smelly gelatinous goo for members on the inside. Similarly, the majority of Americans have never tried fraternity either, and their preconceived notion is that they “know” what it’s all about and they know it’s not for them.
Anyway, it’s just an analogy. The real lesson here is in the acronym with which S.P.A.M. provides us. That acronym describes the reasons for 95% of your organization’s recruitment problems, and consequently, organizational quality problems. Your recruitment results could dramatically increase with improvement in these four areas: Skills, Product knowledge, Audience understanding, and Motivation.
With these four road blocks identified, we can get our arms around the recruitment problem and begin addressing the real issues at hand. The reasons you are not at your peak performance is not because the administration is against you, another fraternity uses dirty rush antics, the Greek Council dropped the ball during formal recruitment week, you don’t have a house, or any other excuse. These are beyond your control. The only reason you haven’t tripled your membership is because your members did not have the Skill, Product knowledge, Audience understanding, or Motivation necessary to succeed. These are things within your control.
P.S. We have always been a big fan of real SPAM . We’ve cracked open "fresh" cans of that yummy stuff with lots of audiences. A couple of us have even visited the SPAM Museum (a must see). Thanks to all our supporters who have enjoyed a can or two of SPAM with us over the years.
by Matt Mattson
“I’m a part of an organization on campus that’s about networking and leadership . Part of our goal is to meet all of the highest performing students on campus. I’m trying to meet the best of the best people here. Who are 3-5 people that you think I should meet?”
That’s what I say to pretty much everyone I meet on a college campus when I’m recruiting for an organization. You should say it too.
by Matt Mattson
I am an introvert . I don’t thrive off of large groups. Spending time alone gives me fuel. Quiet solitude is where I find some of life’s greatest joys. My natural tendency is to separate from the crowd… or at least seek a very small group of people to spend time with. I am an introvert.
Also, I am a professional speaker, trainer and coach. I work with large groups of people nearly every day for a living. I teach people social skills, I urge social engagement, and I co-authored a book on SOCIAL EXCELLENCE . My work requires extraordinary amounts of social interaction, and I love my work.
It seems like those two preceding paragraphs couldn’t both be true about the same person. I promise they are though. 100%. That’s me.
I’m reading a book about introverts title, "Quiet " by Susan Cain (see her TED Talk here, and read a recent NY Times editorial that she wrote here). I’ll reserve my review of this book for another time, but I will share that it really got me thinking that there are probably a lot of "introverts" who hear our message of Social Excellence and assume it’s not for them. "I’m just not a people person," they might think. "I do my best work alone," they might even say.
I would offer, however, that the way we interact socially with the people around us is a) a choice, and b) the determining factor in our level of influence on the world around us. While I might do my best work when I’m alone, I can’t share that work, those thoughts, those insights, with the outside world while I’m in my introverted bubble. No matter the life path, I must eventually engage socially for my work to mean anything. Are there exceptions to this? Probably. But most of us, if we want to change people’s minds, sell our wares, recruit new donors or members, influence others, or BE A LEADER, we must do so through other human beings . We are social animals living in a SOCIETY. Our interactions with each other are the conduit through which that society flows.
I might be an introvert, but I make a choice to be Socially Excellent. Do I take breaks, go quiet, disappear into the safety and warmth of alone time occasionally? Yep. And I’m proud of it. In fact, I would recommend that to everyone who values a little quiet space. But I also deeply understand that the more hands I choose to shake, conversations I choose to have, and relationships I choose to build, the greater my potential to learn from others, be exposed to new ideas and experiences, have more people to support me when I need them, and influence others.
I might be an introvert, but I also want to matter to the world when it’s all said and done. I know that the best way for me to do that, the best way for me to make a big impact, the best way for me to create the change I wish to see in the world is through my relationships with others.
Plus, once I started to choose Social Excellence as a lifestyle, I had better stories, more fun, and more success.
Yes, introverts can be Socially Excellent.
by Josh Orendi
Thursday, 7:30AM, August 30, 2012. I had the honor of attending a membership meeting of Kiwanis International . Special thanks to my friend John Shertzer — who many know from his popular blog “Fraternal Thoughts” — for the invitation. It wasn’t until about 45 minutes into the meeting that I had a light bulb moment — I was being RECRUITED, and this was not the Kiwanis Club’s first recruitment rodeo. I was in a vortex of recruitment excellence. My light bulb moment became a fireworks show of Dynamic Recruitment lessons as I replayed all the little things that were creating my first Kiwanis experience. The moment I got home, I sat down to record the important lessons that I witnessed so that my fraternal friends could benefit from my remarkable experience I just had on the other side of a recruitment handshake.
Part One: How I Ended Up in an O’Charley’s Restaurant with 60 Strangers:
Two weeks earlier I was sitting at a Starbucks on 86th Street in Indianapolis after a meeting with some friends from Zeta Beta Tau’s headquarters. In walks a friend, Paul Lawson, with a guy I don’t recognize. Paul introduces me to Roy Hedeen. In less than 60 seconds Roy figures out that he and I share another mutual friend, John Shertzer. Roy is a member of Kiwanis International and he tells me I should join him and his Kiwanis club for a free breakfast in 2 weeks where John will be a featured speaker. Caught in the moment and the charisma of both Roy and Paul I say, “yeah, that’s a great idea.” We exchange business cards. Later that same day I receive an email from Roy thanking me for the meeting, asking about my business, sharing details about the upcoming meeting, and introducing me to another colleague of his who he thinks I would enjoy talking to (Rhonda). The next day I received a warm, funny email from John that he just heard from Roy that I was attending the upcoming meeting. The following day, Rhonda emails me saying she can’t wait to connect. WHOA-WHOA-WHOA I’ve spent nearly my entire professional life teaching recruitment. This felt so natural – so normal – that I didn’t even make the connection. I was being recruited!!!
Later, I literally had an internal conversation with myself: “Was Roy a sly recruitment master or a passionate gentleman eager to share the gift of his club’s membership with others?” Answer: BOTH! He was thoughtful and intentional. He believes in his organization and he believes that my life will be better through his organization. He cared enough to:
1. meet me by shaking my hand
2. treat me like a friend
3. introduce me to his friends
4. introduce me to his organization
5. ask me to join.
HOLY SH*T! Roy Hedeen just recruited me with the NIC 5 STEP MODEL !!!! I felt like that moment in Karate Kid (Part One) when Daniel-san’s arch rival Johnny Lawrence meets Mr. Miyagi and gets his ass kicked. The star pupil had just been schooled by the master. Roy Hedeen just crept from the shadows of northside Indianapolis and beat me with my own best recruitment moves.
Part Two: 20 Recruitment Lessons I Experienced at One Kiwanis Club Meeting:
by Matt Mattson
First year students are arriving soon. College student organization leaders are giddy. It’s time to get to work recruiting these freshmen into the organizations that will shape their college career. Let’s go get ‘em!!!!
…Whoa, tiger. Wait a minute before you charge out the door on the hunt for fresh-meat — I mean freshmen. Take a moment, before you give them your smooth pitch, your cool promotional items, and your well practiced handshake/wink combo move. Do you remember when you were in their shoes?
You were nervous.
You were trying to figure out what the new “cool” was.
You were scared.
You were clueless about how the new social scene worked.
You were secretly trying to impress the people who impressed you.
You were really missing that small group of close friends you had back in high school.
You had no idea what organizations like the one you ended up in were really about.
You were overwhelmed by all the colorful t-shirts, sidewalk chalk, banners and posters, but never really read them.
You were only really interested in the groups that had people in them that you already knew — or the groups that your friends were joining.
You barely knew how to navigate campus, much less navigate the process of joining a life-changing student organization.
You just wanted to be listened to.
You just wanted to feel included.
You just wanted to feel important.
You just wanted to be cared about and loved.
Put yourself in their shoes… Strategize accordingly.
by Matt Mattson
Still not sure what your fall recruitment plan looks like? Want to make sure you’ve thought of everything? There are a lot of considerations that go into a great plan, but you can simplify the whole process by answering (in as much detail as possible), these 5 questions.
Boy oh boy do I have a lot more detail to add under and around each one of those questions. But if you focus on answering those five questions with as much creativity, detail, and effectiveness as possible, you’ll be on the right track. Hint: The right answers might not be the answers your group has come up with in the past.
Want to know the answers that GET RESULTS? Learn more about Dynamic Recruitment . Phired Up has availability throughout the rest of this summer and fall to help you build your recruitment strategy. Contact us today.
by Josh Orendi
I just met with Michael Donahue at a Panera Bread in Carmel, Indiana. He’s a well respected Executive Coach for top businesses and entrepreneurs in the Indianapolis area (he’s also a Delta Upsilon from Northern Illinois). Mike told me his job requires him to recruit top talent, coach for performance, and facilitate a small group of talented people to form a "fraternity-like bond" of trust and support. He said, "there are a few choices I have made that have most certainly changed my life for the better … pledging DU was one of them. The lessons I learned back in the DU house have served me all through life."
Mike has a few decades of wisdom that I was hungry to tap into. I listened. I learned. I took notes. One note in particular was too important for me to keep to myself. He shared a lesson with me about his business that applies directly to building successful chapters/teams/groups. He said, "There are three things that must be present to have a successful group. Only three! These three are critical, non-negotiable …"
1. Shared Purpose
2. Investment Back into the Group
3. Demand Performance with Accountability
"My CEO groups remind me of my fraternity experience … there is deep trust and respect. We come together because we share a commitment to helping every member reach his/her goals and become a better person." Mike went on to tell me, "The magic of what I do is in the group itself, not in me. A great group is more powerful than any individual relationship … the group has wisdom and holds each other accountable. It takes courage to tell someone that they’re full of BS or that they aren’t living up to their potential as a leader. You have to be willing to experience a little stomach acid. That’s what the members of high performing groups do. They hold each other accountable to high standards."
Those three bullet points are perfect conversation nuggets when you talk to a potential member about the commitment of joining your organization. As for me, I have a meeting on the calendar to meet his CEO group. It’s a cool feeling to be back on this side of the experience being recruited as a potential member. Wish me luck.