When
I was a young assistant dean of students at a university, one of my favorite
targets for criticism was the director of athletics. He was my parents' age and spent the bulk of
his time filling the soda machine in his building. Meanwhile, I had to deal with all types of
noise from athletes, coaches and other chaos I felt that he had created.
For
retribution, when I became the dean of students, the director of athletics
reported to me. But there's more to
this story. Not long after I was
appointed the dean of students, the athletics director had a heart attack. It wasn't clear for at least six weeks
whether he would be able to return to work or not, and I wound up being the
acting director of athletics during basketball play-offs. I stayed in that position for eight months,
doing my job and his job. I had to walk
in his moccasins, and at a point, I came to understand why he filled the soda
machine. At least when he did that, he
could see that he had accomplished something that day.
Scroll
ahead 30 years, I'm the CEO of a Girl Scout council, not something I would have
anticipated then. I spend hours
listening to others complain, and I'm always stunned when someone thinks that
being insulting will help make her point.
My grandmother always said, "You catch more flies with honey than
vinegar." And she was definitely right.
We
have made a huge change to the cookie program this year and received lots of
feedback. First, volunteers don't
really like the earlier date to have part of the cookie funds in. We hear you on that, and next year, that
will change. We take advice from other
councils on best practices for a change of this magnitude, and that is how
those dates were established. We will
adapt pieces and parts of the program predicated on your feedback, so we are
asking for this feedback as we go along.
The
second most feedback has been on the ACH sweep of your troop bank account. This was done to make it easier for
you. It is optional. In fact, I wrote an entire blog on it being optional. Last time I checked, we had one troop signed
up for this, and the noise on this given those participating doesn't mesh. If you aren't doing it, I'm not sure why you
are upset about it?
Finally,
most of the feedback has been positive.
Those who actually took the risk, ordered cookies and got them out to
their parents have said they didn't order enough cookies and have come back for
more. Many have said this is simpler,
that it cuts a step out of the process.
And troops are surprised how easy Girl Scout cookies are to sell when
you have them in hand. We are grateful
for this feedback. Making this process
easier certainly was our goal.
At
the council, we recognize you do all the heavy lifting on the cookie
program. And we try to support you by
being out on cookie trucks, at the warehouse, chasing cookie trucks and
refilling the pantries and cupboards to make this a success for the girls.
Please
don't assume that during the cookie program we are sitting in the office eating
cookies. On this three-day weekend, the
entire product sales team has been on the phone and e-mail all weekend
long. We might not be in the office,
but we have been responding to questions, concerns and issues. Most of us had multiple 12-hour days last
week, the first week of the sale. That
remains the case throughout each sale.
We are working to assure the cookie inventories are in the warehouse and
available to meet your needs. We are
listening. We are working hard to walk in your moccasins to make this easier
for you and most important, a learning experience for the girls. Thanks for all you do.
The Girls World Forum 2012 will take place July 11-17 in Chicago. The focus of
the GWF will be three of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals:
Ending hunger and poverty; Empowering girls; and saving the planet. Delegates
will develop skills and networks to bring about change in their community and
country. Each council is allowed to send two delegates. Delegates must be
between the ages of 14-18, actively involved in the Girl Scout council,
interested in the United Nations MDGs, and willing to implement a plan for
change in their community. 
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