Why ask Why?
My second son, Keith, was the most inquisitive kid I have ever known. As a young parent, I often wanted to tape his mouth shut to keep him from asking me why certain things occurred or why he needed to accomplish certain tasks. Years later as an adult, he gave me a birthday T-shirt with the words, "Because I Said So" on it. It was then that I realized the impact we had on each other.
I started writing and posting these monthly articles on my web page to provide club leaders with some tools to help their clubs move from good to great. Some club leaders do not understand why they should strive to improve their leadership skills or their club's performance. Others, in their quest to achieve certain goals, get immersed in the technical details of their tasks and forget why we are pursuing a goal in the first place.
At our recent Growth Conference at the International Council Meeting in Indianapolis in January, 2007, we were introduced to a "Promise to Children". For me, this answered all my questions about why. If we are to be the premiere service organization in the world, serving the needs of children, then I hope this is a promise all Kiwanians will embrace:
OUR PROMISE TO CHILDREN
As a Kiwanian, I promise to:
- Believe in a child.
- Encourage a Child.
- Read to a child.
- Teach a child.
- Sponsor a child.
- Reward a child.
- Clothe a child.
- Mentor a child.
- Love a child.
WHY promise? These are the things that change lives and make a difference in the lives of children. As club leaders, we need an additional promise -- To make our clubs great so we can attract the additional members we need to be the global-change agent for children.
Now we may better understand why our one million member goal is so critical - it's for the children, they are why.