Succession Planning

E-mail from GJ Hagenaars June 8 2012

7. Goals of the party. As the party grows, different people need to be attracted (and will be attracted). This is analogous to how companies grow. Companies start small, and (if the owners / shareholders want this) different people end up running the business, taking it from one stage to the next. Different people are needed at different points. Transitions happen during that time. Look at our constitution; it allows for delegates. We don't have enough members to have delegates, but the folks who started this party had the foresight to envision a party that would have thousands of supporters. I'd like to think that we're on our way to becoming bigger (and more influential). That means that different strategies need to be used at different stages of the party. You start with attracting serious and staunch (pure) principled folks, then you get to the next stage where you use tactics to attract the keeners (like Adam and Jeff) , and then you change tactics to attract cheerleaders. Different messages along the way, different emphasis on certain things... Not that anything is more important, but certain tactics are more appropriate at different stages along the way. A party that is moving ahead will need to figure out a way to embrace the changes needed to effect the changes in society that we so desperately need.