Also reading this as part of OSP syllabus, any updates a year on?
This article on value drift might be useful for safeguarding value, in particular it references a podcast episode âValue Drift & How to Not Be Evil Part Iâ (Part 2 also available). The section Factors Influencing Value Drift in the article might be quite useful too :)
(Standard caveat, still only a single experience and not necessarily representative of all groups) Some updates a year on: General point: I did several things whilst âstrategisingâ (before term), then forgot about them in the âimplementationâ (during term). For example, I made SMART goals each term, but only remembered them during the semester review. Would strongly recommend setting aside ~1hr per month, to read through your TOC and articles like this, in case you miss things. Backchaining: I didnât do enough of it. SMART Goals for groups: I made them, didnât hit most of them, and didnât put too much stock in them. I think the specific numbers on goals (ie. 40 applications vs 30 applications) isnât too important, because itâs not (fully) within your control and doesnât much change what you do (you would advertise the same either way). However, having the âbroad goalsâ (X applicants) frames the actions you take (advertising), so those are useful as part of the backchaining process. SMART Goals for individuals: Tentatively EXTREMELY important. From experience, a semi-common failure this year was engaged members not doing much specific. Each person having goals gives: 1. Incentive to make progress; 2. Opportunity to meet/â1-1 to check progress; 3. Clearer idea of what everyone is aiming towards. Itâs also really hard to do without sounding like youâre giving people homework. I think itâs very useful to create a (sub?)group culture where the default expectation is that everyone has a goal theyâre working on at all times. Suggestion: 1. Get your top 3 engaged organisers 2. Each set goals, have an accountability call/âmeeting each week to discuss progress (and actually hold each other accountable, the vibe should be âfriendly, but if I havenât done the thing Iâm actually going to feel bad/âembarrassed about it at the meetingâ) 3. Add highly engaged people to the call/âmeeting slowly (like 1-2/âmonth) until it becomes a norm among a set group. Outsourcing: Valuableâdo it! Personal Development: Personally, I should have spent ~3hr/âwk less on EA organising and applied for jobs instead. Still strongly agree with having someone else be responsible for your development (Vice-Prez being responsible for Prez). Safeguarding Values: Thanks for the linkâarticle is now on my reading list! This didnât come up much this year, but will be a good personal reminder for me next year. Opportunity vs Obligation: I think whenever you use an obligation framing, you should couple it with an opportunity framing. For example: âYou really should give 10% of your incomeâ is bad, sad and off-putting; âYou really should give 10% of your income, because you can save several lives!â is better. (This second option might just be an opportunity framing in disguise). Socials/âDevelopment: Agree socials should come soon after events. We didnât do this well enough. Resources: EA Groups Resource Centre should be your top group organiser bookmark. OSP was very useful before term, and less useful (but still net-positive) during term time, depending on if there were any issues to discuss.
Also reading this as part of OSP syllabus, any updates a year on?
This article on value drift might be useful for safeguarding value, in particular it references a podcast episode âValue Drift & How to Not Be Evil Part Iâ (Part 2 also available). The section Factors Influencing Value Drift in the article might be quite useful too :)
(Standard caveat, still only a single experience and not necessarily representative of all groups)
Some updates a year on:
General point: I did several things whilst âstrategisingâ (before term), then forgot about them in the âimplementationâ (during term). For example, I made SMART goals each term, but only remembered them during the semester review. Would strongly recommend setting aside ~1hr per month, to read through your TOC and articles like this, in case you miss things.
Backchaining: I didnât do enough of it.
SMART Goals for groups: I made them, didnât hit most of them, and didnât put too much stock in them. I think the specific numbers on goals (ie. 40 applications vs 30 applications) isnât too important, because itâs not (fully) within your control and doesnât much change what you do (you would advertise the same either way). However, having the âbroad goalsâ (X applicants) frames the actions you take (advertising), so those are useful as part of the backchaining process.
SMART Goals for individuals: Tentatively EXTREMELY important. From experience, a semi-common failure this year was engaged members not doing much specific. Each person having goals gives: 1. Incentive to make progress; 2. Opportunity to meet/â1-1 to check progress; 3. Clearer idea of what everyone is aiming towards.
Itâs also really hard to do without sounding like youâre giving people homework. I think itâs very useful to create a (sub?)group culture where the default expectation is that everyone has a goal theyâre working on at all times. Suggestion:
1. Get your top 3 engaged organisers
2. Each set goals, have an accountability call/âmeeting each week to discuss progress (and actually hold each other accountable, the vibe should be âfriendly, but if I havenât done the thing Iâm actually going to feel bad/âembarrassed about it at the meetingâ)
3. Add highly engaged people to the call/âmeeting slowly (like 1-2/âmonth) until it becomes a norm among a set group.
Outsourcing: Valuableâdo it!
Personal Development: Personally, I should have spent ~3hr/âwk less on EA organising and applied for jobs instead. Still strongly agree with having someone else be responsible for your development (Vice-Prez being responsible for Prez).
Safeguarding Values: Thanks for the linkâarticle is now on my reading list! This didnât come up much this year, but will be a good personal reminder for me next year.
Opportunity vs Obligation: I think whenever you use an obligation framing, you should couple it with an opportunity framing. For example: âYou really should give 10% of your incomeâ is bad, sad and off-putting; âYou really should give 10% of your income, because you can save several lives!â is better. (This second option might just be an opportunity framing in disguise).
Socials/âDevelopment: Agree socials should come soon after events. We didnât do this well enough.
Resources: EA Groups Resource Centre should be your top group organiser bookmark. OSP was very useful before term, and less useful (but still net-positive) during term time, depending on if there were any issues to discuss.