Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese sage and military strategist once said, “every battle is won before it is even fought.” I like this idea when thinking about leadership and planning. Mapping out a strategy before you make a decision or begin a journey is often the key to its success. Or, as my mother would say, “the devil is in the details.”

Specifically, I was thinking about this as I talked to a mid-sized public library board last week about how to develop a new strategic plan efficiently. They initially thought they wanted to hire a consultant to do the work, as they had done in the past. However, they quickly realized it was way too expensive for their ever-shrinking library budget. They also were concerned that a consultant may not “get” them and would just sell them a “cookie cutter” plan with all the buzz words. They were anxious that a consultant’s plan would not really move their library ahead and keep them relevant to the community they serve.

I was inclined to agree with them, and they have started on a very simple process to develop their next three-year strategic/business plan. Amazingly, within two hours, the Board and Library Director had decided what they wanted:

Complete 2 measureable actions every year.

• 1 action to streamline/improve an internal procedure
• 1 external action to improve the customer experience

The Board and staff will review the vision, mission, and values statement.

They tasked the Director to work with staff to come up with the six actionable items by October. Then, the Board will discuss them and ask the community for their input. By December, the team will be ready to lay out their plans in a simple five-page document.

Slick? Yes. Easy? No. It is doable, I’d say, because the board and staff are all on the same page. It’s all about the end results, and it’s all about the customer!

I have to commend the Board and the Director for making a conscious decision to keep it simple and to invest their energies, not in writing the plan, but in the measureable actions. “Every battle is won before it is even fought.”

I am all about action, and as a typical Baby Boomer, the quicker, the better. No moss on this rolling stone! However, over the last few months, I’ve started to believe that the slow and continuous pursuit of excellence is actually the more sustainable and, interestingly, the most successful action when transforming an organization.

In these tough times, many libraries are looking for that singular massive change that will radically realign their service, improve productivity, and ultimately make the library relevant and essential. However, there are a growing number of progressive libraries who are adopting a kaizen (Japanese for “continuous improvement”) approach to sustainability and organizational change.

They are adopting a steady and continuous approach to change that is focused specifically on incrementally improving customer service and productivity. I believe that truly sustainable improvement requires a change in the library’s overall culture, not just a change in procedures. A change that welcomes small incremental steps is the most successful.

It’s like dieting; a radical diet in which you eat just grapefruit and bran will likely come to an abrupt halt after just a few days. However, making a very small change in your diet, like using ½ teaspoon of sugar in your coffee instead of a full teaspoon, will likely be sustainable and, ultimately, more successful. (In fact, reducing the sugar in your coffee by a ½ teaspoon can result in losing seven pounds in a year! But I digress…)

At every library in which I have ever worked, there has been, at some time, a long and protracted debate about updating the website. Should it be done incrementally every few weeks? Should a whole new site, all ready to go, be launched on a day two to three years from now when it’s complete? Which is the better way to go – for the staff, for the IT folks, for the customers? I suggest that small incremental improvements will likely be more successful.

I am beginning to think that tortoise-like slow and steady improvement wins the race. For a typical Boomer and a hare at heart, this is a radical thought!

Part of the Libraries and Economic Development Series. The Business Special Interest Group (BSIG) from the Colorado Association of Libraries (CAL), the Colorado State Library, and the Colorado Library Consortium (CLiC) are pleased to offer a series of three free 30-minute webinars on Tuesday afternoons in August that will discuss how you can play a role in the economic development of your community.

During this third session, Suzanne Kaller and Colbe Galston provide an overview and tips for how your library can:

• Assist the business community it serves.
• Create and implement a business outreach plan to a Chamber of Commerce, small business development center, community group or government entity.

Please click on the following link in order to sign-up for the event:

Going to Your Customer – Outreach and Strategic Partnerships

Orienting new staff quickly to your organization is very important. A virtual orientation could be the key to a timely, comprehensive, standardized introduction to your library system. Discover advantages to implementing a virtual orientation for your workplace. Join us for this webinar, presented in collaboration with the ALA Learning Roundtable, and by staff from the Baltimore County Public Library as they talk about the creation and design process of this valuable Human Resources tool. Presenters include Jean Mantegna, Sandy Lombardo, and Melissa Hepler.

Please click on the following link in order to sign-up for the event:

Creating A Virtual Orientation for New Staff

Who says shelving hs to be boring! Great way to train and test your library shelvers. Hint: Check out the tutorial before playing the games to get a brief introduction to how it all works.

How to Make the Most of WebJunction,  July 29, 2010

NOTE: This webinar will be focused on the resources and navigation for the WebJunction global site at http://webjunction.org. However, please note that if you are a registered user of WebJunction Illinois (http://il.webjunction.org) attendance at this webinar is still encouraged since many of the resources and navigation are the same for both sites.

So you’ve created your free WebJunction member account, browsed the website, but are feeling a bit overwhelmed? Come join this special webinar where you’ll discover how to use the tools and resources on WebJunction to find answers and solve problems for your library. Learn how to work collaboratively with colleagues using groups; keep a finger on the pulse of new documents and discussions posted by members; know where to go to ask your own questions and how to share your expertise with other library staff. This session will help anyone who has said, “I know there is a lot to WebJunction, but I just haven’t had time to explore.” We’ll give you the top tips and show you all the steps for making WebJunction work for you.

Tips and Tools for Technology Planning, July 20, 2010

A technology plan can help you budget and better plan for future technology acquisitions, but with everything else you do all day, who has the time? Come to this TechSoup and WebJunction presentation where Kendra Morgan and Elliot Harmon will share tips, tools, and tales from folks working in libraries and other nonprofits who’ve crafted their own tech plans without too much discomfort.

In this webinar, you’ll:

• Hear about best practices for technology planning
• Get tips for writing clear and manageable goals and objectives
• Learn about tools that can help you through the planning process

The Rural Library Trustee: Roles, Responsibilities and Relationships, September 14, 2010

How do library trustees get trained? How are director and trustee roles defined to ensure a healthy library organization? How are trustee relationships cultivated both in and outside the library circle? Join this webinar to explore these and other questions related to library trustees that will provide you with practical ideas and tactical strategies to support and advocate for your library organization as a trustee, or library director in a small or rural community. This webinar is brought to you by ARSL (Association for Rural and Small Libraries) and featuring presenters: Sally Gardner Reed, Executive Director ALTAFF (Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations); Kim Armentrout, Library of Virginia; and Jim Minges, Director of the Northeast Kansas Library System.

For quite awhile, I have been thinking about bullying and the devastating effects it has on a library. This is a very sensitive subject, and I consider myself fortunate never to have had to deal with one at Alliance. However, they do exist in library land. For those dealing with a bullying board member, it is very stressful and often a no-win situation.

Bullying is defined as repeated acts that involve a real or perceived imbalance of power with the more powerful individual or group abusing those who are less powerful. Bullying comes in three basic forms – emotional, verbal and physical abuse.

Bullying in the workplace also is referred to as rankism – defined as abuse of the power inherent in rank or position– such as the board/employee relationship and usually involves coercion, control of the flow of information, and manipulation.

To all of the folks who contributed to this blog post on a very tough subject, thanks so much. It takes courage to be a good leader!

There are many kinds of wonderful public library board members: the classic community leader, the socialite, the fund raiser, the do-gooder, the lifelong learner/reader, and the one-issue-wonder. However, I have a new variety to add to the list: the library board bully (LBB). Luckily, they are a rare breed, but they are out there and individually can do much damage to a library, its staff, and most importantly, its customers.

LBBs are driven by their desire for power and control, so they will attend every library board meeting and are fully engaged. They will defend publically the library and its volunteers, but they also will appoint themselves to every committee. If they miss a meeting, they usually demand re-discussing the issues. They truly are hands-on.

On the negative side, LBBs are control freaks and micro-managers. Their hot buttons revolve around power and keeping it. Examples of LBBs include:

• New board members who want to be chairman/president in their first year
• Board members who fight any attempt to implement term limits and who want to be on the board indefinitely
• Board members who object to attendance rules and prefer that board minutes not be posted on the website

If the board opposes the domination of its LBB, the LBB will often find a “puppet” board member to do his or her bidding, so the LBB remains in control but on the side lines. Finally and above all, once provoked, the LBB is ruthless and persistent.

How do you deal with the LBB? First and foremost, understand this is bullying in its most blatant form. Library boards need very clear and enforceable rules of conduct and tenure. Board members must support other members who try to rein in the LBB. There is strength in numbers.

Do not quit the board because the LBB makes going to meetings uncomfortable; that is how they gain power. LBBs thrive when there is a weak board and/or library director. Libraries need a full board complement, to keep all the checks and balances in place. Library directors need to invest time orienting and supporting the education of board members. A strong, well informed library board is the best protection from allowing a LBB to monopolize the board.

Luckily, the LBB is an uncommon beast in library land. For those coping with a LBB, develop a new trustee orientation program and support a strong board president. For the rest who are LBB-free, celebrate your good fortune and update your board orientation plans to prevent any future LBB situations!

Join this WJ webinar on September 1, 2010 from 1:00 – 2:00 pm, presented in collaboration with the ALA Learning Roundtable, and by staff from the Baltimore County Public Library as they talk about the creation and design process of this valuable Human Resources tool. Presenters include Jean Mantegna, Sandy Lombardo, and Melissa Hepler.

Visit L2 for additional information and registration.

In these challenging days we are all searching for some kind of direction. Some sign that we are going to get through this mess and come out the other side a better, stronger person. We are all looking for the answer. How would I handle a big budget cut? What would I do if my husband got laid off? How can I make my kids more accountable for their actions? How can I make my community a better place to live?

Faced with these huge issues we are all looking for guidelines, direction, even inspiration to help us navigate these troubled waters. As I was walking Diefenbaker yesterday, I was thinking about signs and, like any good librarian I started making a list of life’s little rules, for example…….

• Ask questions and be inquisitive. There is always more than one side to every story and more than one solution to every problem.
• Trust your gut feelings but when you don’t know what to do, have the courage to sit still and listen, the answer will come!
• Have the courage to say “yes” and the strength to hear “no”.
• Take calculated risks; it’s what makes life interesting and moves us ahead
• Listen and read, you do not have all the answers!
• Live a life filled with innovation and new ideas…it will keep you young!
• Anticipate good intentions from everyone you meet. 99% of people truly have the best of intentions at heart, so start from there.
• Always promise 2 inches farther than you think you can reach…that’s how you grow and learn, by pushing yourself.
• It’s all about passion. Your success, at the library and personally is directly proportional to your commitment…it’s all about passion.
• Family and friends really matter. It is why most of us do what we do, so be sure they are at the centre of your life.

and finally…

• Smile and enjoy the adventure. We will find our way through these tough times and we will be all the stronger.