True Brother Initiative
 

For those who were at Leadership (or should I say, LDRSHIP;)) Seminar, what do you think of this program? Please be both general and specific.:)

Our Zeta's High Pi and Myself spoke with our ELC about the TBI. This is an essential program for the fraternity. I know our chapter experienced that let down after being initiated. I believe that as our colony is working to get re-chartered and become the dominant organization at WCU again True Brother is a great structure to complete our goals. It gives set short term check points in a pathway to your long term goals. It takes you from an Associate to an active Alumnus.

I spoke to my chapters high alpha yesterday, and he seems very excited with the new programs and its prospects for our chapter. It should give our fraternity a competative advantage over other fraternities.

I hope this will be added to a very future C & C so all of us can get an idea of what it is all about.

Sounds very interesting as I have commented a lot about keeping Alums in the total loop.

From the UGs I spoke with, there may be a correlation between the amount of emphasis they placed on Impact and how well TBI is received. In other words, if you didn't really urge members to go through Impact I-IV, there's a chance the new program's not gonna grab you, either.

Don't get me wrong, these programs (including SAE's True Gentleman & SigEp's Balanced Man in the mix) are outstanding. However, if you've got just a small percentage of Zetas implementing the program, it may lead to resentment on the part of the "lesser chapters" (a.k.a. those who haven't "bought in" fully).

It will take a while for this program to be fully in place - IMHO, we alums s/b actively urging our chapters to work w/TBI.

In ZAX,
BF

What IS the True Brother Initiative?

Yes, something will come out in the next C&C in a couple days, but it's so much nonspeak, meaningless to me, along the lines of an email I got from the Florida Tech Alumni Association about where our dues will go. "The funds received from memberships in the Alumni Association help to continue the progress being made on behalf of the university, its students and graduates."

I HATE nebulous statements like that.

Can someone explain how (of if) this new initiative will affect me, as a 54 year-old alumnus? Or is it just for the young kids?

I want to know, but no one is telling the alumni - just adorning a select few of them with lavish pendants and collars.

Point very well stated!:)

Like You and others, the wondering goes on.

'

I wasn't there but I have read a good portion of the 7+ packets they brought back, in addition to trying to understand what the ELC told me about it months ago. I was very disappointed when they didn't bring back info about the Inner Circle program that was supposed to be accompanying it. Supposedly THAT was what was for the alumni and the active brothers. Some kind of incentive program.

I was told the program wasn't finished in time for LC.

Totally agree. I am working on that on my own front, tough going though.

I read the manuals and I was impressed with the thoroughness that went into the packets. I need to look into them more. I am going to do so once they post everything online, which I hope they do soon. I am hoping the program will go over well here. It seems like one of those everyone has to get involved or it will fail miserably, meaning not just a few people doing all of the work.

Hate to be a downer, hell, I only can tell the basics about this "True Brother" program.

Is this just more b.s. where HQ and alumni get to go around using buzzwords, print some new manuals, give some catchy names and stroke their egos for being "proactive"? (God I hate business buzzwords.)

There have been so many other failed initiatives. I've been through Impact Leadership, put 100% into it, and it still felt like one of those company ice breaker, team building exercise that everyone hates.

Maybe someone could tell me how this differs from previous programs? Give me some assurances that this is a good thing.

Is this of substance where we can see results, or will we be better off spending the money and man hours on recruitment or fundraising?

I don't want to judge just yet before giving it a try, I know what you mean though.

Personally, whichever the case, I was getting tired of referring to a kappa manual from 1992 that still talked about the USSR and the cold war as talking points... New manuals were necessary, and are welcomed.

As explained by various Master Stewards during the week, TBI is designed for E-V-E-R-Y-B-O-D-Y. Impact Leadership was created for...well, the leaders of the chapter. However, the tenets of TBI are something that every member can work with.

LCA has had various programs (LEAP, Impact, The Great Passage), but they all focused on the honchos. TBI was developed because we need to have men who'll become True Brothers first so that they can become leaders later.

Some of our best and brightest have been involved in this implementation, so I'm a believer in the ideas behind the program. Of course, while I'm not from Missouri, I'm also waiting and seeing how things go at this stage.

Yes, the manuals have all been redesigned. However, part of the reason this was done is because it's difficult to get people to read 300+pp. manuals these days (unless it's the ops manual for their iPod). They're all down to a manageable size - the manuals handed out last week were 60pp. or less. Odds are you'll be more apt to read this size manual than wade through Standards...

In ZAX,
BF

Sorry, I misunderstood. I thought there were all new manuals for the True Brotherhood project. In that case, we do need new manuals for the officers.

My main concern is staying power. Is this True Brotherhood program going to fizzle out? Is it worth the time and money which could be spent on the basics of the fraternity, recruitment and fundraising, devoted to this program? What happens when some chapters don't do it? In five or ten years down the road, will it still be around? Basically, is it worth the initial investment?

Or is it just something for everyone to feel good about for a few months, and to show that HQ is doing something rather than nothing?

First, consider my frame of reference. This was my first big Lambda Chi gathering, so I don't know how much different it was from previous ones.

That said, I agree with Brother Foltz. TBI doesn't seem like the same old B.S. I know we've all seen our share of last year's product in a new box, but this really seems like more than that. For example, the staff referred to the last 20 years as the "Risk Management Era," implying that they are ready for things to change.

True Brother isn't really a program, as in, "do everything on this check list and you'll have a great fraternity." If I had to sum it up, it would go something like this: Lambda Chi Alpha is a values-based fraternity. You can't teach values; you have to find members who already share them and then help those members to fully develop them. As they develop, the will become better men, better leaders and better brothers.

In other words, TBI doesn't just focus on what we do, but on who we are. There are new manuals for High Delta, (accompanied by a workbook for all brothers called the Warren A. Cole Recruitment Institute,) the High Kappa, High Iota (I think,) and a workbook for the Associate Members. They're supposed to be available on the web "soon."

The "Outer Circle" is the program for A.M. development. Chapters that choose to implement it will be eligible for the "Inner Circle" program, which will help members to continue to develop after initiation instead of resuming "business as usual." Then, there's a third facet, known as the "Mastery Circle," which is intended for the transition from U/G to alumni.

TBI is based, in large part, on the character development program developed by the US Army to develop cadets at West Point. Also, HQ is collecting social science data on everything that will be compared to data on the "average" non-fraternity student of the same age. This data collection is planned to continue tracking these individuals for decades into the future to see what effect TBI has in the long term. There are some really smart, committed people working on this.

In other words, it seems like we, as a fraternity, have our ducks in a row and are ready to shape our circumstances, rather than letting circumstances shape us.

The idea is sound. If you recruit great brothers, rather than "good guys," and then you help them do develop their character, you can't help but end up with better brothers and a better fraternity experience. Maybe not right away, but within a year or two.

It seems to me that it will come down to us as members. If we embrace TBI and put it into practice, and if IHQ vigorously supports our efforts, it will work.

P.S. The new web site looks like it will be cool, too!

Sounds good. I will naturally be skeptical at first. There just have been to many "new" programs in the last couple decades. Thank GOD we are getting away from risk management, glad to hear that this is replacing it at least. That makes me a little more hopeful.

Warren A. Cole Recruitment Institute??????????

Oh my God. That is about as appropriate as having O.J. Simpson sell knives on late night infocommercials. Just a suggestion, but given Cole's recruitment history, and the fact that during his initial recruitment he was, let's just say less than honest, do you think his name should be highlighting the program?

By workbook do you mean a quick reference book of helpful suggestions, etc., or do you mean an actual book where you fill in the blanks, etc.?