This month I would like to publicly thank and commend two groups. First, there is quite a long list of volunteers who have envisioned, codified and are now giving their final touches to a new set of proposed bylaws for AAPG that are more simple and streamlined, compared to our current tangled spaghetti of operational and procedural minutiae. As you read this, our House of Delegates should be wrapping up its informal comment period, leading to a final version and official House review commencing around the end of March. A huge amount of time, energy and talent went into every step. Please do thank them for their dedicated service when you see them (see sidebar)
Second, I recently attended the annual International Petroleum Technology Conference, which is a joint program of AAPG, the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists and the Society of Petroleum Engineers. There were more than 32,000 attendees(!) at the enormous exhibit floor, general assembly room and bank of 15 smaller technical meeting rooms, all overseen by hundreds upon hundreds of volunteers who ensured the meeting flowed smoothly. Volunteers also ran day trips before the meeting to provide visitors a fine overview of the area geology and general sights. Many thanks to all who gave their time and talents to this massive undertaking!
Reflection on Volunteering
For my main topic this month I would like to reflect on the history, meaning and rewards of volunteering. According to a Google search, organized volunteerism on a larger scale started in Britain around the 12th century with the establishment of hospitals for the poor and sick. Closely associated with religion, more than 500 hospitals were operated by volunteers.
The word itself is from the French, based on a Latin root meaning “willing; of one’s own choice.” But why would anyone offer to do something without being forced to do it, or without getting paid for it?
At least in modern times, there are a variety of benefits and any one of us likely has his own mix of motivations. Grouping them together, volunteering may give:
- A sense of purpose and a sense of belonging to something greater than yourself
- Opportunities to make new friends and/or new contacts that could help your personal advancement
- A chance to improve your social skills and/or gain new job skills
- A boost to your self-confidence and self-esteem for your accomplishments
- A stress release from your day-to-day grind
- A chance to have fun pursuing your personal interests while also making a difference
I am sure every one of us has volunteered for something at some point – what motivates you?
Streamlining and Synergy
This self-reflection is relevant to the proposed streamlined bylaws for AAPG because our ability to harvest the full benefits will depend upon our membership stepping up. Apparently, over the years as we added more and more detail, requirements and paperwork to our processes and procedures, we tended to hand them off to our paid staff to figure them out and make them run. And because even similar programs and committees are organizationally disconnected from each other, staff have to support each one individually; volunteers involved in the programs and committees are not easily able to mutually support each other. In fact, they might not even know that synergies with other volunteer activities exist. We have ended up with a large overhead cost to run a basket of activities that is highly dependent upon staff to operate.
The vision for AAPG in the new proposed bylaws includes simplification – first, because it strips out many decades of accumulated must-dos. When the Procedures manual is updated, we can put back in only the minimum we need for now and the future. Since the Procedures document only needs the Board to approve changes, we will be much more nimble in making adjustments as needed. Member volunteers can focus on the “fun stuff.”
Second, we can build a member interface that is more self-service oriented. Instead of picking up the phone or sending an email into headquarters, we envision an improved capability to figure it out or complete that task ourselves.
The proposed bylaws also include a reorganization around shared interests that transcend geographic boundaries. When all the related activities are grouped to roll up under the leadership of a director, the new transparency and organizational proximity enables member volunteers to find the synergies and help each other. And by seeing the program area as a whole, we can critically assess if we really need to continue all of our historical products and activities, or sunset some to focus on those most desired for today and into the future. What new products or activities will be attractive to the next generation of geoscientists and refresh our volunteer pipeline?
It might cause a bit of pain to let go of products and services that were important to us in our own early years, or “the way we have always done it,” but it is time for a paradigm shift in how we run our business to make AAPG fit for the future.
If you are not currently actively volunteering, I hope that these changes will catch your attention and bring you back, for all the personal reasons in the list of bullets above and for the betterment of AAPG.
In sum, I hope you are following along as we progress the various improvement projects underway and will be ready for another “V” as well: to cast a vote – an informed vote – on new proposed bylaws around mid-year, if the House of Delegates allows them to move forward. As always, please do send your questions and comments to [email protected] – I read each one with care.