Part II - CE

CE is a facilitated educational course for Lodges resulting in Lodge Strategic and Tactical Plans. It is facilitated by a trained outside-of the-lodge CE team of Masonic educators. The FORMAT for developing lodge strategic and tactical Plans are standardized and follow the most current thought of organizational planning and development. The CONTENT for each Lodge is customized – each lodge, through the facilitation process, creates its own unique strategic and tactical Plans.

Commitment to Excellence is dedicated to the purpose of helping individual lodges: (a) Seriously Examine their current Situation, (b) Envision a desired future, (c) Decide if there is a GAP between where they are (Current Situation) and where they want to be (Envisioned Future, and (d) Then design and implement/execute a strategy and series of annual tactics to systematically progress toward the desired future.

Commitment to Excellence offers a vehicle whereby Masonic Lodges can: Preserve Core Masonic Values while Simultaneously Stimulating Progress to a Better Future.

1.2 Model Components of Lodge Planning and Execution

(See Appendix C-3.1)

1.21 EXTERNAL Environmental Variables These Are Generally Uncontrollable. Lodge Leadership must ask questions about:

1. Demographic & Psychographic External Variables

* Demographic – What is age in surrounding community? What is the affluence level? Is your surrounding community family oriented? Are they more religious? Etc.

* Psychographics – What are the perceptions, moods, and meanings people in your community assign to the world? Conservatives or liberals? Are the people in your surrounding area joiners? Etc.

2. Competition & Partnerships External Variables

* Competition – Yes, Masonry has competition for people’s time and loyalty. Is your area already well-covered by service clubs such as Rotary or Lions? What is it in your community area that demands time from potential members? Does competition with your Lodge really include TV viewing? Are people too busy with work – another often cited source of competition for your Lodge? In reality, people will embrace that which they truly VALUE. Does your Lodge offer VALUE that potential members clearly perceive? If not, almost anything becomes Competition for your Lodge.

* Partnerships – Could you enter into joint projects with Jaycees in your area (Jaycees must resign at age 30 and need place to go). Would the Boy Scouts be a possible feeder market for your Lodge if they knew about you and you had favorable ongoing working relationships with them? What other potential partners operate in your area? What is your Lodge’s partnership arrangements with various bodies of the Arizona Masonic Family? Do you actively nurture these potential partnerships?

3. Economics & Growth External Variables

* Economics – Historical data shows that severe economic declines have had a negative impact on Masonic membership. But why should this be if Masons practice Relief ? Maybe your lodge could offer career advising assistance. Regardless, economics will affect your Lodge’s prospects

* Growth – Your lodge needs to know if your community is growing. New people coming to an area are prospects – particularly if your lodge knows the value they seek and then offer it.

4. New Knowledge & Technology External Variables

* New Knowledge – Here is where we can be more effective in our Lodge’s operations. For example, new knowledge of Team and Participatory skills makes managing more effective.

* Technology – Technology is a fancy name for Tools. Think of computers, e-mail, and websites that allow a lodge to better communicate with their members. What other technologies exist that will enable your lodge to better fulfill the Masonic Mission?

1.22 INTERNAL Organizational Variables

1.221 Strategic Long-Term - Organizational Guidance System

Referring to the Model of Lodge Planning and Execution (Appendix C-3.1), at the model’s center is a long-term guidance system – this system is the guiding NORTH STAR for your Lodge’s annual and short-term tactical performance activities. The guidance system has three component parts:

1. Core Ideology (100-Year Projection) – Two Sub-Components:

* Core Mission & Purpose. Mission or Purpose is a clear statement of its core business; the larger core business of Freemasonry itself and the particular Lodge’s adaptation of the core mission to the local community. Mission/Purpose is a basic statement of Why the Lodge Exists – its main reason for being an organization. Missions are very long-term – they exist for at least 100 years.

One opinion of Masonry’s Mission/Purpose is on the side of Light and Progress in the world of men. Our core mission/purpose at the Macro-level (general Masonry) could be stated, Building a Better Society by Building Better Men One-Man-At-A-Time. In essence, this means that Masonry helps men to develop their personal potentials guided by Masonic values. Then, these men are expected to Model Masonic principles in all walks of their lives – thus – over time - the society will be positively influenced by these improved men.

Each individual lodge must decide at a Micro-level (Lodge level) what is its core mission/purpose. Of course, this micro mission will be guided by the Macro (general) mission of Masonry. How does the individual Lodge structure all of its activities to fulfill its Mission/Purpose?

* Core Values. Values list the behaviors that will be displayed and adhered to as the members/leaders of the lodge conduct the activities of the lodge’s mission/purpose. Values are also very long-term and rarely change – at least 100 years or more.

As all Masons are taught when entering the Lodge room for their Master Mason’s degree – the most important tenets are: Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. These values inform Masons as to how they should conduct all of their activities.

2. Envisioned Future (10-Year Projection) – Two Sub-Components:

* B-HAG – Big Hairy Audacious Goals. A BHAG (pronounced Bee-Hag) is a desired future goal that at present seems almost unattainable. For example: John F. Kennedy announced around 1961 that the US would send a man to the moon by the end of the decade. This seemed unrealistic at the time, but inspired and motivated the US to complete the BHAG in 1969. Lodges need a BHAG to rally around and design strategies and tactics to progressively advance toward it. BHAGs are generally projected 10 years into the future.

On BHAGs, Dwight D. Eisenhower said: We succeed only as we identify in life, or in war, or in anything else, a single overriding objective, and make all other considerations bend to that one objective.

Here’s one Mason’s view of a Masonic Lodge BHAG: In 10 years, my Lodge will be known as a place where men learn how to be men, where men find an oasis of brotherhood an mutual respect within a sea of a material world, where traditional values of civility and moral rectitude are instilled, where men have the opportunity to learn to practice these values, and where men learn the skills of leadership, which is transferable to their chosen professions.

* Vivid Description of Desired Future State - Visions are generally projected 5 to 10 years into the future. A Vision is a desired and ideal future state. It inspires and motivates the lodge’s members to continually strive for something beyond their present state. The Lodge must paint a vivid and palpable picture of how they see themselves. This picture should be kept in the forefront of all successive Lodge Leadership Teams and the membership. Visions are long-term but change more often than Missions and Values.

3. Strategy (Five-Year Projection) – Two Subcomponents:

* Strategic Themes – Usually not longer than a five-year projection, a Strategic Theme is a general goal or objective. Examples: (a) My lodge will become a Place of Connectivity – Members and visitors strongly feel it to be a home away from home, (b) My lodge will become a Place of Discovery – the excitement of learning and personal growth can be found in the lodge, and (c) My lodge will become a Place of Efficiency and Effectiveness – the Lodge runs well in communication, beauty of atmosphere, and simply conducting all activities well – the lodge maintains the Masonic traditions but conducts itself using the tools and technology of the 21^st century. Strategic Themes are the stated key general directions in which the lodge wants to go in the future. These themes usually reflect areas that will make a significant difference in creating the Envisioned Future and moving toward the BHAG (s).

* Strategic Actions – Strategic Themes and Goals give direction and Strategic Actions define general activities that will fulfill and accomplish Themes and Goals. Again, these usually cover a five-year time period. Over the Five-year Strategy, what actions must be accomplished each year? How can each WM’s year progressively (year-by-year) put one more brick-in-the-wall – as the Masonic edifice is constructed?

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1.222 Tactical Short-Term (One-Year Projections) - Performance Outcome Objectives, Actions, and Measures (Note: These are the four Circles in the Model surrounding the Strategic Center)

Five-year strategic plans are achieved by a series of annual tactical (short-term) plans that focus on measurable performance. Tactical Plans are VERY SPECIFIC – who, what, when, where, how- and they have an accompanying BUDGET to ensure that they are feasible. Lodge leadership teams must have a commitment and a leadership culture to engage in planning and implementing series of one-year tactical performance plans.

Informed by 15 years of organizational research into a concept called The Balanced Scorecard, the following four areas are the key targets for annual Performance Outcome Objectives, Actions, and Measures. Annual Performance Actions translate the long-term Strategic Plan into reality. Annual Tactical Plans should be structured around these four areas:

1. Knowledge & Skills – What specific knowledge and skill growth is annually planned concerning the lodge’s Membership and Leadership? How are you measuring desired outcomes?

2. Customer Care – Lodges have external customers such as Masonic family and the community. There are also internal customers such as Lodge members, and leaders. Does your lodge know who your customers are – have a database of their various interests, and what they value in their Masonic activities? Have you attempted to systematically measure their satisfaction levels? What does your lodge do to ensure that your customers receive the Value that they desire in exchange for giving the lodge Loyalty and Commitment?

3. Internal Lodge Processes – Here the lodge needs to be concerned with a balance between Effectiveness and Efficiency of the internal processes of the lodge. Effectiveness is doing the right thing while Efficiency is doing things right. Does your lodge have a committee structure that is a parrot-like repeat of past year committees or are your committees formed based upon the tasks that need to be accomplished? Does your lodge clearly assign responsibility and accountability for all officers and committees? Do you measure performance?

4. Resources - Resources are needed by all organizations to accomplish Mission/Purpose and achieve Envisioned Future. What resources do lodges need? Here are some essentials:

* Loyalty and Commitment of Members and Leaders. This is essential for a lodge to be able to run itself. Is your lodge setting performance outcomes objectives in this area? Does it target specific performance actions? Does it have measurement vehicles in place to know if this vital Resource is being achieved

* Financial. Can your lodge run without income? Is your income stream adequate? What is your formal budgeting system like? Do you use Quickbooks or do you operate out of a shoebox or somewhere in-between? What are your performance activities here?

* Lodge Environment. The surrounding atmosphere of a lodge (building, dress of members, etc) is an important communication vehicle that will either support or detract from the lodge’s ability to achieve its Mission and Vision. How does your lodge perform here?

* Communications. This is NOT only an organizational function area, but an essential Resource. This is especially true of a voluntary organization – your Lodge. Does your lodge still operate without full e-mail and website support?

1.23 Summary of Lodge Planning/Execution Model

(Click Here to See Appendix C- 3.1 for a Model Schematic)

Commitment to Excellence (CE) is a lodge voluntary service that offers individual lodges a way to customize strategic and tactical planning that will: Preserve the Core Values of Masonry while Stimulating Progress toward a Desired Future.

This can be accomplished by: (a) Designing and Planning a long-term Lodge Organizational Guidance System and (b) Designing and Implementing short-term, annual, tactical Performance Outcome Objectives, Activities, and Measurements.

A Lodge needs to be supporting its membership base. In the purist sense, members pay the Lodge with time and loyalty in exchange for something of value, therefore the Lodge must first identify, and then provide its members with the Value that the members want and need. If the Lodge offers its present and potential members the Value that they seek, then Membership will take care of itself. While CE offers much more than a solution to declining membership, it’s a harsh fact: Any Lodge that is not replacing or increasing its membership is ultimately doomed to extinction. This applies no matter what the size of the Lodge, or its current financial condition.

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2.0 CE Description – (How the CE Program Works)

**2.1 Commitment to CE**

Like all programs developed by the Grand Lodge of Arizona, participation in the Commitment to Excellence by the Lodges is strictly voluntary. If your Lodge should choose to participate, both the Lodge and the Grand Lodge CE Committee will be asked to sign a commitment letter which will place certain responsibilities on both parties. As the word, Commitment, in the CE name indicates, serious consideration should be given to entering CE. Time and effort given by all parties should be valued and respected.

2.11 Who’s Committed?

1. The Grand Lodge Commitment

The Grand Lodge will insure that basic materials are available to support the Lodge as it progresses through its journey to achieve excellence. These materials may already be in the catalog of Grand Lodge programs, or they may be developed as needed to support both the individual Lodge’s and Grand Lodge’s Commitment to Excellence.
We will provide a trained facilitators (The Commitment to Excellence (CE) Committee) to mentor the program at the Lodge level. We will be in regular communication with the Lodge Manager of CE. We will provide a facilitator for the Lodge for the development of the Lodge Situation Analysis (this self audit questionnaire) and other CE Outcomes. We will meet with the officers as required by the Lodge. We will introduce all new materials and programs to the Lodge as they are developed and as the Lodge successfully achieves its goals.

We will create an award structure for the Lodges and members commensurate with their success.

We will commit to the above for a period of not less than 5 years.

2. The Individual Lodge’s Commitment

· The Lodge will, on a best efforts basis, implement the program as presented.

· The Lodge will select a CE Manager to oversee the program and interface with the Grand Lodge CE Committee facilitators and Lodge officers.

· The Lodge will have the senior 5 officers sign the Letter of Commitment (Appendix A).

· The Lodge may voluntarily remove itself from the program at any time.

· If a Lodge fails to keep-up with assignments while engaged in 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd Levels of the CE process, after consultation between the CE Committee and the Lodge, it may be determined that the investment of time and efforts by both are non-productive and the parties may severe the CE agreement.

2.12 Lodge Commitment Levels - QUICK OVERVIEW of Three Progressive Levels of CE Involvement – Commitment in any Level is Voluntary. (Click Here to See Model of Two Year Timeline - Appendix C-3.2)

Similar to 1st Degree, 2nd Degree, and 3rd Degree, CE is a progressively advancing curriculum. There are three levels of CE participation implemented over two (seven month) years - Here's a brief description along with planned timelines:

Year One - Effectively Seven Months: September & October plus January through May. Notes: (1) Why seven months? November and December are down times for holidays and Lodge elections - June, July, and August are set aside for the CE Committee to renew itself. (2) Exceptions to the first year timeline – Some Lodges have a late entry into the first year of CE Program; consultation with a CE Committee facilitator may determine that this Lodge could accelerate the 1^st & 2^nd Levels – completing both in one half of the first year.

1st Level - Do We Need Improvement? Here a Lodge is first interested in CE, but not yet ready to commit to the full CE Program. However, they do want to investigate the CE program. They: (a) Sign a CE Agreement, (b) Form a Lodge CE Leadership Team – Composed of SD and lower in Progressive Line*, (c) Complete the a Situation Analysis (Lodge Self-Audit Questionnaire), and (d) Agree to meet with a CE Committee facilitator to assess the questionnaire results and decide if they want to progress to 2^nd Level. Months for 1^st Level Work: September, October, January, & February

* Note: Initially forming in September, the Lodge CE Leadership Team should be composed of at least five members and hopefully, no more than seven members. Ideally, the team will be composed of the Progressive Line with no officer higher than SD: At the end (May) of the two year CE program, this beginning SD will be the sitting SW and now prepared to with his Annual Tactical Action & Implementation Plan for his election to WM in the following Fall. The preceding is an ideal situation: (a) The Lodge begins the CE program on the standard timeline and (b) the Progressive Line all buy-in to CE. The key to setting up Lodge CE Leadership Teams is to forecast who will be the sitting SW in May when 3^rd Level ends and do team members have Fire-in-the-Belly – have a burning passion to move the Lodge forward to excellence.

2nd Level - Building a Guiding North Star. Here the Lodge CE Leadership Team designs a long-range plan for the Lodge. From work completed in the 1st Level, the team has reviewed the current condition of their Lodge - from the Situation Analysis. Here the Lodge looks out to the future to dream and forecast where they want to be. Should the Lodge CE Leadership Team decide that they need to progress further, they may elect to progress to 3^rd Level. Months for 2^nd Level Work: March, April, & May

Year Two - Effectively Seven Months (Like Year One,): September & October plus January through May. Note: Again, November and December are down times for holidays and Lodge elections - June, July, and August are set aside for the CE Committee to renew itself.

3rd Level - Part One: Annual Plans & Performance Actions/Outcomes/Measures. Here the Lodge CE Leadership Team develops an annual tactical plan. Completed by the end of February, the current SW (hopefully with an Annual Plan to hit the ground running when he most probably is elected to the East the following fall. Months for 3^rd Level – Part One Work: September, October, January, & February.

3rd Level - Part Two: Leadership Culture and Continuous Quality Improvement. Here the Lodge CE Leadership Team is concerned with implementation and execution of its annual tactical plans. Additionally, it develops a culture that will keep the planning process moving forward in future years – beyond the first year annual plan. Having a continuously renewing Lodge Leadership culture has a strong chance to eliminate the King-for-A-Year syndrome now plaguing many of our lodges. Together the Lodge’s Leadership Team - WM by WM – will systematically build upon each previous year's success. This new leadership culture will continuously move the Lodge forward toward excellence. Months for 3^rd Level – Part Two Work: March, April, & May.

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2.13 Formal Commitment Letter – See Appendix A

For a Lodge to begin 1st Level – Commitment to Excellence, the Letter of Agreement must be signed. This will formally initiate the CE Program. A copy of the Letter of Agreement is found in Appendix A.

2.14 About CE Participants.

1. Lodge CE Leadership Team. The CE courses are designed for Individual Lodges who have made a commitment to begin Strategic Planning in their Lodges and to create a culture of continuous Lodge improvement by seamless Lodge leadership. Lodge CE Leadership Teams are comprised of: (a) Lodge CE Sponsors - WM ,SW & JW (Sitting at the time CE is initiated in the Lodge) as ex-officio members who approve and bless the CE project, (b) A Lodge CE Manager - The SD (or any progressive line officer who has the mandatory fire-in-the-belly), and (c) The Lodge CE Team Members - Identified future Lodge Leaders (not just those passively sitting in the chairs) – total team size of five to seven men.

2. Grand Lodge CE Facilitation Team. This facilitation team is composed of current or past Masters and/or leaders of Lodges who have Lodge relevant and/or transferable leadership/management experience and educational experience – selected and qualified DDGMs may be part of the team. This facilitation team has NO SITTING LINE GRAND LODGE OFFICERS except the one Ex-Officio Grand Lodge officer who champions and provides funding/coordination support through Grand Lodge.

3. District Deputy Grand Masters (DDGM) CE Roles. The CE facilitation team relies on the DDGMs to support the CE efforts in their assigned Lodges. Their role is to encourage their assigned Lodges, but to play no direct CE facilitation role except when specifically identified and selected to do so by the CE Committee Chair.

2.2 Detailed Overview of Two-Year CE Process

See Two-Year Timeline - Appendix C-3.2(Click Here)

The discussion in 2.12 above gives a general overview of the Two-Year CE Process. Appendix C-3.2 provides a visual model of the timeline. CE normally conducts its work in set months. Having all Lodges on a similar schedule assists in facilitation plus Lodges completing similar work in a similar timeframes provides opportunities for sharing Best Practices between CE Lodges. Following is a synopsis of the CE timeline

1^st Level – Preparation - September & October and January & February of CE Year One.

Module 1 – Getting Started (Note: Modules are keyed to the CE Timeline – Appendix C-3.2)

* First, Contact the Grand Lodge CE Committee – Usually the Sub-Chair of the CE Region responsible to facilitate your Lodge. An interested Lodge needs to contact the Regional Sub-Chair of the CE Committee and express interest in the program. This request needs to be official, therefore, the WM needs to make contact. Contact information is found in Appendix D (D-4.2 indicates your lodge’s assigned CE Region & D-4.3 provides CE Regional Sub-Chair Contact information – also, you can go to website: www.masonicbuilders.org). CE Committee Regions cover the state of Arizona and their facilitators are trained to help you get started.

NOTE: The Lodge may request that the CE Committee make an initial presentation to the Lodge Leadership and any interested Lodge members. The purpose of this meeting is to clarify the nature of the CE process and answer any questions.

* Second, Assemble the CE Leadership Team. Assemble your Lodge CE Leadership Team. This team should have a designated leader called the Lodge CE Manger. The Lodge CE Manager should be the sitting (as of September CE enrollment) SD or any highly motivated leader even if not in the formal Progressive Line – Be sure to include the SD on this team even if he is NOT the designated CE Manager. Along with the designated Lodge CE Manager add a minimum of four other committed future Lodge leaders (usually they are in the Progressive Line Chairs, but need not be - high motivation is the standard you should use for selection). Try to avoid having more than seven on a team since it soon becomes non-productive or non-inclusive of all members above this level.

NOTE: At the time the CE agreement is signed – September - the sitting WM, SW, and JW are Sponsors and Ex-Officio members of the CE Leadership Team. The reason for this is that the CE program deals with strategic and long term planning and the sitting WM is in currently in the middle of his leadership year while the sitting SW is planning a short-term, tactical, one-year plan for his immediate coming year as Master and the sitting JW will be in a similar position as the sitting SW when 3^rd Level of CE is completed. The WM and SW need to approve and bless the CE process, but it will be the job of the SD, or other Lodge leaders to implement the first results of the CE planning process – produced in May the second year following initiation of CE.

* Third, Your Lodge CE Leadership Team and the current and sitting WM , the sitting Progressive Line & the Secretary will sign a CE Letter of Agreement. This indicates that your Lodge is very serious about beginning the process of planning for an improved future. There are no legal ramifications and one could say that this is entirely symbolic, but it lets everyone involved know that you are serious. All signing parties should be given a copy for their records and you should send the Chair of the Grand Lodge CE Committee a copy.

NOTE: Ideally, a brief CE presentation with questions and answers should be given to the general membership at a Stated Meeting - the decision would be placed before the membership and would be formally entered in the official minutes. Following the vote, a formal signing ideally should take place in open Lodge - A formal signing is symbolically powerful.

* Fourth, the Lodge will be assigned A Grand Lodge CE Committee Facilitator. When the Grand Lodge CE Chair receives both a request from the WM and a signed CE Letter of Agreement, then things begin to roll. First, you will be assigned a CE Facilitator who will establish contact regarding the next steps in the CE process. This person has been trained in the CE process and will be the Lodge's primary trainer during the entire CE process.

Module 2 – Situation Audit/Analysis

* Fifth, CE Situation Audit – Questionnaire and Follow-up Analysis Workshop. The Lodge CE Manager will contact the Grand Lodge CE Committee Facilitator assigned to your Lodge to obtain a copy of the Situation Audit (Lodge Self-Audit Questionnaire) – you can also obtain a copy of the questionnaire from the CE website. This questionnaire is an extensive set of questions that you and your team need to answer about the present condition of your Lodge. This checklist will establish a baseline of data letting you know what condition your Lodge is currently in. All members of the Lodge CE Team should have an individual copy of the completed Situation Audit (See Note below).

A Two Hour Workshop. After the Questionnaire is completed the Lodge CE Manager will contact the assigned Grand Lodge CE Committee Facilitator to schedule an approximate two hour meeting between the entire CE Leadership Team and the CE Facilitator. Two weeks prior to this scheduled meeting, the CE Committee Facilitator must have a copy of the completed Situation Audit in his hands. The purpose of this workshop is for deep Analysis of the Questionnaire results – Does your Lodge have any GAPS that need closing? If so, you will decide to proceed to 2^nd Level CE to close the GAPS.

NOTES: Caveat – your Lodge secretary will be very helpful in supplying information to complete the Situation Audit, but DO NOT simply farm out this task to the Secretary. Nor should the team do a quick one hour and cursory completion of this document. Remember your entire Mission/Vision/Strategy and Tactics will be based on the thoroughness of this document.

2^nd Level –Long-Term Planning –March, April, & May of CE Year One.

Module 3 – Mission/Vision

Planning Preparation –Reading Assignments

The Lodge CE Team will read and discuss Two Books regarding their applicability to Lodge Leadership and Management. This reading and discussion is Active and not Passive – brief written homework will be assigned either in web based format or by paper based assignments. This homework will prepare the Lodge CE Leadership Team for upcoming workshops.

Mission/Values& Vision - Workshop

This 6-Hour workshop is concerned with creating Mission, Values and Vision statements. This session involves commitment and participation of ALL of your leadership team. First, we will clarify and agree upon the “business” that your lodge is in – this will be the general mission/purpose of Freemasonry that is customized to your geographic region and specific membership interests. Second, we will discuss the existing “Situation Audit” information gleaned from Phase One. The Situation Audit defines where you are at the present time. We will then work diligently to arrive an agreed upon clear and palpable Vision of where you want your Lodge to be in the long-range future. The Vision is a “future” place on the other side of the GAP between the “present” (Self-Evaluation/Situation Audit information) and where you desire or envision your “future.”

Module 4- Strategic Plan

Planning Preparation –Reading Assignments

The Lodge CE Team will read and discuss Two Books regarding their applicability to Planning. This reading and discussion is Active and not Passive – brief written homework will be assigned either in web based format or by paper based assignments. This homework will prepare the Lodge CE Leadership Team for upcoming workshops.

Strategic Plan - Workshop

This 6-Hour workshop is concerned with creating a long-term (five-year) Strategic Plan and interrelated short-term (fulfilling one-year goals) Tactical objectives that “fulfill” or reach the five-year goals. At this session, we will map general actions in each year of the five year plan that would fulfill the strategic plan. Of course, this is a rough map that is a “guide” only. Each year the five-year plan is readjusted to account for unforeseen circumstances and variations in each year’s Worshipful Master’s individual desire to add or subtract plan elements.

This workshop is also concerned with Organizing and Building Lodge Foundational Infrastructure to fulfill strategic and tactical goals.

At this workshop the Lodge CE Leadership Team will decide whether it wants to proceed to 3^rd Level CE.

3rd Level – Part One - Annual Planning & Execution –September & October and January & February of CE Year Two (Note: 3rd Level is divided into Two Parts)

Planning Preparation –Reading Assignments

The Lodge CE Team will read and discuss Three Books concerning executing plans, team implementation, and continuous quality improvement. This reading and discussion is Active and not Passive – brief written homework will be assigned either in web based format or by paper based assignments. This homework will prepare the Lodge CE Leadership Team for upcoming workshops.

Module 5 - Tactical Plan- Workshop

This 6-Hour workshop is concerned with detailed planning the first “fulfilling” year of the five-year Strategic Plan. This is the who, what, when, where and how Phase. We will build the Tactical Plan around the Four Areas of Performance Outcome Objectives, Actions, and Measurements (See Appendix C - Lodge Planning/Execution Model). It includes Communication linkages and Resource Budgeting activities. There is a 4 hour workshop to help build a one-year tactical plan. This session is extremely important for the current SW – since he will normally be elected as WM in the fall, this tactical plan will be his to implement during his year as Master.

Module 6 - Execution

This 6-Hour workshop is designed to help the Lodge CE Leadership team develop implementation actions for the strategic and tactical plans designed in earlier Modules. Planning is nothing without execution and implementation.

3rd Level – Part Two - Continuous Improvement– March, April, and May of CE Year Two

Module 7 - Continuous Improvement

This Module contains three 2-Hour workshops (6-Hours total in this Module), we will design measurements (Qualitative and Quantitative) to help the Lodge CE Leadership measure its progress and adjust when and where needed. We will put mechanisms into place to keep CE moving forward into the future through continuous improvement. Our focus here is to create a self-perpetuation Commitment to Excellence culture.

Workshop # 1 – (2-Hours): Planning for Leadership Succession.

Workshop # 2 – (2-Hours): Develop Plan for Regular Lodge Planning, Refinement & Continuous Improvement.

Workshop # 3 (2-Hours): Wrap-up of CE and planning for ongoing CE Consultation. NOTE: The Grand Lodge CE Committee will offer consulting services to assist the Lodge – if they desire – to keep their CE Initiative On-Track for future years AFTER they have completed the two-year CE process.

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