In an upcoming issue of the magazine, we’re going to be running an article on how some chapters and quartets are using Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, etc. to get new fans, new members, new audiences and build new relationships. I know of a few examples of barbershoppers who are using Facebook to sell more tickets and locate potential members. I would sure like to know some more.

• Do you know any success stories? (Yours or another group?)
• Do you you have any expertise on how to use social networking effectively in a barbershop or other singing environment?
• Do you have any questions that you want answered in an article like this?

Please share what you know or what you want to know right here!

(Note: Feel free to provide links in your response (if you know they’re clean), but know that comments that contain multiple links will usually go into moderation before they can be posted. If you comment doesn’t show up immediately, that’s probably why.)

“Some people try to find things in this game that don’t exist, but football is only two things – blocking and tackling.“

— Vince Lombardi, ESPN’s Coach of the Century

Thanks everyone who responded to our Commanders Intent post last month. We discussed how an army commander ensures his forces cannot lose sight of the core objective and then we asked you to fill in the blank, “If a chapter does nothing else, it must _____.” So many insightful answers! If you haven’t read them, click on the above link and please do so.

As promised, we looked at everyone’s comments and discussed them at our Sept. 16 meeting. We’re not done processing and reacting to everything we learned from your participation, but I’ll say this: We didn’t see anything in your feedback that surprised us, and that was great news. I hope the following explains why.

While it might be wise to stick with the military motif for this post, please indulge me in switching to a related analogy: winning football teams and winning chapters. (To be clear, staff doesn’t define winning chapters by competitive scores but by whether a chapter is a exciting and fulfilling place that’s attracting more and more men. High-level performance and a healthy chapter culture often go together, but it’s very common to find one without the other.) However, successful chapters of all types are strong on similar key fundamentals. One goal of the commander’s intent post was to determine whether we’ve identified the same key principles as you have. 80+ insightful responses later, our strategic planning appears to be well in line with what you consider most important.

Now, a few words about arguably the best football coach of all time, and what fundamentals mean to strong barbershop chapters. Read the rest of this entry »

The discussion of the 33% criterion in the last issue of The Harmonizer has generated a lot of great feedback and discussion, including at this relatively recent post at barbershophq.com. An extremely informative private exchange occurred when “Montana Jack” (the Internet handle of an influential barbershopper who regularly posts on the Harmonet) sent a private email to Music Category Specialist Kevin Keller, who privately responded. A member of headquarters staff cc’d in the email suggested all barbershoppers could profit from the exchange.

With Jack and Kevin’s permission, here’s the text of Jack’s email, with Kevin’s comments interspersed. Please add your own comments! Read the rest of this entry »