Where to begin here....
Okay - let's get to the root of the problem on how "some" get an organization to be personal-agenda driven versus organization mission-driven.
Member apathy. Lack of accountability. People interested in titles and "fake work" more than results. People interested in being part of a club/clique instead of a company with a vision. People interested in security instead of creating value. People who are focused on their own interests instead of their clients'. People who think they know it all... instead of those who are always learning.
Business is REALLY dynamic and fluid up until it gets really big... and then it starts becoming like the government agencies - big dumb stubborn complacent entities, where everyone is protecting their own interests and job.
BP is a perfect example. No sense of personal responsibility - just finger pointing.
Yet every one of us, if something goes wrong, even if it is NOT our fault - we take responsibility because it is OUR business.
I spent today down at a large building doing a walk-through of creating a new rug plant for our family, and the whole time thinking about what would be the most awesome experience for my team, and for my clients. What is the flow to just make it an adventure instead of just a big warehouse.
I was not focused on "where's my office gonna be, and I get the BIG windows and my brother doesn't!!!"
That "Mine! MIne! Mine!" attitude grows in these complex organizations. Gotta save your budget, gotta get votes for your interests, gotta charge more fees because dammit, we work hard to administer those tests - and they should pay more.
So when the "best" in our business are out CREATING value for others - the least attractive place for them to want to be is closed up in a board room talking policy. Joe Polish lasted on the CFI board for about 2 years before he ran away forever (I can't imagine with his ADD he lasted even that long, much less getting certified in WRT and the rest... course flood courses were only ONE day back then...)
This means the one attracted to the systems and infrastructure of an organization like
IICRC, which does training, standards, and policy is NOT going to attract the most entrepreneurial, action-taking, inspiring people. UNLESS... the board is full of creative people of their caliber to work with and grow with.
Dan Sullivan says "I never want to be the smartest person in the room... but be in a room where everyone is getting smarter."
We have a number of "leaders" who have been through the
IICRC ranks who believed themselves to be the smartest people not only in the room, but on the planet. Closed minds. Abrasive personalities. Personal attack masters to get their own way.
And when you have a group of mostly followers instead of leaders, this is when we get the problems we've seen in the past with the group... but also why we all know things WILL and are changing, because getting Ruth and Jeff out of that space was really something no one thought could be done, because they were so good at political intimidation.
IICRC does not need to be destroyed. Boycotting just means they will shift to other areas for funds - CRI and WFCA is funding hundreds of thousands to write the installation standard - there are lots of big group who will pay for projects in order to buy influence, and in this case ANSI connection. So cleaners dropping en masse would do the opposite of what needs to be done.
If when I was on that board, there had been MORE entrepreneurial, motivating, creators to connect with, I would have held out longer. Being the only vote on Exec Comm of "no" with all others "yes" on issues that were such horrible conflicts of interest was maddening. I don't mind working hard, or battling, but what I will not do is completely waste my time. I need action and results in my life. That is how I am wired - and when I get to work with others like that, it is awesome, even if it is a humongous project.
It's the Theodore Roosevelt quote I put on the blog - "Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing."
Shorty - I have had a lot of help and support on this. We've had well over 2,000 hits on the blog in under a week, and 1,200 unique visitors. And I've had offers to do more - write letters in particular - which emails have been posted.
I've heard from CRI committee members, and also from some on the
IICRC executive committee. I expect to see official responses, which will direct where my next efforts will be. I am hopeful with
IICRC, I am not with CRI. That's just my gut talking.
I am planning to have demos and "testing" at the Piranha conference this October. I already have a trade show, and event in place there, and we are taking over the whole hotel, so I'm going to spend the money on literally having a cleaning circus there. I will make the trade show day free to cleaners who want to come, I will have teams of cleaners focusing on their own side by side comparisons and evaluations.
This will NOT be lab testing - this will be visual testing - and we WILL have Rug Doctors there.
The point of this will be to see what has SOA blessed as approved, and does it really do well. And what does not have the labels, and show how some are MUCH better, but not approved.
I am going to pay to have the demos filmed by the crew who normally films our conference. And pay to edit the footage, as well as get pieces streamed on-line.
What all of this will be, besides SEEING what is true and what is crap, is marketing collateral. In case there happens to be a push into consumer markets to buy SOA, I will be creating marketing tools and strategies to counteract anything CRI may spend TONS on to promote.
I'm a better marketer - I will have footage showing what is "true" and show what "professional cleaners" should look like - and instead of just giving this material only to Piranha Members, I will give it for free to every cleaner who wants it, and explain how to use it if they need to. Because in this case the goal is not to create something proprietary for Piranha, but the goal would be to kick CRI in the nuts.
I want to have all of the footage and content I need to pursue a "competition castration" strategy if I need to. And as I've mentioned before, I have distribution channels to a large number of consumers, so I am just preparing for the worse case scenario in case I have to ramp up this game.
IICRC is fixable, I believe. But it will require some good people to step up to the plate and get involved. And that won't be me. I can help advise and consult on some areas, but going back on that board would be like having a really bad divorce and having to go back and live in the house you had your worst fight in... too many bad associations for me.
CRI believes they are too big for anyone to mess with.
You gotta see this blurb from a court case with Carey Mitchell from Shaw in the judgment here:
(Mitchell from a carpet VOC lawsuit case he was testifying in. It's not SOA-related, but its indicative of the attitude of Shaw): "Plaintiffs argue that defendant's own internal memoranda reveal that the five emissions studies are not scientifically valid. Plaintiffs note that none of the studies is published, and that the studies surveyed a relatively small number of VOCs emitted from a statistically insignificant number of carpets. Moreover, plaintiffs contend that the studies were developed by defendant and the carpet industry as part of a public relations effort to portray the industry in a favorable light. Plaintiffs quote Carey Mitchell, defendant's expert witness on the subject of carpet emission research, who characterized the research as "political rather than scientific.""
http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/97D0925P.pdf
This is a toxic organization - meaning a few toxic people wielding too much influence over many just-want-an-easy-board-role people. But unlike
IICRC, where with a few changes some more real progress can be made... with CRI, there is SO MUCH MONEY involved, people have more to lose, and they will take others down with them.
Which is why a strategy against them needs to be with consumers directly rather than trying to work through proper channels.
This was a big aside on Harpers point... but I am a BIG believer in associations. My CFI work, 11 years of it, was hard... but there was a lo created, and I made some great friends in the process... and when the big thinkers got replaced by the small thinkers, I got tired fast and moved on.
If
IICRC accepts the SOA program then I will quit out of a public protest with my certifications... but I do feel that some there want real change, and the mediocre ones can perhaps be moved out so innovators can move in.
We will see. But if we get apathetic, and don't care about the industry enough to help lift it up, then ultimately the only one to blame will be ourselves.
Right?
Lisa
know the problems :roll: with your post is there :shock: were not enough smileys somewhat amus !!
