Archives for November 2015

Why I No Longer Attend Lodge

November 19, 2015 by TimBryce

I haven’t attended Lodge in quite some time, at least a year and a half. This is quite unusual for someone who devoted his first fifteen years actively participating in Lodge affairs, not just my own, but at the district, zone, and state level. I stopped going when it became blatantly obvious Freemasonry was operating more as a good old boy’s club as opposed to the fraternity it was designed to be, where brotherhood was of paramount importance, not aprons or titles. I still believe in the tenants of Freemasonry, but I no longer find attendance at Lodge to be meaningful or rewarding, be it at my mother Lodge or another. I have been asked by many Brothers, of whom I have the utmost respect, to return to Lodge, but I now find it more burdensome than enjoyable. I actually find Freemasonry to be more interesting over the Internet or through chance encounters than in a Lodge building.

Read: Freemasonry Is Dying

I am relatively well known in Masonic circles thereby becoming somewhat of an icon for those Masons who have abandoned the Craft for other pursuits. In my jurisdiction alone, we have lost over 18,000 members over the last twelve years, averaging an annual decline of approximately 1,500. Year after year we suspend members for non-payment of dues. One must ask, “Why?” Those members I personally know who have dropped out no longer find Lodge meaningful or fun, and fraught with politics and skullduggery. Again, this is not just my Lodge but many others in the area whose membership is shrinking and attendance dwindling. Some of the larger Lodges are so empty, you could play racquetball inside and nobody would know the difference.

It wasn’t always like this though. When I first started going to Lodge in the 90’s, people cared about each other, there were no personal domination issues, and certainly no politics. Masonic education was considered important for success, and our floor work was impeccable. In other words, you wanted to go to Lodge. You didn’t want to miss anything, as it was all meaningful to you. Unfortunately, not so anymore, which is why I am staying away.

I still contend Freemasonry is a beautiful logical concept that is poorly implemented physically. I also suspect this phenomenon is not unique to my jurisdiction, as I have visited many other Lodges. Perhaps the most innovative idea I have seen in recent times is the advent of the “Traditional Observance” Lodge (aka, “TO”) which takes the concept of fraternity much more seriously than regular Lodges and has fun in the process. In other words, they have made it meaningful.

Keep the Faith!

Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company(M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com

For Tim’s columns, see: timbryce.com

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History Made In Texas Freemasonry

November 14, 2015 by Fred Milliken

PM Michael Huskisson 1283, GM Wilbert M. Curtis, Eric Brewer 1283, David Villegas 1283, David Bindel 1283, Rick Parker 1218

A Historical event in Texas Freemasonry took place on Friday, November 13, 2015. For the first time Brethren from Local Lodges of the Grand Lodge of Texas visited a Grand Session of The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas.

Past Grand Master Jerry Martin of the Grand Lodge of Texas visited the Summer Grand Session of Prince Hall in June of 2015, but no local Brethren accompanied him.

Newly Raised Master Masons Prince Hall Texas

The occasion this past Friday was a Grand Raising of 52 Fellow Crafts under the leadership of Grand Master Wilbert M. Curtis. Grand Master Curtis recognized the visiting Brethren from Jewel P. Lightfoot Lodge No 1283 and Irving Lodge No 1218 before proceeding with the degree.

Both Texas Grand Lodges signed a mutual compact of recognition in April of 2007, but that agreement prohibited intervisitation. It was not until the first of this year, 2015, that the compact was modified to allow cross visitation.

Brethren from Jewel P. Lightfoot No 1283 Grand Lodge of Texas just last month visited Pride of Mt. Pisgah No 135 Prince Hall Texas. In December Pride of Mt. Pisgah with Brethren from other Prince Hall Lodges will be visiting Jewel P. Lightfoot to observe their Third Degree.

Newly Raised Master Masons from Pride of Mt. Pisgah with Brothers from Mt. Pisgah and Grand Lodge of Texas Brethren

It seems that concerns that both Grand Lodges might have had over intervisitation were not anything to worry about. All visitations so far have been received with great joy and great fellowship. Welcome to the 21^st Century!

The Perils of not Knowing Your Responsibilities

November 2, 2015 by TimBryce

BRYCE ON MANAGEMENT

– “Nobody is driving officer, we’re all in the back seat.”

I recently read an interesting survey made by the Gallup organization titled, “Obsolete Annual Reviews: Gallup’s Advice” (Sep 28, 2015), which studied how cognizant workers are of their assigned duties and responsibilities. Interestingly, they found only 50% really understood this. The rest only had a mild interpretation or no idea at all. Gallup’s study was based on 50 organizations and 2.2 million employees. In addition to employees, managers also were not sure of their worker’s duties. This may help explain why companies are lagging in productivity. The Gallup report contends productivity gains of 5% to 10% can be realized simply by having workers understand their roles.

In addition to the fundamental duties and responsibilities of an employee, it is not uncommon for workers to misunderstand their various project assignments. Consequently time and money is lost as employees try to delineate their responsibilities, including their relationship with co-workers.

In this day and age, it is hard to imagine a company without such things as organization charts, job descriptions, and employee handbooks (aka, Policy Manuals), but evidently there are still companies not using this documentation. There are also those institutions who develop job descriptions so generically, employees are at a complete loss as to what they mean. Employee performance reviews should also be performed regularly, be it annually, bi-annually, or whatever. This allows the manager and the employee to review the worker’s performance, clarify their responsibilities, and make corrections as required. Finally, priority lists are useful for communicating to workers the precedent of job assignments thereby encouraging workers to row on the same oar.

It is not unusual for some companies, who make use of such documents, often find employees ignore them, as they do not want to feel encumbered or restrained, preferring instead to be unfettered and uninhibited. Of course, this is a reckless form of management and does not promote teamwork where everyone knows what their responsibilities are and how to work together.

Aside from these regular documents, it is also wise to define the methodologies of the business, representing the work breakdown structures and sequencing of work. Perhaps the best known methodology is the Assembly Line whereby products are mass produced by assembling components in a specific sequence. There is little point in having an assembly line if the workers do not understand what their duties and responsibilities are on the line; it will simply be counterproductive. Instead, each person in a methodology should know “Who,” is to perform “What” task, “When,” “Where,” “Why,” and “How” (aka, the “5-W’s + H”). In addition to specifying how work is to be performed, thereby improving productivity, defined methodologies are useful for improving the quality of products by specifying the acceptance criteria for each stage within the assembly. Methodologies overcome the classic problem of, “If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there.” They define assignments, responsibilities, and provides direction for projects.

The Gallup study is startling, and hints at a basic management flaw in business. I see these forms of documentation as fundamental to the running of any business. As the study suggests, people want to know their duties and responsibilities, feeling insecure without such knowledge. As I have touted on more than one occasion, workers want to lead a worthy life, they want to believe what they are doing has purpose and meaning. This can only be achieved by communicating what is expected of them. Without it, they will flail away on project assignments, inevitably performing the wrong tasks and producing the wrong work products. They may be efficient workers, but if they are performing the wrong tasks in the wrong sequence, they will be counterproductive.

I am certainly not a proponent of Theory X “micromanagement,” however, the manager’s mantra should be “never let it be said, a worker doesn’t understand his/her responsibilities.” It should be considered an inherent part of any management program.

The point of the Gallup survey should be obvious: “Shapeth up, and geteth thine act together.”

Keep the Faith!

Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com

For Tim’s columns, see: timbryce.com

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