2023 will be different than the past several years. It’s always a good idea to have a plan; it’s an even better idea when things are changing. This is a great time to pause and reflect on how we want to implement Scouting next year and in the years to come.

Why Plan?

Units benefit from planning in many ways:

• Making life easier for leaders—When you know what you are going to do next month, it allows you to prepare for those activities when things aren’t as busy, rather than in the rush that happens the week or night before the event.
• Recruiting—It is easier to recruit new Scouts and leaders when you can hand an annual calendar to new parents. It helps them see what you are all about, and it allows them to add these things to the family calendar (very important with today’s busy families). It also shows you that you’ve got it together.

Unit commissioners should work with unit leaders so that they understand why planning makes their program, recruiting, and personal lives better.

Roundtable commissioners will increase attendance and their impact if they identify the issues that units need help with and plan the best time of the year to address those issues. Just like the parents of Scouts, unit leaders will want to put Roundtable on their calendars, especially for those months when the topic is important to them. Having a plan will maximize your opportunity to promote upcoming Roundtables.

District and council commissioners will improve the health of their units if they have a plan to gather information on every unit and collaborate with unit leaders on how to resolve any issues they face. Your district and council will improve if unit and roundtable commissioners communicate the health of the units in your district/council so that the district committee or council board can address any trends they spot. Do you need a specific plan to recruit additional commissioners to accomplish all of these things?

What’s Your Plan?

District commissioners—Is planning on the agenda for your district? Do they set goals? Having goals and plans should be part of the discussion during the year.

Council commissioners—Does your council have a strategic plan and a tactical plan to implement it? Is progress toward goals a regular topic at meetings?

With planning a regular occurrence at every level, we can work to make the years ahead the best yet for Scouting.