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“Our Outpost Eats This For Breakfast”

I my experiences within Royal Rangers and in all my research and studies over the years I have to whole heartedly agree with Peter Drucker that culture eats strategy for breakfast.  Culture is the most important thing that leaders cultivate within their Outpost.

Of course, vision and clarity of vision are foundational.  If you are aren’t sure what your vision is for your Outpost or can’t articulate it then take some time with your team to pray together and begin to craft your vision statement.  I know what you’re thinking, don’t you guys talk about the Johnny Barnes vision and that all you need to do is take it out of the box and apply his principles.  Yes, that’s true, but there are lots of variables that make your Outpost unique and that is what makes it important to carefully and prayerfully consider your Outpost vision.

While working on this episode of The Ranger Podcast, I asked several of our long serving commanders to write a few sentences about our Outpost culture.  It wasn’t easy.  Now, if I were to ask them if they felt like there was something special about our Outpost they would emphatically say, yes.

I have learned that to gain clarity on anything write it down.  Being able to articulate will help you compress your thoughts.  After all, God wrote It down.

Your culture needs to help deliver your vision and that why it is so important.  There may not be a perfect formula to follow but there are some models that can guide your efforts

Six things to consider while cultivating your culture

Stories & Heroes

What are the past events people keep talking about and who are the legends of the Outpost?

• Commander Terry
• Commander Mark
• Camporama
• Suwannee River

These are the things that guide the standards and give people the lens to see what success looks like.

Rituals and Routines

What’s supposed to happen in any give situation and what are the routines that make you rich.

• Only two rules
• Proverbs and daily devotional
• RAR’s

Symbols

This is all the ways an Outpost portrays itself.

• Outpost logo
• Uniforms & Dress Code
• Awards/Trophies

Organizational Structure

Team members operate with greater clarity, purpose, and reduced stress when they know their seat on the bus.

Control Systems

These include standards for maintaining standards and include rewards and advancement.

• Training
• Reimbursement
• Registration – Money in/ Money out

Power Structure

Your team needs to know how to get things done and who has the final say with regards to changes and implementation.

Questions that need answers:

• How do I plan a trip?
• Can I change part of the curriculum?
• Can I bring in outside videos?

How do you implement all these things?  The same way you eat an elephant, one bite at a time.  Start small but be consistent.