Freemasonry Tomorrow
Bro C L Johnson
December, 2001
WM, first of all I would like to thank you for inviting me to address the Lodge on what is a very important topic for all us. I have to say this is a very personal view, and is in no way endorsed by anybody else except for me. The first thing to say that there is not only one future - but rather a number of futures that we can decide upon and influence. We need to bear in mind also that Freemasonry is pluralistic - that is to say, means different things to different people. We can enjoy different aspects that Freemasonry offers, whether it is the ritual and the ceremonies, the social side, the history or the visiting. No matter where the emphasis lies, all of us are right and none of us are wrong in our interpretation of enjoyment. All the material in this talk uses contemporary business strategy from some of the prominent names in this area of research and include; Arie de Geus, McCalman & Paton, Johnson & Scholes, Michael Porter, Rosabeth Kanter, Charles Handy, John Harvey-Jones, Peter Senge and Edward de Bono.
One of the first aspects to look at when looking at the strategic position of an organisation is the environment in which it operates. The environment in this context means global trends under which the organisation has little (if any) influence.I shall therefore briefly look at the change in environment from the turn of the last century to the present century. In order to do this we look at the Political, Economic, Technological and Social and changes in British society. The reason for this is to arrive at an understanding of how we got to where we are now in order to analyse issues which face us in the future.
Without dwelling too much on politics, this is a quick analysis of how the political basis has changed over the past 100 years. At the turn of the last Century there were predominantly two parties, the Whigs and the Tories. The vote had not long been given to the ordinary working man and indeed women were still not allowed to vote. This century saw the demise of the land owners as the ruling class and democracy was slowly ushered in. The reforming liberal party gave way to the developing labour party whilst Conservative policy shows little consistency to its former self. Internationally there were, of course, two horrific world wars, the introduction of a new form of socialism replacing the feudal systems in many countries and the rise of the United States from a former backwater to superpower. Meanwhile, Britain retreated from its Empire and became less of a power on the world stage. Brethren, one hundred years in four sentences, my history teacher must be turning in his grave. The important point as far as politics is concerned is this. Freemasonry is egalitarian in nature, whereas the environment was anything but. At a time of social deprivation and significant inequality, Freemasonry's view were very liberal (with a small "l") for their time.
Economically we have moved into a new era. From the choking industrial mills of 1900 there has been a move much more away from capital and labour intensive activity (Iron, steel, coal, ship building) and towards a "knowledge economy". Many of the old jobs, the old crafts have all but disappeared, whilst jobs exist today that could not be dreamt of less than fifteen years ago. [Kaplan & Norton, p. 127]. In real terms we are better off than we have ever been, believe it or not. We have gone through a Great Depression and more recently two recessions, but our standard of living is far higher than the back street slums of our cities at the turn of the century. We have social security and a national health service, yet it would be arrogant to believe that poverty has been eradicated, and that homelessness does not exist. Economically as individuals things seem a little less stable than perhaps they were. The 1980s saw a levelling of the playing fields, and an attendant lack of job security, no more job for life, seems to be the price to pay for upward mobility and high earnings expectations, realistic or not, with the average salary being around £22,000. The price of food, for example, has gone down considerably. We used to spend up to one third of our income on this most valuable commodity in the 1960s, now in the 21st Century it is more like 10%. Meanwhile the new BT slogan boasts "The cost of calling keeps on falling" is consistent with Tesco's recent ad campaigns which announced that some prices had actually dropped compared to last year. Inflation has a way of warping our perception, whilst it is true equivalent values do not go as far, intense competition ensures that, in real terms, our money goes much further, making us better off.
In technology we have seen some tremendous advances. Most significantly is in the areas of transportation. Whilst the Americans have set foot on the moon, it is possible for a mere mortal to cross the Atlantic in under 3 hours on Concorde, or for less than £300 for those of us on a tighter budget. We have greater personal mobility in terms of the ubiquitous motor car and think nothing of a 30 mile tootle round to visit a Lodge, though it has to be pointed out the Victorians lead the way with an excellent rail network. Computers and the internet have created a twenty-four hour society with information at our finger tips from home, whilst with a mobile phone we are able to contact people wherever they are and whether they like it or not. The media has become pervasive in our lives. With the advent of the global economy we are brought news in minutes of it happening.
These political, technological and social changes have had an incredible impact on us socially. We are healthier thanks to medical science whilst the birth rate has slowed down, so has infant mortality. We live longer, more privileged lives than our ancestors, in fact in Britain by 2026 there is forecast to be 17.1m people between 65-80, compared with 11.7m in 1996. And yet, are we satisfied with our lot? There is no universal indicator for "happiness" in a country, however expectations are that bit more higher than ever they were. We have come to expect more, instantly. L'Oreal tells us "because we're worth it" and the next advert tells us we can't possibly manage without some gadget or other.We have become a society of angry and impatient consumers. Individualism, road rage, trolley rage (would you believe) and a seeming "decline" in standards of all sorts with an attendant decline in the church population. Social and civic duty has given way to individual freedom at the price of social responsibility, whilst there is also a lack of "community" in our towns and cities.Meanwhile social tolerance has grown. We now live in a society where women have greater freedom, greater rights and last but by no means least, one which is growing in ethnic diversity.
The purpose of this whistle-stop tour of the last one hundred years was to examine the changing environment. Freemasonry was at its most successful when it was in tune with its environment. This was at the turn of the century and into the early 1920s when there appears to have been a compatibility with civic duty, empire, patriotism and church attendance. The world around was changing, and with its liberal ethics Freemasonry offered a vision of the future. The world outside of Freemasonry has changed phenomenally over the last century and yet, Freemasonry has only changed in one respect. It has become more insular, introverted and private. The two major changes in the environment have gone unchecked. The first is the change in the political map; the decline of the Liberal Party and the introduction of socialism and the Labour Party. Access to politics is much wider than it was 100 years ago, no longer the exclusive domain of the landed gentry. The second change is the rise of the media. Like it or loathe it, you cannot ignore it, and when added to people with a political motivation (either in the media or being reported by the media) we find a group of people naturally suspicious of a group of men meeting behind closed doors. Where inaccurate legends are more compelling than reality it is far more fun to believe and perpetuate the myths of Freemasonry.
Having examined the environment and how it has changed over the past hundred years we move onto what is Freemasonry. I can hear half of you saying in your own mind "Brotherly love, relief and truth". It is a phrase we often use in ritual, and conveys a lot of meaning to us, however as a litany it means next to nothing in the outside world, and is mostly in an outdated language. Put it another way.... what business are we in? One of the best definitions I have come across (Ridley, p.208) is that Freemasonry is a philanthropic charitable and social organisation. Philanthropy literally means the "love of humankind", and we can convey this in the widest context. With our members we believe in friendship. The phrase "disinterested friendship" from the installation ceremony explains it quite succinctly, friendships for which one expects nothing in return. We also believe in improving ourselves and in the wider context of our charitable work, giving with no "conditions attached". Lastly, Freemasonry is a social movement, which as Prof Prescott, the newly appointed Chair of Masonic Studies, points out has been much neglected by historians and almost completely overlooked. Mainly because our records are not part of the mainstream bibliographies consulted by historians, and this is the work he is to carry out. So what are the characteristics of our organisation? What makes it different from other organisations? One of these is our fine history and traditions, our fine cultural heritage. The concept of tradition, though, has given me much trouble over the past few years, the question I have asked myself is do dislike tradition. I certainly enjoy the cultural heritage, but seem to have a problem with the some of the concepts of "tradition", given my background in the fast-moving IT industry. When I read Catch 22 I came across a quote which seemed to suit me quite well. "Yossarian" said one of the characters, "you have no respect for out of date traditions and excessive authority". I think this is true, I have no respect for out-of-date traditions or excessive authority.
What is the difference between a tradition and an out-of-date tradition? The answer to this seems to be an unthinking perpetuation of what happened in the past. Tradition, I would volunteer, is what we value as individuals. If we enjoy doing something, we value it. If we do not see the point in a particular kind of routine, then it falls from use. As an example of this at the Lodge of Truth when a response for the Past Master's toast is required the DC announces that "A PM will respond", though none is specified., the IPM stands up, unannounced and responds. Now for some reason at the Lodge of Truth we find this hilarious, I don't know why, our visitors don't seem to think it's funny, but we value it and thus it will probably continue. As an example of an out-of-date tradition, the history of the Lodge of Truth refers to soliciting subscriptions towards furnishing the "new Lodge Room". The notice of intention was that “the Brethren of The Lodge of Truth shall not receive their Copper nightly as at present, but that the same shall go towards the Funds of the Lodge.” This motion “respecting the allowance of Tins” was withdrawn as “a better scheme was now going round.” Brethren, I haven't got a clue what they are talking about! What has amused me even more is the occasion where attempts have been made to introduce "new traditions" into the Lodge. Traditions are like organisations, they need to be given room to evolve, so the balance, I think lies in the difference between an evolving organisation, and a deep seated conviction to traditions.The greatest tradition for any organisation, though, is survival: Like all organisms, [an organisation] exists primarily for its own survival and improvement: to fulfil its potential and to become as great as it can be. [de Geus p.18]. Put another way, change is not obligatory, survival is not compulsory. [Demming]. Perhaps it is also worth remembering that history and tradition have done little good for Marks and Spencers and the Equitable Life recently, speaking as someone who has money in Equitable Life! And we all know what happened to King Canute when he tried to control the environment!
We now move on to where some of the problems lie. One way of looking at problems such as these was devised by Edward de Bono - the inventor of the concept of "lateral thinking". He suggested that there are six ways of characterising a problem. By the facts, by the emotions, by focusing on what can go wrong, what positives can come of a course of action, what growth can come from this and a combination of all these ideas. It is particularly useful as it only allows you to think in one particular mode at one time. It is known as "Six Hat Thinking".
The first mode of thinking relates to facts. What indisputable characteristics can we derive from an analysis?One anthropologist commented that, "What we call our data are really our own constructions of other people's constructions of what they or their compatriots are up to... Explanation often consists of substituting complex pictures for simple ones while striving somehow to retain the persuasive clarity that went with the simple ones." [Kanter, Footnote from p.279]. In research this is known as being positivistic, that is to say our reality is based on our perceptions. So what do we know about the facts of Freemasonry? Well very few actually. We know the membership figure is round about the 300,000 mark, we think it has dropped by 500,000 from the war. This doesn't sound too bad, but it is a decrease of about 40% in 50 years. However, we are not really comparing like with like as during the same time the population as a whole has increased. This means our "market share", or membership per capita of population has declined significantly. I estimate our decline in "market share" to be of the order of 250% over the past 50 years. Earlier I mentioned that, in real terms our money goes much further than it ever did. This is probably a good thing for Freemasonry, an improved standard of living has sustained the cost of running smaller lodges. In Yorkshire West Riding we boast we have 10,000 members, well actually this is nearer the 9,000 mark, and last year declined at a rate of 2%. Of course this is unsustainable, and yet it hides a more insidious figure. Even if the decline is a steady 2% because we are bringing in less candidates it means the masonic population, on average, is just "growing older". One can asked, how can this be? Why is our membership on a steady decline? Well maths is a lovely subject brethren, and I will briefly bore you with the maths of membership by using a simplified version of the Fibonaci sequence.
Assuming the environment is favourably inclined towards Freemasonry, then the rate of expansion can be geometric. Lets assume 1 member brings in two members, who brings in two, from then on it spreads with each member bringing in two members, so on and so forth. In year 2 there are 2 additional members, this doubles every year, until within 6 years there are 32 members wanting to join... time for a daughter Lodge methinks. Within 6 years our Lodge has grown from 1 to 63. Of course this is a simplistic version, and assumes no resignations, or indeed any growing pains that such a rapidly expanding Lodge would need to endure. From an quick perusal of the of Lodge of Truth records, though, this is what seems to have happened, with membership peaking at 116 in 1923. But beware statistics Brethren, they may have been operating a Life Membership scheme in those days, as some side degrees like Royal Ark Mariners did. The opposite to a population explosion is an implosion, and some Lodges are discovering this to their misfortune. As the members get older they are less likely to meet new people to become candidates - Freemasonry also has a way of institutionalising its members until it becomes a way of life, and members are less likely to socialise outside Lodge circles. What we can take heart in our purely factual analysis is that 300,000 is still a lot. One important question we have to ask though is... compared to what exactly? Record goes platinum at 300,000 copies and there are over 124,000 serving police officers in England & Wales, half the number of Freemasons. There are more Freemasons than there are people in Iceland and about the same number that populate Northumberland. In total we cover about half a percent of the population - which means with our wives and family about 1.5% of the population has a direct "knowledge" (for good or bad) of Freemasonry.
We are all familiar with the law of diminishing returns in economics. The more we put in, the less we get out. However, there is a corollary called the law of increasing returns [Arthur, 1989] where market dominance creates increasing demand. The classic example of this is the anti-trust case by the Department of Justice against Microsoft. The more something becomes prevalent, or a "standard" the more it is needed. Thus Bill Gates benefits twice every time a computer is sold, once from the sale and second from establishing a standard which other users are then "forced" to follow. I would put it to you that Freemasonry benefited from the law of increasing returns, when the environment was favourably disposed towards Freemasonry new candidates beget new candidates and the growth becomes geometric.But what do the outside world think of us? In a survey carried out in the States which represented an average of the American male population, among non-members surveyed, about 30 per cent said they were familiar with Freemasonry; 23 per cent not very familiar; 36 per cent knew the name only; 11 per cent never heard of the organisation.When asked about their possible interest in joining, only 2 per cent were definitely interested; 22.2 per cent maybe interested; 25.3 per cent probably not interested; 50.5 per cent definitely not interested. When asked which ideas of Masonry were least attractive or unacceptable, the majority responded that they did not know. About 10 per cent replied that they thought the Fraternity was too clannish, secretive or ritualistic. Asked to name a word or phrase to describe Masonry, the largest single response was that they did not know, and 14 per cent said, secretive.Looking back at these figures and you will see that 10% thought Freemasonry too clannish, and 14% secretive, and yet a whopping 70% are not even familiar with what Freemasonry is! If we extrapolate these figures, of the 2% of the population eligible population were definitely interested in joining, this would give English Freemasonry an increase (even by conservative estimates) of 150,000. Brethren, we're obviously doing something wrong! In the UK there has never been such a survey carried out. Cost may be prohibitive as MORI polls do not come cheap. The key is this, we do not really know, but the US survey perhaps gives an inclination of the results we might find. We clearly have an image problem - the difference between public perception and reality are gulfs apart and our only accurate reference, far from objective has been our own perceptions.
The second type of analysis is what feelings are. It is important that feelings have no place in logic, a sentiment echoed by Mr Spock in Star Trek. What are the feelings about this, clearly we are going towards some kind of precipice, and yet if we want to turn our ship around there will clearly be a price to pay. How does anybody feel about this? (That's a rhetorical question, by the way). Losing treasured, long-treasured traditions, a perpetuation of the past, a cheat to those who went before us and founded these great Lodge of ours.There would be a great deal of anger, sorrow a feeling of betrayal possibly guilt at not being able to perpetuate the past. There will also be a no-less important feeling of uncertainty, an insecurity that whereas we knew what the future of Freemasonry was going to be ten years ago.... well, roughly the same as what it was ten years before that, perhaps we might buy a new minute book, fork out on a few new suit for the candidate, but basically the same. This feeling of security, of knowing where the future lies is, and will remain an important facet of Freemasonry. One of the attractions for me (remember, it is pluralistic) is the human element contact, the total absence of computers and technology. Its 'oldie worldly' feel of our buildings. Things will never feel the same again. The last feeling is one of isolation in a society of shallow values and instant gratification. We seem to be surrounded by a "bad" society where things seem to be getting worse.
The other analysis is one of growth - what growth can come of this. As I have stated a number of times the purpose of Freemasonry, to my mind, is as a social system - and like any social system it needs to spread. The implications of this are obvious, in order for Freemasonry to survive and thrive it needs access to new members.
The other kind of analysis looks on the bright. What can go right - what good can come of this. One I have just stated is growth, or at least a stabilisation in the membership. It is not true that Freemasonry is shrinking throughout the country - Somerset for example, in 1999 reported a stabilisation of its membership.
The penultimate analysis is what can go wrong. I am sure some of us here could keep on talking to the small hours on this! Indeed such litanies of "negative visions" are sadly commonplace, even among very successful people. [Senge, p.147]. There are predictions of doom in Freemasonry and we appear to be sowing the seeds of our own destruction. We have plenty of anecdotal evidence that traditional values are not attractive to "modern society" and we appear to have thrived at a time when "manners and morals" were considered more important. The biggest problem as I see it comes from internecine "battles" - mutually destructive policies between competing groups within Freemasonry; compromise is often half way to defeat and a good way of ensuring nothing actually gets "done". Finally we may change too slowly or we may change too fast and we declaring "victory" too early.
Putting the proceeding analysis together, therefore, we have something of a conundrum. We have already determined that the environment is relatively unfriendly to our organisation prospering. Yet, if the American figures are to be believed there is widespread ignorance about our organisation - bear in mind that from my earlier figures an estimated 98.5% of the population have had little knowledge or direct contact with us. The strategic choice seems quite stark, brethren. Either we interact with the environment and choose to inform it, or we will continue to decline. My analysis is the same as the boiling frog analogy - if you leave a frog in water and gently boil it, the frog will die of dehydration as it is insensitive to small changes in its environment. In this same sense we have been insensitive to our changing environment - the warning signals of a different political map and an increasingly inquisitive press who don't let truth get in the way of a good story, have created an aura of superstition about our organisation. This superstition has grown up over the past 100 years or so.
We have had a quick skim through history, and the next section looks at the history of "openness" and "closedness". Using another tortured metaphor I call this a "Roast Pig" problem after Charles Lamb's classic 1822 essay "A Dissertation on Roast Pig," a satirical account of how the art of roasting was discovered in a Chinese village that did not cook its food. A mischievous child accidentally set fire to a house with a pig inside, and the villages poking around in the embers discovered a new delicacy. This eventually led to a rash of house fires. The moral of the story is: when you do not understand how the pig gets cooked, you have to burn a whole house down every time you want a roast-pork dinner. [Kanter p.302]
I have talked about tradition, but I think it is which tradition does one prefer , the recent one or that past one. Certainly 100 years Freemasonry had a much higher profile, major meetings being reported in the paper along with announcements of Lodge business. I think this is our "Roast Pig" - Freemasonry thrives when it has a high profile, and withers when it is taken out of the light. One reason given for the Freemasonry becoming more introverted was because of the threat of persecution in the Second World War. It is a plausible reason but not simply the only one. Whilst going through some records in Grand Lodge Library some years ago I came across an amendment which became our Book of Constitutions 178.
178. No Brother shall appear clothed in any of the jewels' collars or badges of the Craft, in any procession, meeting or assemblage at which persons other than Masons are present or in any place of public resort, unless the Grand Master etc., shall have previously given a dispensation for Brethren to be there present in Masonic clothing,
I do not know why this came about and probably never will. The amendment was made about 1908 - 1911 - I did not make a note of it at the time. the motto of our Craft is, of course, Audi, Vide, Tace, or listen, observe, be silent. It appears our forebears started taking this more seriously, and the "tradition" of parading started to go out of fashion until it was "no more" and Masons started disappearing from public sight, the public processions ceased and we gradually became more insular in outlook. After all we had a formula that was working, we didn't need to change anything, it just kept on working! This is not a criticism at all, it was entirely consistent with the environment at that time and in any case anybody knows you don't split up a winning team. My point is that a culture of privacy grew up in the organisation and increased until it had become all the brethren could ever remember. Thus the extroverted, liberal organisation of 100 years ago, evolved into one which was introverted and conservative in outlook. Sir John Harvey Jones points out that organisations such as the Royal Navy, the Brigade of Guards and so on, cherish their traditions. Although on the face of it there is no resemblance between the Navy of Nelson’s day, and today’s highly technical service, the values are jealously preserved, and the traditions recognised as being of fundamental importance to the continuance of the service and its effectiveness. [Harvey Jones, p.249] Elsewhere in his book he comments that whilst it is foolish to throw away the past, it is the future that we can affect. He continues that no matter how great the man may be, he becomes less adaptive with time, and tends to follow those areas of success which have worked for him in the past. He repeats a particular action once too often and, almost inevitably disaster strikes. [Harvey Jones, p.193].The same could be said of Freemasonry.
One of the most important aspects of Freemasonry going into the 21st Century will be our public relations. Our future success, as I see it, falls or stands in the way in which we communicate to society at large. In 1998 I analysed a year's worth of The Times newspaper to see what kind of press coverage we received. Brethren, I discover that we received a rate of 80% of bad publicity in this particular paper, and The Times is not particularly anti-masonic. As one executive of Shell wrote about oil protesters, "I did not recognise myself or my colleagues in the descriptions the press and politicians were giving.... Why would we be acceptable as members of the church or a club, but so socially suspect because we were in a large company?" [de Geus p.89] One way of promoting ourselves is through careful marketing communications. Now I appreciate marketing has a connotation that means getting somebody to buy something they don't need. Marketing is really the art of communications and influence, so let us consider the 4P's: Price, Place, Product and Promotion.
The first P is for Price, and many of us get price sensitive once we have been in a few years. Whilst it would be imprudent to say that price doesn't matter I would suggest we make a bigger issue of this than it really is. Is it expensive? Compared to what exactly? Membership of a Golf Club - £400+. A season ticket with Manchester United? We enjoy inexpensive membership for a club we run ourselves, and inexpensive meals for the good part. I pay £90 a year to join the Institute of Management - for the pleasure of a monthly magazine and a few letters after my name. Freemasonry gives me much more pleasure - for around about the price it costs to maintain my phone! For the occasional member, however, I would acknowledge it would give less value. Value for money should not necessarily mean cheaper, or indeed the start of what I refer to as 'supermarket masonry'.
In terms of place this mostly applies to our Masonic Halls. Most of them are placed near residential areas, yet many are not really part of the community. The advantage we have here is that they are tangible assets - confidence brought about through the foresight of our predecessors. In the past our Masonic Halls were in very prominent places. For example St John's Place in Halifax, Fitzwilliam Street in Huddersfield, Provincial Grand Lodge in its old building in Leeds. These were in some of the major thoroughfares - a reminder of the presence of Freemasonry. As people in former times went past our older Masonic Halls, their ornate architecture must have helped make them to stand out. With the advent of neon lights and more sophisticated signage, however, our halls have increasingly submerged into a faceless anonymity, hardly what one might call a landmark, if you will forgive the pun. A common theme is that we appear to have too many Masonic Halls. This is only half the story though, we have too few members per building for the buildings to remain viable in the long term. However, in closing down Masonic Halls we are treating the symptoms and not the disease, not least because it can create a string of up to 50%. Every time a Masonic Hall is closed down, it is a loss to the community as well as Masonry is general.
Too few members per building is what Hamel and Prahalad refer to as a denominator problem.
... leverage-based efficiency gains come primarily from raising the numerator in productivity ratios (revenue and net profits) rather than from reducing the denominator (investment and headcount)... denominator-driven corporate restructuring programs are more about cutting resources than leveraging resources. An inefficient firm that downsizes, without improving its capacity for resource leverage, will find that productivity improves—for a while. [however it will also find that] in a few months or a few years, that the numerator has shrunk and another round of non-elective surgery is required. In such cases a firm will continue to ratchet down its resource base...
What this also suggests is that while resource cutting is not an essentially creative activity, resource leverage is. It is about the continual search for new, less resource-intensive means of achieving strategic objectives. Slimming down the workforce and cutting back on investment are less intellectually demanding for top management than discovering ways to grow ... [Hamel & Prahalad, p.173]. Thus in this case, in order to "stop the rot" the challenge is about increasing the membership, or lose our Masonic Halls with the latter resulting in a downward spiral. When it comes to our Masonic Halls, therefore, I think we could use them as assets a little better, for example having a notice board in every Masonic Hall so that non-masons and other community groups can see what we are about.
In terms of the "product" of Freemasonry we have to be a little bit careful. We can hardly change the substance of Freemasonry, what we can do, however, is to put different interpretations and still remain "faithful" to the original product. Excellent examples of this exist in the commercial world in the forms of Guinness and Classic FM. In the case of Guinness stout was, up until a few years ago, seen as an old-man's drink. Now it is amongst the most fashionable among with Budweiser and Red Stripe lagers. This is not to suggest, of course, we put a flashy ad campaign together, but it shows how you can change interpretation without changing the basic product. Classic FM is a rather better example. Classical music used to be the preserve of the so-called educated, and carried a certain amount of "snob value". Classic FM play the same old tunes, but it is sold under the strap-line "relax". Had a heavy day at the office? Relax with Classic FM. This Radio station is now the largest independent radio station in the country, and made Classical music, a seemingly outdated product, accessible to millions of people. The same "relaxation" could be said of Freemasonry - come down and "chill out" with the brethren at the Lodge? That's what we're doing! A warm friendly atmosphere, ideal for the man who has grown bored of the pub scene and is looking for something a little different. You have a far greater chance of meeting people in Freemasonry because of the way it is structured....Let's face it Masonry is unique. Don't forget outside we have road rage, trolley rage... basically a lot of angry and discontented people. What does Freemasonry offer? A kind pageantry and good, old-fashioned amusement as an antidote to the frantic pace of modern living. A form of "edutainment" rather than shallow values and instant gratification pedalled in the media. An organisation which promotes tolerance and generates understanding and respect. Something which will always be lacking outside the Lodge rooms. There are three opportunities in our 'product' which I think we are totally missing out on:
I said a little earlier than Freemasonry is a pluralistic society - where people can hold different views and both be "correct". To me Freemasonry is a hobby, I shocked a non-Mason recently by saying that. It is after all a leisure-time activity, something I enjoy. It is, I believe, also a lifestyle statement, a popular notion these days, because it says , I think something about your values as a person. Or at least I would like it to be a life-style statement. So, we have a slowly declining Masonic population and a world outside that thinks we're a bit dodgy. Did you spot the inconsistency? I often hear the declining population bemoaned and "why do we need PR" question brought up in the same speech, and yet this incompatible conclusion seems to escape the speaker.
This leads me on to the final of the marketing 4Ps, and is probably the most difficult. How is to promote Freemasonry. One of our greatest problems is that our ceremonies are ineffable - that is, too great for description in mere words. Personally it took me six months before I started to make sense of it, and twelve months before I became really comfortable with it. This is exactly the same problem climbers have with describing what is, essentially a unique and deeply personal experience. Freemasonry is like being introduced to a totally alien culture.
Yet it is through dialogue, both with Freemasons and non-Masons that we can develop a greater understanding of our unique ethical system and remove the stigma and the taboo from the subject. Casually drop Freemasonry into the subject just to see the mixed reaction you get! Dealing individually with people in this way removes the stereotype of Freemasonry, and some of the more sublime myths.
One line from the Entered Apprentice's Song says "antiquity's pride we have on our side to keep up our own reputation". But what is our reputation? What, in marketing speak, is our brand name?
To some quarters we are everything from the X-Files to the bogeymen, to other merely the "Mafia of the mediocre".
However, if the 2% holds true for the United Kingdom then we have probably found a 'marooned' population of possible candidates. Also, although this has never been measured, what I suspect we will find is that these 'marooned candidates' do not know any Masons. Further, they may assume that as Freemasonry is a 'secret society' it is an organisation one is invited to join, and no information will exist on it in the public domain.
One way round this vicious cycle is, of course, by using the internet. By putting up Frequently Asked Questions we will be able to inform the 'marooned population' that membership is open, and that contact can be made via e-mail. As one commentator has noted, don't push growth [Senge, p.95] but rather remove the factors limiting growth. This kills two birds with one stone and recent experience with the Provincial Web Site bears this out.
One of the more popular marketing concepts is referred to as the AIDA model. AIDA is short for Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action. It describes the process of catching somebody becoming aware of a product or service, generating an interest, which creates a desire and leads them to action, i.e. purchase. In Freemasonry we have a stage before Attention which could be term Correction - correction of some of the urban myths about Freemasonry before we can have people's attention. Brethren, I look forward to the time we can restore our "old reputation".
In conclusion, let us look at the various, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of our future organisation. We'll look at the negative aspects first!
Our principle weakness is that we have a declining population in a world which does not understand us. In a world of dumbing down and sound bytes for people of small concentration spans we are trying to put an extremely complex message across, against a set of easily mocked vulnerabilities. It is very easy to trivialise Freemasonry and this aspect must be very tempting for a journalist.
Abraham Lincoln once said: It is better to be viewed as a fool and keep your mouth shut, than to open it and remove all doubt. And so it may seem sometimes in the years ahead.
The primary threats I think comes from within our order. If we think of ourselves as a declining, unfashionable organisation, an island in a sea of declining moral values, then that is exactly what we will become. We have an influence over the future and this is an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Our problem is that nostalgia is not what it used to be, and the whipping needs to continue until morale improves. Nobody wants to join a declining organisation with a negative attitude. We need optimism and a 'can do' mentality. Dangers from outside the organisation include the public spirited but sadly misguided people who crusade against the "threat" of Freemasonry. Although it has to be said we will always be the victim of authoritarian governments, as Freemasonry has been throughout the ages. Also, as potential participation rises there may be a decline in the perceived quality of the candidates - we need to ensure it does not become a glorified drinking club (though I am partial to the odd pint myself). If we project the image of being a "goody-two-shoes" organisation it will smack us straight back in the mouth when a Mason is caught doing something naughty. We need to carefully project the image that Freemasonry is an ethical system, though acknowledge its members are human and fallible, not paragons of virtue. Once the outside world realises that our secrets are little more than an elaborate means of identification we may get outsiders trying to penetrate our assemblies. We will, therefore, need to be cautious in accepting unknown visitors. Finally, though the list is not exhaustive, we may become a target for anti-capitalists in the future - there is a danger that we can be seen as 'the Tory party at prayer'.
The primary strength is that we are a cohesive organisation with a very, very strong sense of identity and a deep sense of purpose. Although we have a diverse membership (and long may this be so) we all feel we are part of one entity. [de Geus, p.13]. Whilst this aspect does not occupy as much "print" as the weaknesses, this strength cannot be underestimated.
The principal opportunities I have placed under a reinterpretation of what Freemasonry might be, without changing its core values. In a world which seems to live life vicariously, that is through the experience of other people (Soap operas, film stars etc.) Freemasonry offers something "completely different", as Monty Python would say. Other opportunities issue from equal opportunities legislation. The Human Rights Act may have arrived just in time to save our collective hides, as Grand Lodge have shown they are prepared to use legislation, for example against the Ministry of Defence.
Brethren, I referred to a previous secret weapon, our final opportunity is curiosity. People are curious about Freemasonry and will want to know more. This was one of the major reasons I joined, to find out what the fuss was all about. Our fifty years of privacy will work equally for us as people begin to learn that Freemasonry is not what they expected. This sense of endless curiosity, a value not really talked about in Freemasonry, enables brethren to have an endless source of interest, because as I have found, there is always something else to investigate and the boundaries are only set by our own imaginations.
In conclusion I think we need to consider the following specific items more carefully: