People come to this website from all over the world, for many different reasons.

A number of people stumble across this site through Google searches. People searching for information on the books that I quote (such as Jim Collins’ Good to Great) are always well represented, as are people concerned about “Global Warming”. The biggest group lately, however, have been searching for “Lord Vader” (223 people last month). Go figure…

There are people who read this site because they are in the same head space that I am - they’re into Krishna consciousness and are interested in something edgy and innovative.

Then there are people who read this site because they are in a different head space and like to read it for the shock value - either because they like to feel scandalized themselves, or else they are like passers-by rubber-necking at a car crash, trying to see if someone got killed.

I can empathize with these people. I read Krishna-kirti’s site with these motives myself. Nothing like a dash of chilli sauce with your breakfast muesli.

There are another group, however, that I haven’t really taken so much into account. These are people who are not in the same virtual headspace, but are in the same geographical space. Everyone else kind of chooses to read it or not based on whether they’re interested, but these people read it because of their physical proximity to the author, as opposed to reading the blog of a devotee in Turkey, for example.

These people are more interested in the local news, and with a local spin. I report the local news sporadically, and not with a local spin.

The other night my mate Rasa rang up from the Gold Coast. He’s started blogging and has recently started a virtual japa group online.

He was inquiring about what it would take to turn www.iskcon.org.au into a community blogging powerhouse. I referred him to the current Acarya of Community Blogs, Ekendra das, for the technical briefing.

As for content, I’m more than happy to contribute to that. I’m going to start a category from here that can feed into there. The first thing I’d like to cover are the recent renovations that Dhruva has been doing to the men’s ashram. Dhruva’s done an amazing transformation - worthy of an episode of “Extreme Ashram Makeover”. He’s going to take some pictures of it to post online.

As far as other changes to serve the local audience, we’ll see as we go forward how things evolve, in consultation of course. If you have any feedback or requests then please let me know. If you’ve got a concern or complaint then don’t be shy about bringing it up with me - your opinion is important - and if you let me know what it is, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see it taken into account. You don’t need to feel powerless - I get a kick out of serving people. If you’re local, you know where to find me!

Tri Yuga reckons I should put the audio recording of this section of the meeting online, to give some idea of the back end thinking processes that lead to decisions and implementation on the ground. If there is any demand for it I might.

This section of the meeting started with one team member expressing a lack of energy for this area, no doubt feeling the weight of the heavy lifting we have been doing. People will lose enthusiasm quickly if there is no clear vision for the way out.

Of course, in reality, the Sunday feast is our biggest area of opportunity. It’s the most exciting field. It’s not last as an afterthought, but rather to give us the ability to devote the quality time that we need to discussing it.

In areas where we are already maxing out we can only make incremental and minor improvements. In areas where we are not excelling we can potentially make the biggest advances. That’s where we can really lift our game.

Sunday Feast:

We need a clear strategic focus. What we need is to have a single clear, consistently communicated message that pervades everything that we do at the Sunday Feast. If you come to the Sunday Feast you get one message, and one message only, week after week, from the doorman, the class, the drama, the server, the devotee you sit next to during the feast.

Not two messages, because two messages is too many messages - one single, clear message that rings like a bell and is repeated over and over and over again until you understand it and act on it. And that message is….

“The one thing that you need to know, is that the next thing you should do is……”

That’s it. Keep it simple. Don’t try to give people everything, because they will get nothing. Just focus on telling them exactly what they need to know to go to the next step, and nothing more.

So the next discussion becomes - what’s the next step? It has three characteristics:

1. It’s Obvious. Don’t leave people in the dark about what comes next, or give them a plethora of options which just dilute the potency of your call to action. People may not be ready to take the next step, but they have to know clearly what it is. Consistently communicated - that means the same message all the time, through all mediums. A clear strategic focus, a vision that pervades the organization at every level.
2. It’s Easy. Because if it’s not, no-one will take it. We’re not trying to get people to traverse the nine stages of development of love of God in a day. The next step has to be easy enough for people to take - “We Make It Easy” is our mission, it’s our life and soul. There is no point asking people to do something that they can’t. It has to be practical.
3. It’s Strategic. It has to lead people to the next step beyond that in a progression that will take them from where they are now, to where you want them to go. “Think steps, not programs” is how my new “7 Practices of Effective Ministry” book puts it (I read it while in Sydney for the Maxwell conference - review coming soon). I wrote an article last year (published in the Network-centric Preaching Review) entitled: “People are the Focus”, which explains the same point (confirmed!). You can read this article online here. You have to make a pipeline for people to travel along. Please read the part two of my article for a description of the pipeline, and the various symptoms when different parts of the pipeline are missing. You can analyze your situation and see if it doesn’t bring some clarity.

So we debated back and forth about different options: very briefly considered (for academic purposes) send them to the temple (not strategic - where’s the next step?), recommend the Loft (not so easy - different program in a different place), educational program (too big a jump).

The conclusion was….

Volunteer service program at the Sunday Feast. Go from being a consumer to a contributor, from passivity to participant. We Make It Easy. Come along at 3 pm and get connected with one of our volunteer teams.

“But we already do this!” I hear you say. “We get people to do service.”

We’re talking about making this the overriding strategic focus - concentrating all communication on this and building it out as a complete strategic platform with branding, leadership, and a mission. We now have four platforms: Ashram, Loft, Sunday Feast, and Volunteer Program.

That’s the next step. It’s nothing new - it’s all about getting back to basics with clear vision and laser sharp focus. No other advice, no other message - one thing, and one thing only: “Become a volunteer - utilize your talents and abilities in a significant and satisfying way. Join the Team.”

And build out the program to receive the people, engage them appropriately and manage the entire operation. We will be extending the Sunday Feast program to provide more engagement, and as we get more people involved who will be contributing.

Here’s the credo of the Sunday Feast, the essence concisely expressed: “Authentic Community”.

Our previously disheartened team member’s comment at the conclusion of the meeting: “Now I think of Sunday as the beginning of the week, not the end of the week.”