QUALIFICATIONS OF THE SCOUT EXECUTIVE What are the qualifications we should reasonably expect in an executive and which are requisite to the highest success in his calling or vocation? 1st. Character. This is the fundamental require- 2nd. Executive Ability. Simply goodness without force will not avail. He must know how to plan and after planning know how to execute. No amount of good intentions will make up for failures in administration. He must be prompt, business-like, and thorough in prosecuting the tasks of his office. He must function. 3rd. Personality. He must be neat in appearance. Careful, though not modish, in dress. He must be tactful, courteous, gentlemanly, open-minded, and whole-souled. He must be steady, not excitable, with the suggestion of reserve force. He must not take himself too seriously and on the other hand he must not lack definiteness. He must be free from peculiar mannerisms. He must possess good health; have a good physique. He should represent in his person the ideals of the Scout Movement. 4th. Technical Ability. We place this qualification fourth. Some might suggest that it come first. Not so. Character, ability to execute, and personality are more important. 5th. 6th. He can secure technical knowledge through application and training but no amount of training can give him the former. Technical knowledge of Scouting though fourth in importance is essential. The executive should be skilled in Scouting. He must know the program, be possessed by its ideals, enthusiastic in its objectives, and expert in its details. He can then judge the work of his scoutmasters and others righteously, lead them to higher achievement soundly, and recognize merit justly. He will then be able to protect the Scout Program from deviation, recognize spurious substitutes and eliminate them, and direct the movement on safe and sane lines. He will thus be able to teach Scouting consistently. Education. All other things being equal a scout executive should be well educated. We should insist in securing recruits that they have as a minimum, a high school education. Preferably, he should be a college graduate, or have its equivalent. The broader his training the more permanent will be his identification with the Scout Movement, the wider will be his influence with men, the safer his counsel with boys, the larger his earning capacity. This is true in all professions. It will prove equally true of the scout executive. This profession must not lag behind the other professions in a knowledge of humanics or social welfare, in scholarship, in intellectual quality, or in culture. Business Ability. The affairs of the council must have business-like attention. Records must be carefully kept and classified. The functions of the several committees systematized. Budgets must be scientifically arranged, scrutinized, and definitized. The affairs of the council must be operated within the budgets. Plans must be worked out in 7th. detail and bear the investigation of business scrutiny. The operations of the council must be sound, attention to all correspondence prompt, and bills paid with despatch. The council must rank with the best business concerns in the community in efficiency and in business integrity. Social Vision. The scout executive must be community-minded. He must recognize the limitations of Scouting as well as its merits. He must co-operate with other agencies in the community. All reputable organizations which are at work with boys should have his sympathy and help. They should be considered his allies and never his competitors. He must see the community as a whole and constantly study the forces of the community as they bear upon boys life. He must in the very nature of his work be the ardent supporter of church and home and school. He must be constructive in his criticisms and loyal in his support of them. He must be tolerant in his religious views, sensitive of their needs and aspirations, and co-operative in his relations to them. He must ever work for the integrity of the community. THE EXECUTIVE AND SALESMANSHIP In these days we frequently use the expression "Selling Scouting." It isn't a good word in some respects. It sounds too commercial. But in a secular age like ours it has a distinctive meaning. It suggests getting people or institutions to really take your commodity, the thing you have to offer, which in this instance is "Scouting." In this respect the Scout Executive is a salesman. He seeks to have institutions organize troops. Now the best way to organize troops is to "sell" the idea to institutions and the best way to sell the idea is to send a salesman to the institution who will meet the members of the directing board of the institution-whether it be a church or a school or other agency-face to face. He must sell the theory of Scouting, he must show how it works, he must tell what it costs in leadership, in money, in service. Then there will be an intelligent knowledge of what Scouting is, and too what it is not and where responsibility for its management finally rests. Now, Scouting of this sort cannot be sold from a desk, from a central office alone. The salesman must go where his potential customers are. He must be a "go-getter." He must face his constituency. He must plead his cause with them direct. What tendency is there for executives to be correspondence salesmen, to work by the indirect method of circularization, to utilize the mail order plan? How does an executive put in his time who has less than a dozen troops? Can an executive without becoming a super scoutmaster really keep busy with less than 25 troops? Judged by the measurements of an efficient salesman, how many troops per executive ought there be? If the 400 executives each added one troop per week net, more than 20,000 troops would be added to the Scout Movement in a single year which is more than double the present troop enrollment. What is troop salesmanship? If they sold but one troop per month net and these troops averaged 25 boys there would be added 100,000 scouts in a year. Which yields the larger results selling troops from a desk remotely or selling them across a table directly? THE CULTURE OF THE SCOUT EXECUTIVE May, 1920 The Executive must be a student; a student of his times, of his work, and of the world in which he lives. He must grow or go. He must read or go to seed. What are some things which will contribute to his intellectual growth and development: 1. His Reading. He should read a good daily newspaper. The best his community affords. The one that has the best editorials and the most accurate reports. Then one of the weekly news digests will be helpful like the "Literary Digest" or "The Outlook." A good review of the best magazine articles should be consulted so as to be advised of the leading current articles. A good book review should likewise be consulted so that the best books will be called to his attention. He should have a personal budget for books so that he will not have to spare himself in the matter of purchasing books. A book a month if carefully selected would prove a liberal education. His reading however must not be confined to current news and literature. He should have a knowledge of the great books that have stood the test of time. The Harvard Classics will provide a splendid series. The best fiction will prove interesting and cultural. Biography is most stimulating to higher living. History is informative. Sometimes it is inspiring to get well acquainted with an author by reading all of his works. Then when his anniversary is observed or when articles or reviews appear regarding him an interest is taken in the discussion. 2. Study. It is well for the Executive to take up the special study of some subjects most basal to his work. Among these are biology, psychology, and sociology; also the study of Youth and Adolescence. Sometimes in addition to reading on these subjects the Executive may find it possible to take a short course in some subject at a college or university in his town. It is a wise plan occasionally for him to take up some one subject upon which he will specialize. It is highly stimulating and exceedingly worth while. Articles and manuscripts on business administration are very helpful and timely. 3. Conferences and Summer Schools. These are exceedingly helpful and broadening. They bring him in contact with present day emphases in his work. They serve also as a corrective and as a measuring rod which enables him to judge the merits of his own service. They help solve his problems. They enlarge his vision. They deepen his interest. They confirm |