This is a 2 part letter sent by Past National President Tim Eiler to the Triangle Internet Mailing List.

Brothers,

There is an old saying that says, "I'd rather be lucky than good." The basic gist of that saying is that we don't have to improve ourselves in order to have a great outcome or situation fall to us. That's just not good enough...as individuals and as Brothers, we'll find that this attitude leads only to long term failure rather than the success it implies.

There is another old saying that says, "The harder I work, the luckier I get." The gist of that one should be pretty obvious, too. The more we improve ourselves, arm ourselves with knowledge and experience, and the more we apply those additions to real life, the more likely we will find that we are successful. The Triangle Ritual, our Ritual, reiterates this statement in several places, though in different words.

Unfortunately, sometimes it seems that we Triangles wait for the "windfall luck" of the first statement instead of the "created luck" of the latter. While there are more areas than I could cover that fit as examples, let's take new member recruitment as an example.

A week or so ago, I received an email from a young man who was contemplating joining, but who had some reservations about joining a fraternity...after all fraternities are bad things where you'll get hurt, suffer poor grades, etc. (or so the media tells us). As I said then, there is generally some truth in any "legend," so we have hurdles to overcome in finding new members.

So, the ultimate question for all of us is, "what is my chapter doing to provide an environment and member experience that fits with Triangle's purpose and vision?"

Triangle's purpose: TRIANGLE FRATERNITY exists to provide an environment of excellence in which each individual member will achieve his highest potential - intellectually, socially, and professionally - while building lifelong, enriching friendships upon common bonds and shared experiences.

Triangle's vision: TRIANGLE FRATERNITY is serious about scholarship, sets and demonstrates high standards, and celebrates achievement.

Just saying that "we get good grades" or "we're all concerned with graduating, so we have a high emphasis on grades" isn't enough. Where are the data to back up our claims?

Just saying that "we educate our pledges" isn't enough. How do we educate a member after he's initiated? What do we do to educate them? In what areas do they receive education and experience? Will the education help them in their lives after graduation?

Just claiming that "we have great parties" isn't enough. What does that mean? Are we drunk all the time? What constitutes a "great" party?

Just saying that "we're all friends" isn't enough. What is special about Triangle friendships? How do they develop? Can you give examples?

Just saying that "it's great to have a professional network" isn't enough. Can you give examples of Brothers who have been successful and/or who have had success utilizing this network?

What I'm saying is that it's pretty easy to "talk the talk" but that we need to go well beyond that to "walk the talk." If we don't walk the talk, we are being hypocrites and are selling a non-existent product to new members. If we do walk the talk, then we can honestly say that we are being truthful when we say good things about our chapters and our Fraternity to potential members and other Triangle stakeholders.

If you don't have the "product" in your chapter that allows you to walk the talk, now is the time to create it. Don't wait for someone else to do it. Triangle sells leadership training and experience to its members. If you don't have the right focus on that product, once it is available, then take the time to figure out what it is that you are saying as you sell it...find ways for Triangle to be sold as "engineering better men."

Take advantage of this opportunity to expand your own skills so you can have better lifelong success. As Schwarzkopf's rules put it, "(12) When put in charge, take command; (13) Do the right thing." If you feel like you need help doing that, DON'T HESITATE TO ASK. For instance, has your chapter requested its annual chapter consultation yet? Usually, one of the big draws of volunteer service as a leader of the National Chapter is helping our active chapters. We'd like to be able to provide advice, knowledge, skills-training, etc, but only if the chapters and chapter members want it.

Are you willing to walk the talk?

F/S/C
   S/S/A

Tim Eiler

Brothers,

I've mentioned product as an important consideration in recruitment of new members. Next, I want to touch upon the kind of person you recruit.

Are you recruiting wet fish, men who just kind of muddle through life, or are you recruiting people who live by Triangle's standards and ethics? Instead of recruiting people who won't help your chapter, recruit people who will. After all, the better your chapter, the more fun and interesting it will be for you and the better you'll feel when the chapter you own is left stronger than when you found it.

How do you recruit a good man? First and foremost, you need to look for people who have demonstrated good ability and attitude.

For instance, you should look for people who have good, solid academic ability. Look to their high school and/or college GPAs to guide you here. GPA doesn't tell you everything, but it is a pretty good indicator of how well someone will perform in their college work. You don't want people who will flunk out. That isn't good for them and it isn't good for you. Let's face it, Triangle membership does take some time and if a man has to struggle mightily with his studies at the exclusion of all else, Triangle is likely to be a hindrance to him rather than as much a help as it can be to people.

Another example is leadership. Look for people who have demonstrated real, fundamental leadership ability...captain of the football team, class president, etc. Don't just take the man's word for it either. It's relatively easy to claim a title, but living up to it is another thing entirely. Find out what they did as leaders. All you have to do is ask them.

Still another example area is participation. Find people who are involved. Statistically, those who are involved in things are generally people who are capable (and most often able to handle academics). What is involvement? Look for participation in organized activities; philanthropy work, jobs, sports teams, honor society participation, etc. Don't settle for people whose level of participation was either extremely low or was limited to activities that aren't relatively significant.

The final example area is achievement. Seek out people who can claim success already as they are likely to want it and be able to get it in the future. Don't take "I won the pie eating contest at the local fair" as achievement. Look for people particularly who have received reasonable awards, honor society memberships, etc...especially in areas that pertain to Triangle, its values, etc. Being voted "Most Valuable Lineman of the Cougar football team for 1996" can tell you a lot about a person. Being voted "Young Entrepreneur of 1996" may tell you even more.

Judging someone is no easy task. It is a task that you will find interesting and, if you learn to excel at it, will find extremely useful in your life. Take time to practice and have fun with it.

Selling something to someone is also not the easiest thing in the world to do (it's even easier if the product almost sells itself), but it is something that can be a lot of fun and that you will find useful in life. Take time to practice and have fun with it. You're going to be called upon to do it as a professional, so you might as well like it. :-)

Have fun making your product fun and interesting and you'll find people who want to be part of that fun and interest. You'll find people who want to and are able to contribute veritably coming out of the woodwork.

The bottom line:

1. Make a good product. A good product is more attractive (and more enjoyable) than a poor one (for both you and the prospective member).

2. Find people who can help you make and maintain a good product. Don't forget that sometimes the kind of person you seek will also be excited by the reasonable challenge of helping achieve the goals of the chapter.

F/S/C
   S/S/A

Tim Eiler