Creating a new JCNA: the prototype (part 2)

One point on part two before I start:

- Not to sound defeatist, but given the very nature of the management problems I outlined in part one I do not believe for one minute that JCNA is going to change in the way I have suggested. So this little thesis falls under the heading ôwouldnÆt it be nice if...ö The way I see it, one of three things can happen:
1) status quo; some cosmetic changes but nothing meaningful
2) JCNA completely changes its structure and way of operating
3) another Jaguar Club is formed in North America along the lines of what I am suggesting here.

Of course, if I were a betting man IÆd have to say that options 2 and 3 are long shots at best.

Today we are going to focus on option #2: a complete change in the way JCNA is structured, managed and operated. Of course, in order to accomplish this task, the ôcounters will have to be reset to zeroö, so to speak. As you witness the ideas unfolding in the next few paragraphs, you will no doubt react along the lines of ôdonÆt touch the concours program!ö etc. But in reality this type of sweeping change cannot be done in half measures. If it has to be done, then do it properly. The changeover could be done gradually, perhaps over a three year period: one year of study, one year of changeover and full changeover in the third and final year. That way everybody knows whatÆs coming and when. The dates are marked on the calendar.

First step: JCNA ceases to exist as an entity. Basically, it closes its doors. All national programs cease: concours, slalom, rally, sanctioning, awards, the board, the rule book, bylaws, corporate policies etc. and a constitution is drafted for the new entity, which will be a ônationalö club (no longer a collection of local clubs). One sticky point of course is what to do with the bank balance. My personal opinion is just give it back to the clubs on a prorated basis (i.e. if there are 5,000 members in JCNA and your club has 100 members as of date X then your club gets 100/5,000 or 2% of the total, which at last count meant about $6,500). The clubs and their respective executive committees will decide what to do with the money they receive. The hope is that they will put it in the bank and eventually spend it on being part of the new programs that the ônewö JCNA puts in place (from now on I will refer to the ônewö JCNA as NJCNA). I donÆt think there is room for any half measures here; any suggestion to keep part of the money or spend it on different things will just result in endless bickering and accusations of conflict of interest. Give it back to the clubs; itÆs their money in the first place.

Now, does this mean that individual clubs will cease operations too? No! Nor does it mean that events like annual concours, slaloms, rallies or other will stop. Clubs can still hold a concours, for example, itÆs just that the national system of scoring will disappear. After the transition period, they will be replaced by local shows and a national show. Same thing applies for slaloms and rallies: local clubs can still host them as per the previous JCNA guidelines but to win a ônationalö concours, rally or slalom event you have to show up at a ônationalö meet. Think of how fun and interesting that could be: if Bob ran a 39.41 in the slalom on the east coast and Peter ran a 39.42 in the slalom on the west coast then they would meet up at the ônationalö meet and run the same course, with the same surface, on the same day with the same weather and may the best man win.

Anyway, the point here is that NJCNA can write up their own concours, slalom and rally rules, and their own ômodel guides to originalityö etc. for use in the national competitions. NJCNA can keep archives of original Jaguar Cars Ltd. documentation on file for reference. They can organize and manage a team of experts in the originality, repair and restoration of the different models both old and new. And the local clubs can use these rulebooks and guidelines to conduct their own local events, if they choose to do so. But the big difference is: if you ôwinö the concours or slalom in Chattanooga, Tennessee then the trophy will indicate just that. To win a NJCNA trophy you have to go to a NJCNA event.

The local clubs will continue to administer their clubs, organize their events and charge annual dues to be members of the local clubs. As a matter of fact, they can charge any dues structure they like and write any set of bylaws they like. The local clubs decision to participate in NJCNA will come solely from the decision by their individual members to subscribe to the magazine. The management structures of the two entities will NOT intertwine. Local clubs will continue to publish their own local newslettersà or not, depending on what they want to do. Every issue of the NJCNA magazine will have a black and white, 6ö x 8ö insert of approx. 10 pages which will list the dates and details of local club events and happenings. In this way, receipt of the NJCNA monthly magazine could effectively replace the local newsletter for many clubs. This initiative has two benefits: first, it removes a tremendous amount of pressure from the shoulders of local editors to come up with enough material to fill a 10 or 12 page newsletter and second, it provides the editorial team of the NJCNA magazine with an abundant supply of local interest material for the magazine.

Now, on to the structure of the NJCNA: it really does not need to be too complicated. See my previous post on the structure of the magazine staff at JEC. Two things you do need though: every person in every position must be of the highest quality and they must be contributors, not sideline-sitters. That part takes years to build. Second, you MUST have a world class editor. The NJCNA magazine needs a North American equivalent of Nigel Thorley, Paul Skilleter or Philip Porter. What makes a world class editor? Well, people like Mike Cook will be able to answer that better than I can, but you need someone whoÆs been everywhere and done everything Jaguar-wise and you almost certainly need someone who can write; so that means someone with a journalistic background or experience as an author. And you are going to pay this person to be editor. Not a KingÆs ransom but enough to make it interesting for someone who is retirement or semi-retirement. Could Mike Cook be the first editor of the NJCNA magazine? Yes, he could in my opinion. As long as he was backed up by a high quality team of 20 or 30 people to take care of the rest of the tasks.

There is no need to re-invent the wheel as far as magazine content is concerned. Just look at what the successful marque magazines are doing now (including the JEC magazine and Jaguar World) and copy it. As a matter of fact, the success of these magazines is owed in part to the fact that JCNA and the Jaguar Journal has NOT provided the features and benefits that readers have been asking for. The challenging part, and the part that will take time to develop, it putting in place the team and the structure (printers, design, production) that are required to produce a 100 page full color monthly magazine of consistently high quality and ON TIME. Where to find these people? Like I said before, they already exist, buried in the local scene and more than likely bulldozed by the JCNA bureaucracy in recent years. Need an expert on E-types? I can name you half a dozen right now. Need someone with technical knowledge of the new models? I can name you a half dozen right now. Need someone to organize driving tours of North American or foreign destinations? I can name a half dozen right now. Need qualified people to judge national concours champions? I can name a dozen right now. Add to the mix that these people can get PAID to do these tasks, and suddenly you have a business proposition that could, if managed properly, make a lot of sense.

So here we have it: local clubs acting like local clubs. A national club acting like a national club. A top quality national magazine staffed by top quality people producing a ômagazine rackö ready product, backed up by nationally organized tours, meets and competitions. The two entities operating on completely different agendas yet the synergies benefiting both sides greatly. And all we have to do is start the process to put it in place.

IÆve got a list of ideas as long as my arm that could work under this structure, but IÆm only one guy brainstorming. How about this for a controversial idea: the NJCNA buys or leases a permanent office space. Done properly, it could be a place where NJCNA houses its archives, maybe even a small museum displaying artifacts and a few cars. It could be staffed full time by a mix of NJCNA employees (the editor?) and volunteers. It would obviously be open for clubs and enthusiasts to visit. We can take this idea even further: how about making it the geographical focal point of the annual ônational championshipsö of concours, rally and slalom? Try this on for size: situate it in Pennsylvania, near the site of Hershey. And then combine the annual huge Hershey car show and flea market with the annual NJCNA ôpartyö, thereby giving people a reason to come from all over North America to what could potentially become a world class event along the lines of Beaulieu in England. Ideas; we need ideas and the people courageous enough to put them into place.

IÆve got to get back to work!

Daniel Thompson