Band secretaries - what tools/programs do you use?

[David Evans]

I did notice the date but try as I might I couldn't see the humour in a post that seemed expressly designed to dishonestly undermine somebody's business without any pretence of humour, subtlety or wordplay. Perhaps my idea of April Fool jokes differs from yours.

 

[4th Cornet]

I did notice the date but try as I might I couldn't see the humour in a post that seemed expressly designed to dishonestly undermine somebody's business without any pretence of humour, subtlety or wordplay. Perhaps my idea of April Fool jokes differs from yours.

I'm surprised no one checked the info immediately which is what I expected.

Apologies if anyone has been put out of pocket by a backfired joke. I'll happily donate £500 to any named charity as an apology. Just send me a link to a relevant justgiving page and I'll do so.

 

[4th Cornet]

Hi Chris

Apologies if my April fool joke regarding the price has caused you any detriment, either emotional or financial.
It certainly wasn't my intention. I was just trying to add a little lightheartedness into the discussion.

David Evan's is correct that humour is subjective (my husband and I never find the same things funny) and certainly in this case where the joke has taken 3 weeks to be revealed, I accept that it was a bad idea.

I wish you well with your developments.

 

[2nd tenor]

I'm surprised no one checked the info immediately which is what I expected.

To be honest that is exactly what anyone who was going to be effected should have done.

“Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see.”

― Benjamin Franklin

You were quite clear in your April 1st post in (just) saying that you had read about a price increase; anybody (particularly if they are a professional person) who feels badly mislead might like to examine their own judgement, or lack of it, in not checking the facts for themselves. Indeed it would have been very easy and simple for anyone to just ask you where you read about the increase and then check the source provided - or email the company quickly rather than wait, what seems to me to be, about three weeks. I note too that after the beginning of April the thread went quiet for several weeks, people had lost interest in the (suggested) price change.

I'm looking forward to your next practical joke, but if you chose to point out to the 'fooled' that they have been 'had' a bit sooner then sense of humour failures might be avoided.

 

[2nd tenor]

A good rule of thumb is to keep in mind what the other person is trying to achieve - e.g. yes it's a pain to have to check my calendar and reply but our admin needs to let the organisers know if we can field a band, so had better do it .. and perhaps replying Maybe and putting "..." as your likelihood of making the gig is not very useful, if you think about it.

Let me start by saying, Muzodo is just a tool and as such is no silver bullet (as someone pointed out). It relies on considerate use by both the band administrators as well as the members to work well. If used well, it saves time for all involved. Muzodo is all about improving communication within the band.

Isn't that a bit harsh on the individual who admitted putting "......" in their response to your program's question. As I recall (see #44) they did explain in an earlier post that their particular band had not been understanding when her circumstances changed so she had become reluctant to commit to things. Life can be very hard to organise months in advance and a wise band organiser would do well to understand that committed band members often have multiple responsibilities in their lives to manage some of which will place unexpected and (surely understandably) more important demands on their time.

I like your point about considerate use by all those involved, IMHO that's almost essential but for whatever good (or not) reason it sometimes doesn't happen - maybe 'considerate use' means different things to different people.

 

[nethers]

That would be nice, but the jobs I'm talking about are all currently part of the secretary's role description, and it's an uphill battle getting other committee/band members to take on much at all. I'd rather get our info up to date, and systems in place, so if/when I hand it over it's far less daunting for the person taking the task on. If it looks too hard, they won't do it.

Jen (as an old hat player, MD and committee member), delegation is a MUST. Your job is to make sure it is done (and done well), not to do every bit yourself. Be assertive in front of the committee (and band) and insist that this is how it is going to be. If someone strongly objects, consider them a volunteer for the secretary position!

The preparation for your eventual departure is admirable, but consider adding a cultural preparation to this too:

Nobody in the 21st century has the time to do everything required of a quality band secretary AND hold down a job/kids/social life/sanity. It is in the interest of your band to understand this and for people to rise up (even if they're not happy about it) when you ask 'can someone help me with...'

Good luck!

 

[PeteB]

I know this is an old thread but I have just come across it. I looked at various tools to help manage availability for jobs but couldn't find any that did quite what I wanted so I created my own. It's now available for others to use at avyman.com