THE INDIVIDUAL AREA OF OPPORTUNITY

“Earth’s great treasure lies in human personality.”

To provide the opportunity for the Individual Member to realize his or her personal potential through training programs. 

There is a specific Area of Opportunity for Individual Development in Junior Chamber, but every single activity in the entire Organization is oriented to develop the potential and skills of the individual member. Active participation in activities in any of the Areas will give the member the opportunity to enhance his or her potential.

Every day individuals from all walks of life are faced with more and more sophisticated challenges in the conduct of their professional and personal lives. The constant changes and advancements surrounding us demand a positive personal development attitude. What we learned yesterday may be obsolete today.

The human being of this century must be conscious of his fluctuating surroundings; he must have the ability to adapt to the changes and – above all – needs to develop the skills with which to understanding and then communicate that understanding to others.

Today leadership ability is recognized as an important professional activity. We cannot accept that only formal schools and universities can prepare young people for leadership, for this is a responsibility of all leaders and, in many cases, of all individuals. Organized training programs and hands-on experience in all kinds of activities enable Junior Chamber to fulfill this need by providing members with the opportunities to achieve this level of personal development.

Chapters without Individual Development programs must ask their members to find such training elsewhere. Therefore, when a chapter does provide such programs, it fulfills its obligation to give members the opportunity to develop themselves, i.e., the reason they came to the chapter.

Through the Individual Development training programs, the chapter can build mutually rewarding attitudes among its members. Every good chapter elects a vice president to coordinate its Individual Development Area of Opportunity. The officer is responsible for determining the type of training members require. The task is not easy, and it is often frustrating when the members’ needs are not met. There is also a need for urgency, because unsatisfied members soon lose interest in the chapter.

MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

“Government should be of laws rather than of men.”

To develop the managerial skill of the Individual Member by offering managerial training and actual experience as a leader at all levels of the organization.

Effectiveness is the key to success, whether one is running a business, pursuing a profession or conducting the affairs of an organization like Junior Chamber. A doctor or an engineer has intensive academic and practical knowledge at hand; a businessman similarly has access to methods and techniques to which he adds the experience of his trade.

Basic knowledge is available in every field of human endeavor. But, when it comes to effectiveness, it is not the possession of knowledge that counts, but its adaptation and application in day-to-day situations. Problems do not come tailor-made . . . it is the solutions that must be tailored to meet the problems.

Management deals with keeping Junior Chamber an active and live organization. It supplies knowledge and experience in the management of chapter affairs . . . the basic know-how upon which every chapter can structure its own working.

The Junior Chamber system does not allow any member to occupy the same position for more than one year. On one hand this may create many challenges by changing all officers every year, but on the other hand, it gives more members the opportunity to experience the learning-by-doing of an officer.