20. Monitoring Each Individual Missionary's Results 

Problem or situation. At the end of my first six months in the field, I did some serious introspection and asked myself the question, "If I had these six months to do over again, what would I do differently, knowing what I now know?" I concluded that I would not assume the missionaries were doing what I was asking them to do just because I was asking. I would design a way to know what they were doing and not doing. I felt I needed that knowledge in order to move forward.

Several instances had demonstrated to me that missionaries could actually "hide" in the mission field: take very few steps toward what they were supposed to be doing, coast along with minimal activities coupled with maximum explanations for lack of results, and finally end their missions and return home. This was brought vividly to my attention by several returning missionaries. While most of the missionaries were learning how to find, teach, and baptize new converts, these missionaries came in for their departing interviews and related that they had had their first baptism on their mission just weeks before returning home.

While I was happy they had been able to bring someone into the Church during their mission, I was surprised at my own ignorance about what was really happening "out there." I wondered how many more missionaries there were that had never experienced bringing a new convert into the Church. Were some of them ready to return home, too? I didn't know. I wondered if there was anything I could do about it even if I did know. I felt I had to find out.

Before explaining the action associated with this situation, I must explain something else I noticed about those who didn't have baptisms: they appeared to be the most opposed to the vision of baptizing people. I think it was a sort of "sour grapes" phenomenon. Their reasoning seemed to be that since they themselves were unsuccessful in finding, teaching, and bringing people into the Church, those who were doing it must be doing something wrong. Thus, it seemed to me that they were just going through the motions without real intent. Certainly without convert baptisms. 

Action taken. (4-79) KEEP TRACK OF NON-BAPTIZING MISSIONARIES AND GIVE THEM SPECIAL HELP THROUGH ASSIGNMENTS AND TRAINING. (Productivity label: Information/Training.) .

There were two parts to this action: (1) finding out what was happening and (2) doing something about it. I worked out a system for keeping track of the converts each missionary brought in during his mission. As all information about converts passed through the mission recorder's hands, I assigned him the task of keeping a confidential but comprehensive list of all baptisms. I found several missionaries who were nearing the end of their missions never having experienced bringing a convert into the Church. At the same time, I found several companion sets who may have had baptisms in the past but had now gone many months without any.

As time progressed, I expanded the system to keep track of who was being brought in by whom, whether the converts were male or female, and how old they were. This later proved to be valuable information.

I did two things to try to remedy this problem. First, I assigned non-baptizing missionaries to some of the most productive proselyting areas and assigned them to companions who were effective both in proselyting and in teaching and helping their companions. Second, I held special help sessions for non-baptizing missionaries. In these sessions my assistants and I tried to discover what barriers they were hitting and give them help. I found that in most cases the non-baptizing missionaries themselves were well aware of what was wrong: they recognized what they were or were not doing and how to correct it.                                                                                                       

            Results of the action. Experience at these help sessions taught me that there were two categories of missionaries who didn't have baptisms: those who were trying, who honestly wanted to baptize people, but lacked skills in finding, teaching, committing, etc., and those who didn't really want to baptize and were going through the motions without real intent. I believe that keeping track and holding special help sessions helped both groups. We were able to diagnose skill problems and coach those who needed help there.

We worked at building desire in the others. The words of the prophet, the counsel of Elder Kikuchi, and others usually accomplished this. Once these missionaries got involved and put themselves into the work of finding and teaching with the intent of bringing the people to an understanding of the message, they began to have success. And with success, they began to support rather than fight what was happening.

      21. Facilitating Continuity in Mission Leadership, District Leaders, Zone Leaders, and Assistants 

Problem or situation. After serving for two years, missionaries were released and returned home. It seemed to me that it took almost two years before they were really productive, so as soon as missionaries were trained and performing well, they finished their missions and returned home. This problem was especially serious as it pertained to my mission leaders--District Leaders, Zone Leaders, and assistants.

The proselyting handbook which I had prepared had helped in the training and indoctrination of new missionaries into the mission, but the loss and constant training of new leaders was becoming a serious problem. Every month I had to train new leaders. In the transition, I felt the mission lost considerable continuity and momentum. I needed something that would do for the new leaders what the proselyting handbook had done and was still doing for new missionaries. 

            Action taken. (5-79) PRODUCE HANDBOOK FOR DISTRICT LEADERS, ZONE LEADERS, AND ASSISTANTS. (Productivity label: Training.)

I prepared handbooks for each District Leader, Zone Leader, and each of my assistants. These handbooks included mission policies, specific responsibilities of each position, and checklists and procedures for carrying them out. They contained forms and past records on the specific mission unit--district or zone. Each handbook was passed on to each succeeding leader so the new leader would know the recent history of the area and the missionaries serving there. With this information, the new leader was better able to keep the continuity and momentum going. The handbooks were loose leaf, like the proselyting handbook, so as changes were made, written descriptions of them could easily supplement or replace the old ones.

Results of the action. I felt these handbooks helped immensely in unifying the leadership in the direction the mission was going. They facilitated the training of new leaders and minimized the problems of transition, continuity, and momentum. Having a tangible handbook for their position helped give confidence and reality to the newly called leaders; the handing over of the books was like a rite of passage.

22. Keeping Missionaries Current on What's Happening: Changing the Reporting Cycle

            Problem or situation. When each month was over, the results of the previous month were announced to the missionaries. Whatever the results were, this seemed to have a positive effect. If we had had a good month, there was excitement, increased vision, and more determination to keep going. If we had not had a good month, there was often new resolve and determination for each to do his or her part. But this motivating information was only available after the month had ended--and then only once a month. 

Action taken. (6-79) GIVE WEEKLY FEEDBACK ON CONVERT BAPTISMS TO THE MISSIONARIES. (Productivity label: Motivational.)

Instead of waiting until the end of the month to report the baptismal results, I began reporting them at the end of each week. This was done through a written report listing each district and zone along with their results. Although the report was slightly delayed because of mailing time, most missionaries received it within a few days into the next week. 

Results of the action. The weekly reports produced results similar to those of-the monthly reports: there was excitement, increased vision, more determination to keep going, new resolve, and increased determination for each to do his or her part. But now we had it every week: four times a month instead of once.

Something else began to happen, relative to issuing these weekly reports, that had a far more significant impact. There was a change in the missionaries' proselyting cycle: they began to think in terms of weeks instead of months.

In order to explain this phenomenon, I need to explain my view of cycles. In most endeavors, activities are carried out in units of repeating cycles. There are natural cycles such as days, weeks, months, or years to which people reference different activities. For example, most people think of shaving, brushing teeth, getting dressed, etc., as daily cycles. They think of other activities such as attending church, going to a movie, etc., as weekly cycles: Sunday I go to church, Friday I go to a movie, etc. Other activities such as paying rent, reconciling a checkbook, etc., are on monthly cycles. Many activity cycles are arbitrary, such as when people are paid. Some people are paid each day; some are paid each week. Others are on a biweekly pay cycle; many are on a monthly pay cycle.

In the mission field some things were operating on daily cycles, others on weekly or monthly ones. For example, missionaries were required to write a letter to the president every week (a weekly cycle) but were interviewed by the mission president approximately every two months (a bimonthly cycle). Up to this point the baptismal cycle had been a monthly one. There was nothing inherently monthly about it, but the way I had been collecting information and reporting results had made it a monthly cycle. This did not mean that it took a month for someone to progress from investigator to convert--it could take much more or much less time, depending upon many considerations. Rather, it meant that missionaries thought in terms of having a baptism

(or baptisms) sometime during the month. Whatever their baptismal goal for a month might be, they had the entire month to do it. If they had none the first week, that was okay; they had the whole month. If the second week was unproductive, that was still okay; they had two more weeks in the month. And so forth.

By changing the reporting cycle, I changed the cycle to which missionaries referenced baptisms. Gradually they began thinking in terms of baptisms for the week rather than for the month. It didn't mean their investigators had to move from initial contact to convert within a week, but rather that they had to insure they had contacts and investigators continuously at various points in the process. As this cyclical reference began to change, the weekly activities began to be carried out with more intent and with much better results.

As time went on, each of the four weekly cycles eventually became as productive as the previous monthly cycles. By this change, President Kimball's "The word is 'urgency'; the time is 'now'," took on real meaning for us. It was simply a matter of how we looked at it.

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