<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">And here’s the email about BR’s strategy - I was mistaken; the email is from Andrew, but Seb also asked me to ensure you’d all received it.<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Cheers,</div><div class="">Conor<br class=""><div><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">Begin forwarded message:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">From: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">Andrew Blit <<a href="mailto:andrew.blit@outlook.com" class="">andrew.blit@outlook.com</a>><br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">Subject: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class=""><b class="">British Rowing Strategy - Your Views Matter</b><br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">Date: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">24 October 2021 at 16:29:37 BST<br class=""></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;" class=""><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);" class=""><b class="">To: </b></span><span style="font-family: -webkit-system-font, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, sans-serif;" class="">Andrew Blit <<a href="mailto:andrew.blit@outlook.com" class="">andrew.blit@outlook.com</a>>, "<a href="mailto:seb.walker@yahoo.co.uk" class="">seb.walker@yahoo.co.uk</a>" <<a href="mailto:seb.walker@yahoo.co.uk" class="">seb.walker@yahoo.co.uk</a>>, Stella Isaac <<a href="mailto:stella.isaac8@gmail.com" class="">stella.isaac8@gmail.com</a>>, "<a href="mailto:helen.middleton@gmail.com" class="">helen.middleton@gmail.com</a>" <<a href="mailto:helen.middleton@gmail.com" class="">helen.middleton@gmail.com</a>><br class=""></span></div><br class=""><div class=""><meta charset="UTF-8" class=""><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class="">Email sent to all Club Chairs</b><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">In July British Rowing launched its updated strategic vision – Rowing: Everyone’s sport<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britishrowing.org%2F2021%2F07%2Frowing-everyones-sport%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7C54f4a2d6330b4fc094ed08d997017603%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637706854805068973%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=OEw5XIfyvKm%2BMccKVIvKQZtgVC45DnNbrtRbZhYToNM%3D&reserved=0" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;" class="">Rowing: Everyone’s Sport - British Rowing</a>.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">This needed detail to be put underneath the headings in order to generate plans and activity. The departure of the CEO had interrupted, and changed that work.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Mark Davies, Chair BR, the Board and Staff have invested quite a bit of time over recent weeks to pull together the strategies of individual areas, having tied them into an explicit overarching strategy that seeks to lay out in more granular terms than previously what it is we are trying to do in every area of the organisation, and why.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">The latest iteration of this work js here<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b class=""><a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbritishrowing.org%2Fstrategy2021&data=04%7C01%7C%7C54f4a2d6330b4fc094ed08d997017603%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637706854805068973%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=v4QwxXfhhLmiyCIRb2HpKQaP5VApXVLD%2FXMgBHCh1AA%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;" class="">britishrowing.org/strategy2021</a></b><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;"> <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>and British Rowing is very keen to have as much feedback as possible in order to make this a successful living document.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">There are mechanisms for comment, question and correspondence on these pages – I ask that you consider copying in myself, Stella, Seb and Helen (copied into this mail) so that we can accurately represent your views at the AGM and in other meetings.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;"><span style="text-decoration: none;" class=""> </span></span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">The following is an extract from an email to staff and the Board from Mark Davies (with his permission) which gives some further background and tone.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><i class=""> </i></b><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><i class="">What I’m sending you</i></b><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">What follows is a first stab at us getting to that [worked out strategy]<o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Where it differs [from the published vision], as I hope will be apparent, is in its level of granularity, and in that it seeks to shift our approach to how we get things done. I am sure everyone will have their own view, but I would describe our culture currently as one of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i class="">command</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i class="">control</i>: we tend to take the necessarily didactic approach of our base work as a National Governing Body and carry it through to everything else we do. As such, we like to be in charge and tell people what to do, and we tend to give the impression to people that if we didn’t create something, then it’s not up to us to promote it, even if it is raising interest in the sport. What we get in response from members (who hate being told what to do) is begrudging compliance, and often a search for loopholes.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><i class="">Cultural shift</i></b><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">What I would love to see us move to, once we get past the obviously important rulebook, is a culture of the clubs and members feeling that they have autonomy, and [BR] being the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i class="">facilitators - </i>because what results from that combination is<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i class="">engagement</i>. The key thing we need to achieve is that people feel that the sport is improved by our being here, rather than them feeling that they would be better off without us if only they had a choice. <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">As part of that, you will I am sure note that all over every discrete strategy is a call for feedback - not just gathered in the creation or at the time of publication of our strategy, but on-going. I’d like us to give our members the feeling that they can have a continuous dialogue with us, and know where to go if they have suggestions to make or help they can offer. I would like to drastically cut the perception of distance between us and them. We are part of one family, united by a love of the sport. <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><i class="">Let’s talk</i></b><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">I will stress again that this is by no means a finished product. In fact, it never<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i class="">will</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>be a finished product. Even after [this consultation] the aim is to be flexible within individual strategies within the confines of a clear central vision. We need to constantly adapt and improve as opportunities arise, things change, and technology develops, getting things out quickly and then iterating to get better and better, rather than spending too long trying to create perfection first time. <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">In that vein, let’s discuss openly whether we think any of this brings clarity to areas, roles, and overall strategy; what’s missing; what shouldn’t be here; what needs changing, etc. etc. etc. You will see there is a forum on the site: if you want your view to be part of a general discussion, use it - there is a section for each category (and you just log in with an email address). If you would prefer your comments to be made behind the scenes, then please either use the ‘contact us’ button on each page, or mail me directly. ,The<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:feedback@britishrowing.org" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;" class="">feedback@britishrowing.org</a> email address on the Contact Us button currently comes to me, so if you use that I will assume you want me to pass your comments on to the area owner. If you mail me directly, I will take the “Chatham House Rules” approach of using your content ideas but not passing on who is behind them. <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><i class="">Final thought</i></b><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class="">Finally, I am trying to practice what I preach: I don’t know if this will work; what I am sending you is far from where I wanted to get to with it and I’d like to be working on it for another week or more; and I’m a bit worried that you’re all going to say<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Emoji", sans-serif;" class="">🙄</span>. But equally, I think it’s on the right track, and I’m getting it out because I want and need wider input to move further forward. If it fails completely, I’ve lost a couple of weeks trying, we will look at how else to do it, and the next attempt will be better for what I’ll have learned. I think Margaret Heffernan explains it brilliantly in her recent book<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i class="">Uncharted,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>which is an apt word for the territory we are in right now<i class="">: </i><span style="" class="">“To achieve inspiring things people often start in a place of uncertainty, filled with doubt, and yet arrive triumphant at places in life they could not see when they set out. Their successes are deeply human, derived from curiosity, imagination and not a little bravery. Individuals must be prepared to navigate the unknown at risk of failure in pursuit of the ill-defined, because the only way to know the future is to make it.” </span><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><b class=""><i class=""><span style="" class="">Here’s the link </span></i></b><a href="https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fbritishrowing.org%2Fstrategy2021&data=04%7C01%7C%7C54f4a2d6330b4fc094ed08d997017603%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637706854805078925%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=AmuCfFU1oDlDsGK5wF9haE6DMsrbLRjIOR%2FpoKs7vAA%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(5, 99, 193); text-decoration: underline;" class="">britishrowing.org/strategy2021</a><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class=""><o:p class=""> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">Andrew Blit<o:p class=""></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0cm; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><span class="">07976 672238</span></div></div></div></blockquote></div><br class=""></div></body></html>