Every corporation goes through phases. Some last longer than
others, and all eventually pass. However, a long phase of inactivity can cause
a corporation to spiral downward, and to even close its doors. It’s the ‘unseen
enemy’—the silent foe of CEOs everywhere.
It usually turns into a vicious circle, where the active
pilots you seek will not join due to your inactivity, and your inactivity can
not be resolved until you recruit more active pilots. Though getting some new
voices into the mix could be a perfect way to mash things up enough and perk
some interest, it should not be the only thing that you do to increase the
activity of your corporation.
For starters, you need to identify the problem. Are people
bored? Does your corporation not have challenging enough goals? Is there a lack
of leadership? Is it just a temporary problem due to people having real life
stuff going on?
Once you identify the problem, you can make better choices
on how to fix it—choices that will help the corporation in the long run, and
not just through the current problem.
One way I’ve seen corporations battle inactivity is to do
something different—completely different. This could mean moving to a new
region. (Often times an empire corp will choose to move to null-sec, or visa
versa.) Corps reset their allies, or become pirates. They start a new wardec or
ally themselves with new friends against new enemies. This often might work for
a time, and may also help your recruitment efforts. Pilots like corporations
that are ‘doing’ things.
Many corporations join alliances to alleviate inactivity.
They hope that they will be able to ‘borrow’ from the alliance’s
resources—leadership, fcs, gangs, etc. They are under the impression that the
alliance might do some of the ‘hard work’ for them, and provide the necessary
background for the corp to grow again. This is a very dangerous solution as
often times the corporation ends up relying too much on the alliance. If the
alliance falls apart or is dissolved, the corporation isn’t usually that far
behind.
There are a few things that CEOs and others of inactive
corporations rarely consider. This includes merging with another corporation,
instead of joining an alliance. This could greatly weed out who is still
playing and who is not, as well as provide some new ‘ground’ for your players
to walk. However, CEOs don’t always like giving up control of their
corporation. Even though they do not want to put in the work it would take to
make an active, thriving corp, they also do not want to be dictated to by
others.
Sometimes, a corporation has run as far as it’s going to,
and it’s time for it to close, but the few members left hold onto it, hoping
that something will change. Sometimes, you just have to let go, and look for
greener pastures.
And sometimes, you have to stop complaining about there
being nothing to do, and start something.
It's a bottleneck indeed. It brings the question to the table whether you engage in recycling people who push events (and up to what level, since top level breaks or apathy have their own consequences) - think of it as a "handover" concept for continuity. Or whether to structure the organisation in such a way that it is built to deal with (even thrive on) cycles (well communicated and planned) of activity and inactivity.
ReplyDeleteAnd there is always the big red flag of what happens when an entity has done what it was created to do or what it set out to do.
The great benchmark of any organisation is its ability to reinvent itself. That holds true in EVE, and in life itself.