Following the fraternity-world recession of the 1970s, SAM and other fraternities embarked upon aggressive expansion plans in the early 1980s. We were highly successful in starting new colonies, but after four years had few successful chapters as a result. An analysis of our efforts showed: we were installing only 35% of our colony starts; the installed chapters, within two years, were almost all among our worst performing chapters, and that any colony that had gone beyond 18 months since colonization only had a 10% chance of becoming a chapter.

Using this information, the 1984 Octagon and the Executive Office set new goals to install 70% of colonies, to keep new chapters at average or above, and to eliminate older colonies. A new strategy for use of resources was adopted. Colonizations were limited to no more than five in a semester, all in a limited geographic area. The expansion field representative remained in the geographic area for the entire semester, visiting each new colony every three weeks until installed. Recognizing that skills needed for daily chapter operations were much different from moving from colony to chapter status, field representatives visited new chapters every eight weeks for two years.

The results were very gratifying. Installed colonies rose to 90% of new starts. New chapters were able to compete with experienced chapters. Staff resources being used on old colonies were eliminated, now placed intensively on the newer efforts. The strategy (with some positive refinements) was carried out by three successive Supreme Priors, who were the architects of the strategy. The growth of the Fraternity was spectacular: 1984: 40 chapters and 2 colonies; 1991: 71 chapters and 13 colonies.

Richie Williamson
Sigma Omega
June 17, 2007