"The Value of Girl Scout with a Cause"

 Part 1 of 3

This podcast excerpt analyzes a decade of blog posts by a Girl Scout volunteer, offering a critical insider’s perspective on organizational challenges within the Girl Scouts.

   A key focus is the 2004 core business strategy, which led to a massive restructuring—consolidating over 300 councils into 112. This shift created tensions between national and local leadership, affecting financial distribution and volunteer experiences.

   The discussion also highlights the disastrous rollout of "Volunteer System 2.0," a $169 million software system riddled with bugs and usability issues. The project exemplifies a top-down decision-making process that ignored volunteer feedback, ultimately wasting significant resources.

   Overall, this segment serves as a cautionary tale about large-scale organizational change and the critical importance of including those most directly affected in the decision-making process.