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CONCEPTualizationS

Bob McK. & Jeff Y.

A Bob’n’Jeff Production

© Copyright 2012. All rights reserved, except may be freely used by any bona fide Alcoholics Anonymous® entity; however we have neither ownership nor permission to use the illustrations, so any use must comply with copyright “fair use” restrictions such as education–our form of use.

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Concept 1: The final responsibility and ultimate authority for AA world services should always reside in the collective conscience of our whole Fellowship.

Translation: You’re the boss !

1.

Concept 2: The General Service Conference of A.A. has become, for nearly every practical purpose, the active voice and the effective conscience of our whole Society in its world affairs.

Translation: You handle the business by sending a servant to the Conference on your behalf.

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Concept 3: To insure effective leadership, we should endow each element of A.A.—the Conference, the General Service Board and its service corporations, staff, committees, and executives—with a traditional “Right of Decision.”

Translation: It’s a trusted servant. They’re allowed discretion.

Trust God! Trust ourselves! Trust each other!

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Concept 4: At all responsible levels, we ought to maintain a traditional “Right of Participation,” allowing a voting representation in reasonable proportion to the responsibility that each must discharge.

And they, and you, may take part in whatever affects you.

Us isn’t just us, it’s Canada and US. Eight—count ‘em─eight regions

. East Central Region with its 14 delegate areas.

General Service Board

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4. You may participate in whatever affects you.

Concept 5: Throughout our structure, a traditional “Right of Appeal” ought to prevail, so that minority opinion will be heard and personal grievances receive careful consideration.

Anyone who doesn’t agree with a vote gets a second chance to persuade the winning side to change their opinion.

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Concept 6: The Conference recognizes that the chief initiative and active responsibility in most world service matters should be exercised by the trustee members of the Conference acting as the General Service Board.

A lot of simple stuff is best left to the Board.

The Groups (“the shareholders”)

trust

The Conference (“the voting proxies”)

trust

The Board (“directors of holding company”)

trust trust

AAWS (“affiliate”) AA Grapevine (“affiliate”)

“Trust everyone, but cut the cards.” – Will Rogers

Concept 7: The Charter and Bylaws of the General Service Board are legal instruments, empowering the trustees to manage and conduct world service affairs. The Conference Charter is not a legal document; it relies upon tradition and the A.A. purse for final effectiveness.

And legally they could run everything–but just let ’em try and see what happens.

7.

Concept 8: The trustees are the principal planners and administrators of overall policy and finance. They have custodial oversight of the separately incorporated and constantly active services, exercising this through their ability to elect all the directors of these entities.

8. The Board’s our custodians. They keep the business stuff neat and tidy.

Concept 9: Good service leadership, together with sound and appropriate methods of choosing them, are at all levels indispensable for our future functioning and safety. Primary world service leadership, once exercised by the founders, must necessarily be assumed by the trustees.

We need good leaders all the way from the top (AA Group) to the bottom (the Board).

A leader in AA service: • Puts principles, plans and policies into such dedicated and effective action that the rest of us want to back and help them. • Remembers that a fine plan can come from anyone, anywhere. • Never passes the buck. • Is able to “give and take” – compromise cheerfully. • Leads by example. We say to them, “Act for us, but don’t boss us.”

Concept 10: Every service responsibility should be matched by an equal service authority, with the scope of such authority well defined.

When you get a service job you also get the clout you need to do it.

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Concept 11: The trustees should always have the best possible committees, corporate service directors, executives, staff, and consultants. Composition, qualifications, induction procedures, and rights and duties will always be matters of serious concern.

And this includes getting the people and setting up the organizations to do it.

1. The Status of Executives.

2. Paid Workers, how Compensated.

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3. Rotation among paid staff workers.

4. Full “Participation” of paid workers is highly important.

Concept 12: The Conference shall observe the spirit of A.A. tradition, taking care that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient operating funds plus an ample reserve, be its prudent financial principle; that it place none of its members in a position of unqualified authority over others; that it reach all important decisions by discussion, vote, and, whenever possible, by substantial unanimity; that its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement to public controversy; that it never perform acts of government, and that, like the Society it serves, it will always remain democratic in thought and action.

The AA Bill of Rights

Warranty 1. The Conference shall:

observe the spirit of A.A. tradition, taking care that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power Not become big shots or bankers.

Warranty 2. The Conference shall take care:

that sufficient operating funds plus an ample reserve be its prudent financial principle

Keep only enough money to weather a “rainy day.“

Warranty 3. The Conference shall take care:

that it place none of its members in a position of unqualified authority over others

We limit authority.

Warranty 4. The Conference shall take care:

that it reach all important decisions by discussion, vote, and, whenever possible, by substantial unanimity

Talk anything important to death, if necessary, and try to get consensus.

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Warranty 5. The Conference shall take care:

that its actions never be personally punitive nor an incitement to public controversy

Not beat each other up, but mind our own business.

Warranty 6. The Conference shall take care:

that it never perform acts of government, and that, like the Society it serves, it will always remain democratic in thought and action.

Not try to boss AA and stay a group of equals in what they do and how they think.

“Freedom under God to grow in His likeness and image will ever be the quest of Alcoholics Anonymous. May our General Service Conference be always seen as a chief symbol of this cherished liberty.” Bill W.

The Concepts remind us: 1. That each of us have final responsibility for AA, we respect each member’s dignity, worth, and need to belong; we promote everyone’s right to be heard and to participate in that which affects each of them. 2. That we cannot meet this responsibility without delegating much of it to trusted servants; we send along with them the authority to match it. 3. To maintain a system of checks and balances in our service entities to ensure that authority not outpace—nor lag—responsibility.

We hope this has enriched your understanding of the Twelve Concepts. Putting this together has certainly expanded our knowledge of them.

Now please take these principles and practice them in all your A.A. affairs!

Please join us in reciting this:

“I am responsible. When anyone, anywhere reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there. And for that I am responsible.”

Thanks to: • Bill W. and his Twelve Concepts write-up in our service manual. • A.A.W.S.’s Twelve Concepts Illustrated and Concepts Checklist. • Greg M.’s talk on the Concepts at the 2006 AAWS/Intergroup Seminar in Akron. • George D.’s presentation on the 12 Concepts to Germany’s General Service Board. • The 2007 Conference of Delegates Past & Present. • Scott Adams, creator of “Dilbert.”