All: My I suggest unless you are currently on the CORSA BoD you probably do
not know what they are working on. It takes some time to get all details
worked out on any proposal. After all, we want them to think thru
everything looking for possible unintentional consequences. Remember act in
haste, repent in leisure.
How many of you read Jamie Reinhart's posting on the CORSA web sight?
Jamie's proposal on the CORSA web site is reasonable, but not written in
stone. It is probably why he is CORSA President. Enough of the BoD bought
into it enough to want him to proceed. I take this a good thing and an
indication the BoD is responding to the current situation and is very
thoughtful about the future. I also have a high degree of confidence in
Jamie, and in Jason Cesana and Allen Bristow. Tim Mahler also still being
on the BoD is also a asset in my mind. I think we are in good hands. I
just hope we have enough time to deal with the current situations.
As a parent and grandparent, I know the young ones sometime think I am deaf
because I do not immediately respond affirmatively to their request/demands.
You've been there, done that. And we all know not responding is not the
same as not hearing.
Sometimes some of you do not play nice with our elected leadership. You did
vote for them, didn't we? My guess most of you did not, according to the
vote totals. (Well, we know Hank didn't.) Calling them names does not
endear you to them. It is sometimes very difficult for leadership to
separate the message from the (choose all that fit: obnoxious, vulgar,
insulting. condescending) messenger. I have a relative who is a jerk at
best, someone I really do not want to be around, but many years ago I
realized just because he is a jerk doesn't mean he is wrong all the time.
So I learned to separate the message from the messenger, which came in handy
with him and in some leadership/supervisor positions I've had since then,
including when I was on the BoD's.
Sometimes when you send some thing to the BoD - your grand idea which is
certain to fix all that of CORSA ills - you fail to follow up with the BoD
members from your division. Do you ever engage them in discussion, or just
expect them to salute your idea posted on V-V?
Serving on the BoD is a team effort. It takes some time to learn to work as
a team. My observation is a lot of BoD members come from the leadership of
Chapters, where they know the other officers and the members personally.
Dropping yourself into a group where you may not know most of the other
members is a culture shock. And any team has a culture, ever changing as
members come and go. So it takes some adjustment and time to learn how the
team works as a team. Some of the long past, recent past and current
internal differences are the result of the culture shock. It takes some
time to work thru, while trying to get work done. Some people never get it.
At Cat, until the team concept was well established and most everybody had
team training, each new team had a day set aside off site for some basic
team training time. The BoD does not have that luxury. Their training is
done on the fly, sometimes with members who have no experience in working
with strangers is a stressful team environment.
Historically Yours,
James Rice
CORSA member since mid-70's
Former Chairman of the Competition Committee
Member of original CPF Advisorary Committee
CORSA/CPF BoD member and CPF Liaison 1999-01
Occasional contributor to the Communique