Subject: Suggestions for the future
From: Jim Thomas (jthomas@sun.soci.niu.edu)
Date: Mon Oct 31 2005 - 18:26:25 CST
A quick response to why people haven't seen Michael's posts:
In fairness to Michael - Part of the confusion about his posts might be
my doing, because he/I try to keep our heated exchanges private. Also
in fairness, he was trying to respond to us while out of town.
Here's my take on the source of some of the problems:
1) We have many new people in the building, and by now, probably very
few know Michael personally. He was one of the first residents in the
building back in '99. Although his public people skills have rankled many
of us, in person he's a great guy and very different from the online
persona (much like some of the rest of us). So, when I take swipes,
there's a history of our years of give/take back and forth. We can both
be combatative in an e-forum, and I should have kept my comments private,
between he and I, and not brought them to the public forum where others,
who don't know him (or me), might not see the complexity of the dynamics.
2) Over the years, Michael has given great service. A few old-timers
have chided me for some of my recent public excesses, even while
recognizing the justification for frustration. Michael has always been
responsive at the personal level, and he's doing so now. He's also
open to suggestions (see below).
3) Loretta has a lot to learn, but she's new so we should try to
teach her rather than blast her in her first weeks on the job.
Here are a few suggestions:
--Better communication helps. Perhaps the Board and 1P could develop
some strategies to keep lines open. An E-forum might not be ideal, but
we have nearly half the building on the list (excluding partners and 1P
people).
--Work with Loretta to let her know our needs and ways to communicate.
Encourage her to answer questions on the e-list, and use this as a forum
to express concerns. Generally, the list is very low volume, except
when crises emerge. We currently have nearly half the units represented
(excluding duplicates with partners also on the list, the 1P people,
and a few old-timers.
--When we have problems/issues, let's try to figure out solutions that
we can bring to the board or to 1P. From my experience, Michael is
quite responsive to suggestions for a resolution, and even if they're
goofy, he'll given them serious consideration.
--Email for the loft's BoD isn't always a good idea, because it's
difficult for one board member to speak for the board. The homepage
has the members (it'll be updated in a week or so) and most of them
can be contacted in private email.
What suggestions do others have?
Jim / 501
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jim Thomas / Department of Sociology / Northern Illinois University
jthomas@sun.soci.niu.edu / http://www.soci.niu.edu/~jthomas
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