[foundation-board] Draft announcement for Team and then Wider Public
Tom Cobbold
tomcobbold at yahoo.co.uk
Fri Sep 12 13:13:03 UTC 2014
I'm with you Jane, in fact I've been meaning to say this some while . . . of all the board members "you're my favourite" ;-)
However my tuppence (don't worry about addressing/rebutting, any of you, just digest and use/ignore as you see fit Laura, this one's your call isn't it):-
I regret I missed the board meeting this week, but personally I see no need to announce anything. Sorry not to be more supportive of efforts, but to my mind the announcement can easily be deferred until there is a change of helm, and it serves no net commercial purpose in and of itself to do otherwise, indeed as I see it the whole subject matter merely distracts from the mission at hand, which is unerring irrespective of helms person.
Tom Cobbold FCCA
07968 324935
> On 12 Sep 2014, at 13:40, Jane Silber <jane.silber at canonical.com> wrote:
>
> Hi -
>
> Apologies in advance for the brevity and if I inflame what feels like sore spots in the org, but here's what I think:
>
> 1. The current situation requires some advice and coaching to the exec team, not a Board meeting or a Board decision.
>
> 2. My personal advice/coaching is that the proper way to frame this is along the lines of "the org is successful & growing, we are proactively adapting to the future needs of the org and will soon begin a public search for a new ED/CEO. This is an exciting time for OKF and we can't wait".
>
> 3. Concise clarity that Laura is leaving and Rufus is staying are important sub-themes. All the stuff about what the new leader will do once on board is superfluous and a bit destructive. It perpetuates this state of "we don't have a strategy, we have all this issues, we don't know what to do, but a saviour is coming and we will review everything again". The strategy & plan IS the strategy & plan until it is changed. You don't need to spread further anxiety that things are up in the air.
>
> Tone should be positive, confident and forward-looking. Tone should not be accusatory or apologetic.
>
> That's my 2 cents/pence.
>
> Jane
>
>> On 12/09/14 12:17, Karin Christiansen wrote:
>> Thanks Laura. And for starting this off Rufus.
>>
>> Can Penny help us with the comms? Rufus have you had a chance to talk to her yet?
>>
>> I would like to try and organise a board only call sometime soon if that is possible. Could someone from the Open Knowledge team facilitate that?
>>
>> Thanks
>> Karin
>>
>>
>> Sent from my HTC
>>
>> ----- Reply message -----
>> From: "Laura James" <laura.james at okfn.org>
>> To: "OKF Board Mailing List" <foundation-board at lists.okfn.org>
>> Subject: [foundation-board] Draft announcement for Team and then Wider Public
>> Date: Fri, Sep 12, 2014 10:57
>>
>> For clarity, the current state of the FAQ is merely a starting list of questions (some of which were proposed by ON) and we need to flesh out answers - it's not in a state to help us with communications yet! If the board have suggestions for other matters we should clarify, so that we can ensure we have a clear message for the team and community, please do add these in. (We need to work on this, as the announcement to the management team, which could be seen as the dry run here, was confused and contradictory and left a great deal of uncertainty and worry.)
>>
>> ON have suggested we might want to frame the announce as a broader piece around change. Although it may be obvious to some readers that a new leader is likely to mean a review of strategy and operations, this won't be apparent to others, and in the interests of consistent message (team and community hearing same thing) and transparency it was suggested that we might want to include a little more context.
>>
>> I am not particularly happy with Rufus's draft post, as it implies the change is being driven by a decision by me to leave, which is simply not the case. I think a more positive framing, around the fact that we are now in a great position and can look ahead and seek someone with the right skills, is rather stronger from an organisational point of view. However, if there is a general agreement that we want to frame this as driven by me, I would appreciate being consulted. The rationale for the change is quite important to get right and to message clearly and consistently to each audience, and I would expect to be involved in developing that message.
>>
>> My role here was only ever intended as an interim one, with the idea that I would support Rufus and the organisation for a short while until things had stabilised and a new leader could be recruited allowing Rufus to move on. This took longer than expected:when I agreed to go full time in November 2012, we anticipated that I was joining for 12 months, or 18 at the outside (and of course the plan has now changed and Rufus is staying on). I suspect this may not have been clear to the board at the time, or since. I expect at some point to go through learnings from this sort of thing with board members at an exit interview.
>>
>> Laura
>>
>>
>>> On 12 September 2014 10:02, Rufus Pollock <rufus.pollock at okfn.org> wrote:
>>> Hi All,
>>>
>>> At board meeting Friday there was discussion and then a decision re drafting an announce to share with team and then wider public as soon as was feasible (likely next Thursday at all-hands and then public post following that).
>>>
>>> My first-pass draft is below and feedback would be very welcome.
>>>
>>> It is also available in this commentable google doc here which also contains an FAQ plus a different version of the announce that Laura has drafted.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>>
>>> Rufus
>>>
>>> ## Announce
>>>
>>> For
>>> a decade Open Knowledge has been a leader in its
>>> field, working at the forefront of efforts to
>>> open up information around the world and and see
>>> it used to empower citizens and organizations to
>>> drive change.
>>>
>>> Both
>>> the community and original non-profit have grown
>>> significantly and the space in which we work
>>> continues to develop and evolve rapidly with
>>> many exciting new opportunities and activities.
>>>
>>> Today
>>> we’re announcing that our CEO Laura James is
>>> planning to move on to new challenges and new
>>> ventures and that we are therefore seeking to
>>> recruit a new senior executive to help lead Open
>>> Knowledge as it continues to evolve and grow.
>>> This process is starting now, and will ensure
>>> the new executive will be able to play a
>>> significant role in shaping future strategy and
>>> direction for Open Knowledge.
>>>
>>> Laura
>>> has played a central role over the last few
>>> years as we’ve grown from a team of half-a-dozen
>>> to more than forty. Thanks to her dedication and
>>> skill we’ve navigated many of the tough
>>> challenges that accompany “growing-up” as an
>>> organization. We have been privileged to have
>>> her with us and she will be sorely missed.
>>>
>>> Our
>>> Founder and President Rufus Pollock will remain
>>> in post and will be here both to help lead the
>>> organization in the interim and to work closely
>>> with the new appointment going forward.
>>> Furthermore, Laura, is also able to remain to in
>>> post as needed both to continue to run the
>>> organization and to assist with the recruitment.
>>>
>>> The
>>> management team will be continuing to lead the
>>> individual teams within Open Knowledge through
>>> these changes and will help to support the new
>>> leadership team.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> We’re really excited to be
>>> embarking on this, and to have the opportunity to
>>> prepare Open Knowledge for its next decade.
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> foundation-board mailing list
>>> foundation-board at lists.okfn.org
>>> https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-board
>>> Unsubscribe: https://lists.okfn.org/mailman/options/foundation-board
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>> Dr Laura James
>> CEO
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> skype:
>>
>> laura.james | @LaurieJ
>>
>> Open Knowledge - A world where
>> knowledge creates power for the many, not the few
>> http://okfn.org/ | @okfn | Facebook | Blog
>>
>> Open Knowledge
>> Community Stories | http://okfncommunity.tumblr.com/ | see how people are
>> changing the world
>>
>> The Open Knowledge Foundation is a
>> not-for-profit organisation. It is incorporated
>> in England & Wales as a company limited by
>> guarantee, with company number 05133759. VAT
>> Registration № GB 984404989. Registered office
>> address: Open Knowledge Foundation, St John’s
>> Innovation Centre, Cowley Road, Cambridge, CB4
>> 0WS, UK.
>>
>>
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>
>
> --
> Jane Silber | CEO | Canonical
> Dir: +44 (0)20 7630 2472 | Mob: +44 (0)7899 891 943
> www.canonical.com | www.ubuntu.com
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