[UVSAblog] Transitioning to the Next Generation

[Bao Thien Ngo]

http://sites.google.com/a/norcaluvsa.org/central/blog/transitioning-to-the-next-generation

Transitioning to the Next Generation

As I'm sifting through old documents and notes from prior conferences and the organization's past, I'm reminded that stepping down from the reins of an organization is not simply a bungee jumping affair. You must be able to collect everything you know and prepare a binder to give and orient to the new officers. Since we had insufficient staff constantly juggling duties, the transition process has mostly taken the backburner. But why do we need this binder? What goes into it?

Necessity for Transition Processes

• MAC Truck Theory (the only source I could find refers to Frank Ternaski): If a project manager walks out of the office and gets hit by a MAC truck, anyone should be able to take over the project.
• MAC Truck Factor: The number leaders that could be incapacitated due to MAC Truck accidents before the organization or project comes to a grinding halt. The higher the number, the more resilient the group is.

In the case of UVSA, we have a MAC Truck Factor of probably 4 to 5, which is pretty good. A higher factor means that in the eyes of the community, you are increasingly reliable. If your organization or project has a low factor, no one would want to trust you. And trust is very hard to build in the community. Which is why understanding this concept is important. A healthy community (and even business industry) relies on trust.

What Goes Into the Transition Binder

By no means a complete list: Policies and procedures; A list of current projects; A list of stakeholders (student government, community organizations, etc.); Upcoming deadlines; Current and past budgets; Bylaws; Current financial statements; Board roster and minutes; Staff roster and a profile of their experiences and skills; Summary of contractual obligations and funding commitments; Current workplan; Requests for Purchases and contracts; Evaluation plan and methods; Operation manuals and protocols; Organizational chart.

I know a few of my colleagues and I have talked about putting one together for the longest time, but I guess it's one of those things you know is important, but just not fun like making a film or organizing a show. But then again, what stops you from turning into a kind of craftsmanship? Here's our organizational chart modeled after the Dong Son drum, an heirloom from our Vietnamese heritage. See the chart and compare it to the drum.

UVSA Election Season

As we're beginning to transition our website and wiki into Google Sites to create a digital form of the Transition Binder, we're starting off with the UVSA Elections.

See http://sites.google.com/a/norcaluvsa.org/central/elections

June 15, 2008 will mark the official birthdate of UVSA with the signing and ratification of our Constitution, which I will upload after Election Day. We've set the ratification bar high: 7 affiliated schools with 75% of each school's VSA board members approval.

The candidates who have declared their candidacy should already be going out and wooing... ahem, I mean campaigning aimed at VSA members for support. There are positions still open, and we encourage anyone with a dream for the Vietnamese community to run for office. Huy and I will still be around as advisors to nourish those dreams. Both of us agreed that the best thing for us to do after UVSA is to become role models worthy enough to be invited as conference keynote speakers. <laugh>

Events

• See you at UC Davis VSA culture show tomorrow (May 31, 2008) at 7:00PM! www.ucdcultureshow.org
• SJSU VSA's Culture Show will be the following week, June 7, 2008 with two showings, one at 1PM and the second at 7PM. www.sjsuvsa.com
• Got swabbed for Michelle? I mean... did you register your bone marrow? www.projectmichelle.com
• Deportation Forum @ Asian-Central.com: UVSA is hosting a 5-day online forum at our partnering site, Asian-Central.com. Sign up for an account and start reading up on the deportation issue.