Communication: Improvements in, and how to?
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Martin Bogomolni
Aug 2, 2012, 4:05:40 PM8/2/12
to atxhs-discuss
I'm addressing this mainly to Nathan, but it covers a lot of things in general.
First off - Apologies
Nathan, no sarcasm here, I'm sorry that I haven't been able to respond
in July as quickly as usual. It's been a ==very== busy month for
me, and my budget reporting has slipped.
*) I was in San Francisco for my job from the 5th->13th
*) My Fianceé was visiting for a weekend of the 13th->16th (whom I
only see once every couple months these days),
*) I was driving to Las Vegas for DefCON from the 24th->30th and being
BACK in San Francisco again now.
Oh, yes, and chasing down over $480 in dues all month by writing,
calling, and then outright confronting people about paying their dues
on time. When people don't pay Dues on time, it makes my life hell,
not just for the dues, but also because I have to report the Members
in Bad Standing to the Secretary, help her maintain the Member
Roster/List. It's hard to do in bits-and-pieces.
That, plus compiling all the finances, entering all the receipts and
expenses for June/July/August -with- Mert's help, balancing the Petty
Cash and Tool Budgets too.
And, finally, compiling our Finances for the last three years (and my
own) to file the taxes as well as submit them for examination by the
property manager for the lease.
... and that's just me.
I've been told, very clearly in the past by the membership, to let
people help and take responsibility for day to day hackerspace stuff.
Thus, I take my role as Treasurer very seriously, and I make for
damned sure all the work I have to get done, gets done, and on time.
It's a full part-time job, that I dedicate 15-20 hours a week to,
unpaid, and frankly thanklessly most of the time. There are parts of
the Treasurer position that absolutely SUCK to do, but I do them
gladly because it needs to get done.
~ ~ ~
LLC stuff:
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The LLC doesn't have any
decision making ability outside of the Veto. Where any given LLC
member is really does not have a material impact on the workings and
decision making of the space. Very little the LLC does has any
bearing on the direction of the space, as the LLC has given all the
decision making ability to the Membership and the Board. At most, in
the last year, the LLC has signed paperwork relating to leases,
insurance, and equipment loans.
~ ~ ~
Board stuff:
July was a really busy month, and lawyers don't work quickly ...
neither do landlords / property management companies.
The Board met with MWR legal on __July 20th__ to discuss the LLC Co-Op
charter. It was a very constructive meeting, and we've handed our
Bylaws and wishes to them. They are now busy working on a rough
draft. That's less than two weeks ago, for the record.
The Board finally got a lease response from the Wall Street contact
(Andrew) on the 15th of July, and we didn't even get an estimate of
the build out costs from the leasing agency and contractor until the
__27th of July__. We've only really had information about the lease
and the build-out estimate for a handful of days. And we HAVEN'T
decided how to attack the problem. The nearest Member meeting is this
coming Tuesday, and that's the right place to discuss it.
We really are trying to communicate what we know, as soon as we know
it! It's just that it's been taking THAT long to get communication.
You know it nearly as fast as we know it, and the reason you
haven't gotten immediate communication is that the landlord kept us on
a "I'll have it by tomorrow" cliffhanger for over two weeks.
Yes, the Board can communicate better. Things like the Meeting notes
had started to slip, but Michele has corrected course and is now
dedicated to posting them on-time. The members-only list is
currently not up-to-date, because FreshBooks has changed the way they
work, as did Google, and we can no longer export a current member list
from their system and simply import it into Google Groups. It has to
be hand-entered, which is a pain and takes a long time (2-4 hours of
work to type up and correct the list)
As a solution, we may have to move the Member list from Google to
MailMan, or some other solution. We may also be able to send email
broadcasts from FreshBooks (I'm looking into the possibility). If we
can, I'll give Michele a login to FreshBooks so she can make
announcements to the Membership from there.
==== Any member of the board is always contactable by email, and we do
our best to respond quickly to personal emails. =====
chai...@atxhackerspace.org
vice...@atxhackerspace.org
secr...@atxhackerspace.org
trea...@atxhackerspace.org
member...@atxhackerspace.org
When you email the board list, sometimes we need to discuss -what- our
response will be as a group. That takes time, and sometimes
discussion. Also, since the board@ address is an email list,
sometimes it takes part of a day for the moderator (Secretary@) to see
that there's a message and post it to the group.
~ ~ ~
MEMBER stuff
The Board takes on the day-to-day responsibilities of organizing the
business and finances of the space, and implementing the details.
That's what we're here for. It's not fun, and it's often "behind
the scenes" work that kicks our asses to do, but it's necessary and
hard work that we do for the occasional pat on the back.
The MEMBERSHIP has equal responsibility, individually and as a whole,
to take care of the rest of the policies. It's up to you to:
* Put your best foot forward to the community around you
* Be excellent to every member of the space, and be considerate
* Pay your dues on time, so that we can have cool stuff, and afford neat things
* Keep the space clean, stuff put away in the right place, and useful
for everyone
* Make awesome stuff, and help out on various things the space needs--
e.g. Ministry of Propaganda, Tool Committee, Party Posse
* Do amazing things: Host events, classes, workshops! If it's not
getting done, it's because you aren't doing it. Nobody is going to do
it for you, but they will do it WITH you.
* Communicate effectively by attending the meetings, and taking
advice, praise and criticism with grace. Just because you don't
agree, doesn't mean the other person is wrong.
* PARTICIPATE, VOLUNTEER, and OWN PROBLEMS/TASKS. I can't stress that
enough. Not just occasionally. Not just on a whim. Not just by
paying dues. The more you put in, the more everyone benefits!
It's that last point I want to stress. Just cruising by the
hackerspace once in a while and having a beer, or just paying dues,
isn't participating. It's when you give of yourself to everyone, that
things improve for everybody.
So.. if you want something done, or you feel something needs to get
done -- VOLUNTEER to help. It's the only way things _do_ get done.
~ ~ ~
Last words
Nathan's is correct, the Board could have communicated more often and
clearly this last month. I will stay on top of the Treasurer part of
that responsibility. I believe, however, that when a group of
people speaks it's important to consider what is being said BEFORE
saying anything, especially when potential miscommunication or
misinformation could result. This is why the Board hasn't said much,
as a group, about the upcoming Lease and Co-Op LLC. We just didn't
have enough information to say anything salient until very recently,
and we're far from finished having the discussions with the lawyers
and the landlords.
So, I'll try to say -something-, even if it's just a "I'm still
working on it" for the Financial/Treasurer side of things, okay?
-Martin
First off - Apologies
Nathan, no sarcasm here, I'm sorry that I haven't been able to respond
in July as quickly as usual. It's been a ==very== busy month for
me, and my budget reporting has slipped.
*) I was in San Francisco for my job from the 5th->13th
*) My Fianceé was visiting for a weekend of the 13th->16th (whom I
only see once every couple months these days),
*) I was driving to Las Vegas for DefCON from the 24th->30th and being
BACK in San Francisco again now.
Oh, yes, and chasing down over $480 in dues all month by writing,
calling, and then outright confronting people about paying their dues
on time. When people don't pay Dues on time, it makes my life hell,
not just for the dues, but also because I have to report the Members
in Bad Standing to the Secretary, help her maintain the Member
Roster/List. It's hard to do in bits-and-pieces.
That, plus compiling all the finances, entering all the receipts and
expenses for June/July/August -with- Mert's help, balancing the Petty
Cash and Tool Budgets too.
And, finally, compiling our Finances for the last three years (and my
own) to file the taxes as well as submit them for examination by the
property manager for the lease.
... and that's just me.
I've been told, very clearly in the past by the membership, to let
people help and take responsibility for day to day hackerspace stuff.
Thus, I take my role as Treasurer very seriously, and I make for
damned sure all the work I have to get done, gets done, and on time.
It's a full part-time job, that I dedicate 15-20 hours a week to,
unpaid, and frankly thanklessly most of the time. There are parts of
the Treasurer position that absolutely SUCK to do, but I do them
gladly because it needs to get done.
~ ~ ~
LLC stuff:
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The LLC doesn't have any
decision making ability outside of the Veto. Where any given LLC
member is really does not have a material impact on the workings and
decision making of the space. Very little the LLC does has any
bearing on the direction of the space, as the LLC has given all the
decision making ability to the Membership and the Board. At most, in
the last year, the LLC has signed paperwork relating to leases,
insurance, and equipment loans.
~ ~ ~
Board stuff:
July was a really busy month, and lawyers don't work quickly ...
neither do landlords / property management companies.
The Board met with MWR legal on __July 20th__ to discuss the LLC Co-Op
charter. It was a very constructive meeting, and we've handed our
Bylaws and wishes to them. They are now busy working on a rough
draft. That's less than two weeks ago, for the record.
The Board finally got a lease response from the Wall Street contact
(Andrew) on the 15th of July, and we didn't even get an estimate of
the build out costs from the leasing agency and contractor until the
__27th of July__. We've only really had information about the lease
and the build-out estimate for a handful of days. And we HAVEN'T
decided how to attack the problem. The nearest Member meeting is this
coming Tuesday, and that's the right place to discuss it.
We really are trying to communicate what we know, as soon as we know
it! It's just that it's been taking THAT long to get communication.
You know it nearly as fast as we know it, and the reason you
haven't gotten immediate communication is that the landlord kept us on
a "I'll have it by tomorrow" cliffhanger for over two weeks.
Yes, the Board can communicate better. Things like the Meeting notes
had started to slip, but Michele has corrected course and is now
dedicated to posting them on-time. The members-only list is
currently not up-to-date, because FreshBooks has changed the way they
work, as did Google, and we can no longer export a current member list
from their system and simply import it into Google Groups. It has to
be hand-entered, which is a pain and takes a long time (2-4 hours of
work to type up and correct the list)
As a solution, we may have to move the Member list from Google to
MailMan, or some other solution. We may also be able to send email
broadcasts from FreshBooks (I'm looking into the possibility). If we
can, I'll give Michele a login to FreshBooks so she can make
announcements to the Membership from there.
==== Any member of the board is always contactable by email, and we do
our best to respond quickly to personal emails. =====
chai...@atxhackerspace.org
vice...@atxhackerspace.org
secr...@atxhackerspace.org
trea...@atxhackerspace.org
member...@atxhackerspace.org
When you email the board list, sometimes we need to discuss -what- our
response will be as a group. That takes time, and sometimes
discussion. Also, since the board@ address is an email list,
sometimes it takes part of a day for the moderator (Secretary@) to see
that there's a message and post it to the group.
~ ~ ~
MEMBER stuff
The Board takes on the day-to-day responsibilities of organizing the
business and finances of the space, and implementing the details.
That's what we're here for. It's not fun, and it's often "behind
the scenes" work that kicks our asses to do, but it's necessary and
hard work that we do for the occasional pat on the back.
The MEMBERSHIP has equal responsibility, individually and as a whole,
to take care of the rest of the policies. It's up to you to:
* Put your best foot forward to the community around you
* Be excellent to every member of the space, and be considerate
* Pay your dues on time, so that we can have cool stuff, and afford neat things
* Keep the space clean, stuff put away in the right place, and useful
for everyone
* Make awesome stuff, and help out on various things the space needs--
e.g. Ministry of Propaganda, Tool Committee, Party Posse
* Do amazing things: Host events, classes, workshops! If it's not
getting done, it's because you aren't doing it. Nobody is going to do
it for you, but they will do it WITH you.
* Communicate effectively by attending the meetings, and taking
advice, praise and criticism with grace. Just because you don't
agree, doesn't mean the other person is wrong.
* PARTICIPATE, VOLUNTEER, and OWN PROBLEMS/TASKS. I can't stress that
enough. Not just occasionally. Not just on a whim. Not just by
paying dues. The more you put in, the more everyone benefits!
It's that last point I want to stress. Just cruising by the
hackerspace once in a while and having a beer, or just paying dues,
isn't participating. It's when you give of yourself to everyone, that
things improve for everybody.
So.. if you want something done, or you feel something needs to get
done -- VOLUNTEER to help. It's the only way things _do_ get done.
~ ~ ~
Last words
Nathan's is correct, the Board could have communicated more often and
clearly this last month. I will stay on top of the Treasurer part of
that responsibility. I believe, however, that when a group of
people speaks it's important to consider what is being said BEFORE
saying anything, especially when potential miscommunication or
misinformation could result. This is why the Board hasn't said much,
as a group, about the upcoming Lease and Co-Op LLC. We just didn't
have enough information to say anything salient until very recently,
and we're far from finished having the discussions with the lawyers
and the landlords.
So, I'll try to say -something-, even if it's just a "I'm still
working on it" for the Financial/Treasurer side of things, okay?
-Martin
random thoughts
Aug 2, 2012, 8:03:23 PM8/2/12
to atxhs-...@googlegroups.com
I mainly breezed over the emails at the root of this, but I wanted to
share two thoughts:
First: Many thanks to every person that donates their time and effort
for the hackerspace. I really can't express enough thanks.
Second: Thanks for the contact information. I imagine that if anyone
wants information about the space in any way, they can certainly ask.
Jeff V
In other words, just ask
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share two thoughts:
First: Many thanks to every person that donates their time and effort
for the hackerspace. I really can't express enough thanks.
Second: Thanks for the contact information. I imagine that if anyone
wants information about the space in any way, they can certainly ask.
Jeff V
In other words, just ask
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ATXHS Discuss" group.
> To post to this group, send email to atxhs-...@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to atxhs-discus...@googlegroups.com.
> For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/atxhs-discuss?hl=en.
>
Nathan
Aug 3, 2012, 12:09:17 PM8/3/12
to ATXHS Discuss
Thank you Martin this clears a lot of stuff up. Not knowing what is
going on is the worst feeling. I know just being treasurer of the
hackerspace is a full time job, added to an actual job and all your
normal traveling and still trying to have a personal life makes it
hard for sure. Maybe we should hire you a vice treasurer :) Seriously
though there has to be a way to lighten your load. Could the member
at large chase down late dues for you?
going on is the worst feeling. I know just being treasurer of the
hackerspace is a full time job, added to an actual job and all your
normal traveling and still trying to have a personal life makes it
hard for sure. Maybe we should hire you a vice treasurer :) Seriously
though there has to be a way to lighten your load. Could the member
at large chase down late dues for you?
Mandie Kramer
Aug 3, 2012, 12:15:47 PM8/3/12
to atxhs-...@googlegroups.com
I already consider Mert to be the Vice Treasurer.
All the board members currently have a pretty hefty load, but there's nothing that prevents non-board members from picking up tasks. Anyone who wants to take responsibility is encouraged to do so! Just announce what you'd like to do.
Martin Bogomolni
Aug 3, 2012, 12:20:06 PM8/3/12
to atxhs-...@googlegroups.com
Mert is my awesome financial volunteer, with access to the books.
I can't praise him enough for the time he puts in to pick up the load when I need help!
The financial stuff is handled pretty well, but there are tons of tasks that need owners at the space still.
You are our valued resident HVAC expert, and because of your work you've got all the right tools.
Would you consider helping MoM by making sure that big old power hog is fed filters and kept working right?
-M
I can't praise him enough for the time he puts in to pick up the load when I need help!
The financial stuff is handled pretty well, but there are tons of tasks that need owners at the space still.
You are our valued resident HVAC expert, and because of your work you've got all the right tools.
Would you consider helping MoM by making sure that big old power hog is fed filters and kept working right?
-M
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