[KCDXC] Rough times at KCDX Club... but impeachment???

Tue Jul 7 10:40:29 EDT 2009

Well said Jeff. I agree with most of what you wrote and most of the members have not had to read some of the hateful
e-mails that have come from the top office this past year even when it was only to express an option. This is how it all got started. The e-mails were one on one until it became personal, then it was time for the balance of the club to see the real face of the President.
Again, WELL SAID, I will vote today.
Rick
N0RB  

-----Original Message-----
From: kcdxc-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:kcdxc-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Jeff Blaine
Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 1:30 AM
To: Tom Hammond; kcdxc for fun; KC DX Club Reflector
Subject: Re: [KCDXC] Rough times at KCDX Club... but impeachment???

Tom,

Your first paragraph hits on the fundamental issue at hand.  And thanks for pointing it out as I also feel there is some confusion on the issue.

To my thinking, discussion between two individuals are mutually productive when there exists a mutual respect for the other person.  You respect the other person, and may disagree to his point.  It’s the tendency of the President to draw a generalization that transcends the question and demeans the individual that is the problem.  If you agree with him, you are smart and wise.  But if you disagree, then you are misrepresenting the truth, intellectually unable to grasp the point, or taking a contrary position in an attempt to gain the upper hand.

And that is what has brought us to this point.  Our president just has a very difficult time conducting himself in a manner that maintains respect for the person – while at the same time disagreeing with the point of the other person.  And that’s why the communications have this “talking down to” feeling that comes through so heavily.  

To your point on the language issue…  That’s a realistic possibility.  And due to the nature of my professional life, I am very sensitive to the possible issue of culture and language differences.  The consideration of “face” is a significant part of every exchange I have in a professional context.  But within my experience, I simply cannot accept language or culture differences as being the basis to excuse the conduct of the President.  

The club represents a mostly western culture; and a native English-speaking language basis.  I am certain that the President’s command of English in the social setting is completely adequate to the task.  His time in the US is lengthy, and the cultural nuances should be well understood.  I simply cannot believable that the controversial exchanges are happening because the President has an inadequate command of English and is expressing himself in the only manner he has at hand.

A far simpler and more believable explanation is that the ego of the President leads him to take positions without public support, and to make statements in the heat of battle because he is unable to restrain his emotions.  And it’s for these reasons the motions have been made and the question put on the table.

Is the guy a great contester?  Absolutely.  Is the guy aggressive by nature?  Yes, it’s one of the reasons the guy has such a great competitive nature and is probably part of the reason for his success.  Is the guy technically accomplished?  Yes.  Does he think big and dream big dreams?  Yes and yes.  Does he have a great following and clearly has the respect of hams in the contesting community?  Yes.  Has he helped to push the club in a direction that, for the most part is positive?  Yes again.  Do I dislike the individual?  Absolutely not.  Who’s my #1 pick if I were putting together a world-class contest team?  Alex.  Has the guy welcomed me to the community and encouraged my activities in the hobby?  Yes.

But the draw of the dark side is heavy…  Does he also have the tendency to piss off a person who disagrees with him?  Yes.  Does he revert to personal attacks when he is unable to prevail on the point of contention?  Yes.  Is he unable to contain his emotion in these discussions and that may contribute to making inappropriate comments?  Yes.  Does this behavior damage his ability to gain the club’s support for his proposals?  Yes.  Does this aggressive nature dampen the enthusiasm of members and create an environment where contrary views are under pressure to remain silent?  Yes.  Is the result of this behavior a fracturing of the unity of the club?  Yes.  Is he willing to make decisions on behalf of the club membership based on what his opinion of the correct path is – without consulting the club membership even if the implications suggest this would be the prudent move?  Yes.  Is the President placing his personal aspirations in primacy to the stewardship of the club?  Yes.

Do the later set of detractions provide such a negative so as to trump the positive attributes as a whole?  Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

What we have here is the club suffering from an ancient but quite common management mistake – the conclusion that a great salesman necessarily makes a great sales manager.  You pick the job function; the analogy is the same.  Success in the individual contributor role and as a team leader are completely different skill sets.  And now that the club has a greater focus, these shortcomings take on a greater weight.  Our President is an unwitting victim of his own success.  

Did we make a mistake in electing the guy?  No, I don’t think so.  He was the right guy for the job at the time.  Much the same way that Gorbachev was the right guy at the time.  Mao is famed for saying “you can’t make omelets without breaking a few eggs.”  We would probably not be where we are now, without having taken the step to shake things up.  But the revolution has been achieved, the glide path of the club is on a favorable trajectory - and now it makes sense to step back, having the knowledge that he was the right guy at the time, and the club would not be here today without those actions.

So Tom, I agree with the comments on the wording…   Impeachment?  That’s the wrong term.  Recall?  Probably not right either.  Done what was needed at the time, and now it’s time to make a change?  Yea, that’s about the right flavor to my thinking.

Wow, I’m a real yes-man today!  And maybe I’m complexly off my rocker in this interpretation.  Probably so, now that I consider it.  Hea, I’m a Yaesu owner so that certainly characterizes my lack of brains in some circles.  Hi hi.  But that’s the way I see it here…  I apologize to the club for making this such a lengthy message but the nature of email communication invites misunderstanding which I hope I have been able to avoid here.

With all this discussion on the issue of respect for the individual…  It’s ironic that in traditional business writing, an appropriate closing to this kind of message would be:

Respectfully submitted,

73/Jeff/ac0c

From: Tom Hammond [mailto:n0ss at embarqmail.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, July 07, 2009 12:33 AM
To: Tom Hammond N0SS
Subject: Rough times at KCDX Club... but impeachment???

Greetings to my friends in the KCDX Club. Friends are supposed to be able to talk 'straight' with each other... discussing things 'right' and 'wrong' WITHOUT it materially effecting they friendship... I've been a member of the KCDX Club for about 25 years... mostly as a result of the the fact that I've made the Dayton CW Pileup Contests for that length of time, and my dues have been 'paid' by my efforts in making the pileups. However, I've known MANY member of the Club for much longer than that, and I consider many members to be good friends. Please see my the second statement in this e-mail, regarding 'friends'...

First, though I've certainly not discussed this problem with everyone in the Club, I have had discussions with a number of those directly involved in it, so I feel that I have most, if not all, of the facts down right... if not, I'm certain that someone will 'correct' me...

I just received a private e-mail from a friend, urging me to vote for impeachment of the current KCDX Club President.

IMPEACHMENT is generally sought for an official who has been derelict in his official duties, or who has done something illegal while in office... NOT just because he's managed to piss off a few of his constituents with some possibly mis-chosen (but not necessarily libelous) words or phrases.

When the current KCDX Club president was first nominated for the position, we must assume that this nomination was made because the person MAKING that nomination felt that the person he was nominating WOULD DO A GOOD JOB IN THAT POSITION. If the nomination was made for ANY other reason, then shame on the nominator!!!  Furthermore, it should be assumed that those voting in favor of the nominee's election also felt that he would be a good person for that position... or they should NOT have voted for him as well.

>From everything I've read and heard during my discussions of the problem, I have not heard ONE WORD to indicate that the current President has been derelict in his duties, or that he has done anything illegal with regard to his management of the Club.  In fact, everything I've been told, even from his detractors, seems to indicate that his efforts have been to further 'formalize' Club operations and to bring it more up to date with regard to record keeping, etc.  Though this may not be 'the way it's always been done before', it is certainly NOT an impeachable offense... and it'd probably benefit the Club in the long run.  

Granted, it is regrettable that there may have been some 'language barrier' points which may have resulted in ruffled feathers and some members having taken comments a bit more 'personally' than necessary, causing them to become less than 'thrilled' with the new President and his way of doing things. But, again, this is NOT an impeachable offense... 

>From my discussions of the problem with a few of those involved, it appears that this problem has degenerated to a war of personalities, rather than a problem of Club management. Some members, and some of their close friends, are upset that the new President isn't allowing them to continue to do things (with regard to management of the Club) just as they've been done in the past. Again, not an impeachable offense. Other members feel that change (in the proper direction) is a good thing.  This has created two opposing 'camps' of membership within the Club.  Change, just for the sake of change, is often NOT a good thing. However, change for the sake of making the Club better, stronger, or more easily run/managed in the future can generally be considered to be a good thing... and moving the Club in the right direction. This appears to be the direction in which the current President has been attempting to move the Club.

At the same time, the President should remember that he was elected BY THE CLUB MEMBERSHIP and that he does answer to them... he does not wield uncontested power in the Club and is supposed to represent those who elected him. As a result, there should be meaningful, AND PRODUCTIVE, discussion between the President and the Club members... it cannot be totally one-way without problems evolving. If the President cannot 'work with' the Club members (from BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE), then something needs to be done... he either should consider resigning (because he no longer has the support of the Club), or the Club may consider a RECALL ELECTION... but NOT IMPEACHMENT!

Personally, and this is probably the hardest thing for ANY group to do, I think EACH NEEDS TO 'GIVE IN' A BIT, and to work through its differences TO MAKE THE CLUB STRONGER rather than letting differences tear the Club apart.

When the time comes, if it does, I will be voting FOR retention of the current President, however, with the hope that he will be able to 'soften' his stance and with the hope that ALL other parties who feel they are directly involved will be able to bury the hatchet and move on to much more productive pursuits within the Club.

If you don't know the details behind the current impeachment effort, I urge you to find out before you cast your vote.

73,

Tom Hammond   N0SS

______________________________________________________________
KCDXC mailing list
Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/kcdxc
Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm
Post: mailto:KCDXC at mailman.qth.net

This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net
Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html