Questionnaire - candidates for the 2014-2018 term

[sonoranfans]

Perhaps I have missed the answer and if so I apologize for all that follows, but the question that has been asked of the president, the nominating committee and Larry Noblick both publicly and privately concerns the mandatory board meeting attendance. I have yet to hear a clear concise answer on its exact definition, how it would be enforced and its legitimacy. One person says this, another says that. Existing members of the BOD, more than one have questioned its legitimacy, even as vaguely and unofficially stated.

This is a very significant matter. It should be addressed publicly and definitively as an official communication to the membership from the president with the backing of the BOD. It is only this that has stirred up the membership. Well, that and the way the PM issue was handled, but the PM issue is not at the core of this thread, mandatory attendance is.

This answer should not only be easy, as with the nominating process underway these rules should already be in stone not being made on the fly, and readily available without having to be asked.

So, not to beat a dead horse I will not ask again. Neither I or anyone else should have to. Do as you may from here.

As I understand it, the word "mandatory" has been replaced with "essential."

Not trying to stir thing up but

mandatory and essential are synonyms, nothing is different as I see it.

essential: absolutely necessary; extremely important.

"it is essential to keep up-to-date records"

synonyms:

crucial, necessary, key, vital, indispensable, important, all-important, of the essence, critical, imperative, mandatory, compulsory, obligatory;

the key question I think is whether the IPS president can unilaterally remove someone for non attendance of one meeting.

I expect thelegal interpretation will be yes regardless of the use of essential or mandatory.

[PALM MOD]

If an IPS Member, you can review the revised document here

http://www.palmtalk.org/forum/index.php?/topic/39408-revised-nomination-questionnair/

[George Sparkman]

I am new to the nominating committee this go around, but from what I understand a questionnaire has not been used in the past but was recently realized as a requirement in our bylaws. The nominating committee has been working via e-mail to finalize the questionnaire. I have been traveling with limited internet access and I missed the “mandatory” statement in the wording while reading on my phone. The attachment detailing director requirements has much clearer language. In addition, I don’t recall a decision by the nominating committee to make this a requirement.

To prevent spreading misinformation, I would hope one would address the respective committee or board of director with questions prior to stirring up the rest of the membership.

Hi Kathryn,

which attachment detailing director requirements are you referring to ? The "new" questionnaire ?

I assume it is a different document actually detailing in detail what is expected.

[Dr. George]

I am new to the nominating committee this go around, but from what I understand a questionnaire has not been used in the past but was recently realized as a requirement in our bylaws. The nominating committee has been working via e-mail to finalize the questionnaire. I have been traveling with limited internet access and I missed the “mandatory” statement in the wording while reading on my phone. The attachment detailing director requirements has much clearer language. In addition, I don’t recall a decision by the nominating committee to make this a requirement.

To prevent spreading misinformation, I would hope one would address the respective committee or board of director with questions prior to stirring up the rest of the membership.

Hi Kathryn,

which attachment detailing director requirements are you referring to ? The "new" questionnaire ?

I assume it is a different document actually detailing in detail what is expected.

Questionnaire Exhibit A "Director Requirements" - for reasons already discussed in relation to the requirements of a Director outlined in the By-laws and in line with Kathryn's comment ("I don’t recall a decision by the nominating committee to make this a requirement."), my guess is that a title for Exhibit A more appropriate and more in line with what the committee may have intended, might be "Director Responsibilities". Perhaps an edit consideration for the next election cycle.

gmp

Questionnaire for Candidates, Board of Directors, IPS, 2013.pdf

[O'o Bar Master]

I would like to make an observation for the Board’s collective reflection and a suggestion for possible consideration. Over the past few weeks I have followed two separate controversial issues and the sometimes heated debate that has followed.

No matter what position is taken by the various participants, it seems there is an overriding issue that has little to do with the specific debates, but which is at the heart of both circumstances. This is the issue of transparency. Whenever there is a perception that everything is not being revealed or intentionally concealed, the membership is predictably alarmed and the stage is set for a contentious debate. Whether that perception is the result of an actual attempt to conceal information or a more benign structural problem really doesn’t matter. If the perception of a lack of transparency exists rumor and speculation will run wild.

I would like it to be noted that I specified that this is an issue of ‘perception’ and is a current problem for the IPS. With a BOD of 39 members (even this number has been quoted at different counts over the past few weeks) scattered around the world, it is obvious that it must be a challenge to make group decisions and communicate them to the membership . . . unless a system is in place to facilitate that process. From the point of view of a relative newcomer to the IPS, it does not appear that a system of this sort is operational at this time. I could be wrong about this but again there is an issue of perception. If none of the membership seems aware of how these decisions are reached, then the suspicion of dictatorial abuse begins to fester whether correct or not.

If, in fact, there is no mechanism for the BOD to take rapid votes on issues and reach collective decisions, the Board should look into the mechanics of making this a part of the organization’s operational policy at their earliest opportunity. This is regularly achieved in both corporate and government agency arenas and I am sure it can be achieved by the IPS.

The second part of this suggestion is that the Board have an official spokesperson to communicate these decisions to the membership. Having various directors putting forth bits and pieces of the picture that they are familiar with creates more opportunity for confusion. In all of the issues I have followed recently, at no time was there a sense of the official position being communicated until major battle lines had been drawn. Even then, the official communications seemed to be more about putting out fires that could have been avoided with a functioning communication system already in place.

Finally, my experience with a multitude of organizations has been that any changes to By-Laws, rules, policies or procedures that impact the membership, of necessity are considered and voted on by the entire Board before implementation. In not being personally involved with the inner workings of the IPS board, I do not know if this is the policy, but again the perception is that this is not happening.

Please know that my observations and suggestions are offered with the deepest respect for the difficult job every Board has in attempting to provide direction for the organization and neither endorses nor disputes the many well thought out positions of the Members who have posted their opinions on these issues. I hope we would all rather find a solution to this circumstance than continue a perpetual status of eruptive debate.

Michael

[PALM MOD]

Mike - I couldn't have said it any better myself.

I believe the "official spokesman" is already in the works. As to conducting business and voting away from annual BOD meetings - that will be a challenge - but as you said, it should be perfectly doable in today's world.

[Kim]

The "official spokesman" should be the President, who has direct knowledge of all IPS workings. For the very reasons Mike describes, at this point in time, anyone else may be perceived as a puppet.

[joe_OC]

Mike & Kim,

I agree with everything you both said. At this point in time, the IPS President needs to be the "official spokesperson" to provide the direction of the IPS.

[doranakandawatta]

issue of transparency. Whenever there is a perception that everything is not being revealed or intentionally concealed, the membership is predictably alarmed

this is the issue: PM's story and nomination of candidates are two illustrations of the behavior many of us don't like.

Not only we need informations but also we need to feel we are listened to, when so many Palmtalk members are telling either what they wish or how they want to leave IPS...

[Leland Lai]

In 2012, I delegated the main programs and resultant actions/proposals to 12 commmittee chairs who within each group would first agree what the best viable program would be, cost it out, spell out the features and benefits, and whether this could become a longer term profit center. This would accomplish several things:

1) Move the discussions down to a level where all participants on that Committee had a common interest for resolution of a perceived problem,

2) Could interact with members on PT or other, to get input,

3) and bring forth not just the problem but the solution This was predominantly missing in the most previous administrations.

4) For my involvement, I was cc'c in on all of the Committee's activities but did not moderate until they came up with options and solutions, Otherwise, nothing would be accomplished even in a year scope to get it done.

Must of this is in transition and it all won't get done before this election is closed. If the problem had existed all along, then I would think each past President should have done more, not just criticizing the process during the next election when you can always vent what is wrong to the next President.

5) THe Board spokesperson, will be close to the description that Michael mentions. Mike, would you like to be a volunteer to help structure the program since you seem to be more familiar with PT, and what would make for better improvements. We are all just lacking time and most all of the useful suggestions that came in on PT seems to have one fault and that is load the suggestions upon an already overloaded Board.

Joe Pui made a suggestion and that is if the by-laws state that we can remove directors who don't do there job, why don't you? Like Bo says, very infrequently does this happen since it would be an internal challenge for the Board to determine if some input was received but so very little as not to matter, non-attendance of meetings, non-response of email proposals, and the list goes on, the any such move probably will get perceived by PT as another horrendous round of posts which you are going to expect Board response. We are neglecting more critical issues at the moment since most all members may not be retired, traveling or have family priorities in front of work and IPS. Not a perfect world but Michael we can use all the help if it is committal and sincere. Ciindy Adair did trainingg under this protocol for a year and is now up as a director candidate. That year has at least introduced her to how some of committees work and function, role, and interface with the rest of the IPS Board.

Best,

Leland

[_Keith]

Leland,

Just last week the Nominating Committee felt Board Meeting attendance was so critical that one could not even be nominated, much less serve without a commitment to attend Board Meetings at individual time and expense to global destinations. This, after much membership scrutiny, was only changed to "essential", which has essentially the same meaning, so to speak. Perhaps it is just me, but I am finding some difficulty correlating that with the statements in your last paragraph, particularly "non-attendance of meetings." I know that you did not set out to write a thesis, so perhaps the nuances were missed.

My personal recommendation would be to change the wording "essential' to "desirable." There are many ways for board members to participate and add value that have nothing to do with physically attending a meeting. As you said, the boots on the ground work is done by committees, who must interact continuously on an electronic basis. Board votes can always be taken electronically on most items. I do not dispute that there are times when a physical meeting is valuable, and from a bonding standpoint, desired. But, I do think that should not be a requirement.

I make these comments in the hopes that future board selections are made based on value added, not on ability and/or desire to travel the globe to attend an annual meeting.

[O'o Bar Master]

5) THe Board spokesperson, will be close to the description that Michael mentions. Mike, would you like to be a volunteer to help structure the program since you seem to be more familiar with PT, and what would make for better improvements. We are all just lacking time and most all of the useful suggestions that came in on PT seems to have one fault and that is load the suggestions upon an already overloaded Board.

Best,

Leland

Leland,

I would be happy to contribute whatever I can to help build the IPS community into the most cohesive organization possible.

Mike

[Dr. George]

A common problem with volunteer organizations occurs when very well intentioned and capable individuals spend time and energy toward accomplishing a valuable objective without a full awareness or understanding of the organization's governing documents. If those well intended and often very needed efforts are then found to collide with the governing documents, the resulting conflict over the authority and process generally over shadows the merits of the objective and may even deflate the enthusiasm of those who are trying to make a valuable contribution.

I would encourage the Nominating Committee's and the Board's inclusion of reading and having a working knowledge of the By-laws as one of the responsibilities of Board members.

gmp

[LJG]

5) THe Board spokesperson, will be close to the description that Michael mentions. Mike, would you like to be a volunteer to help structure the program since you seem to be more familiar with PT, and what would make for better improvements. We are all just lacking time and most all of the useful suggestions that came in on PT seems to have one fault and that is load the suggestions upon an already overloaded Board.

Best,

Leland

Leland,

I would be happy to contribute whatever I can to help build the IPS community into the most cohesive organization possible.

Mike

Great work Mike! Why don't you run for a Board spot? A level headed guy that is actually concerned about fixing issues and moving the IPS forward is what is needed. Plus your Avatar tells me you will actually do something if on the Board besides spending all day on PT.

[Cindy Adair]

A common problem with volunteer organizations occurs when very well intentioned and capable individuals spend time and energy toward accomplishing a valuable objective without a full awareness or understanding of the organization's governing documents. If those well intended and often very needed efforts are then found to collide with the governing documents, the resulting conflict over the authority and process generally over shadows the merits of the objective and may even deflate the enthusiasm of those who are trying to make a valuable contribution.

I would encourage the Nominating Committee's and the Board's inclusion of reading and having a working knowledge of the By-laws as one of the responsibilities of Board members.

gmp

Totally reasonable and logical.

[Mandrew968]

It seems to me that the IPS is being stubborn about their general meetings in far off places. I feel there are many people who could offer a lot to the IPS besides attending a meeting/exotic vacation that may or may not be tax deductable. Like has been previously mentioned, businesses and various agencies have gotten past this by practical means(video conferences, committee work...). To mandate an extravegant trip to some far off destination to hold one day's meetings sounds like an exclusive club rather than an inclusive non-profit organization. I also hear all too often how busy everyone is--people make time for what they deem important; Maybe if the IPS is not so important, one should not run for a seat on the Board? Also, responding to emails is not extremely difficult--who doesn't have a smart phone? I get emails instantly delivered to my phone--there is no reason why I cannot reply to an email within 12 hours. As much as everyone loves palms, here on Palmtalk, most of us see the IPS as the big fish. A general respect of all things IPS is expressed by most. What I would expect of a potential board member is sincerity, good ideas, a good portion of their time devoted to important committee actions/IPS decisions and an effort to reach out to the members that they serve--this means replying to various emails and some form of palm advocacy(which PALMTALK is a powerful tool for--not forking up 4K to attend a meeting. That's like saying you can't do any good if you don't go to church--plenty of people do good things without entering a certain building. This mandatory attendance thing seems to be hurting image of the IPS...

[Toby]

Some good points, but to get 30+ people set up for video conferencing may sound a lot easier than it actually is and I have a hard time imagining we could all lead a sensible conversation this way. Perhaps that will work for 4-8 people, hardly for more. It may be interesting to look into adding a video conference into a board meeting to let members attend that can not physically be present, however.

BTW, we are the International Palm Society. Many board members come from countries other than the US. How do we fit them into a video conference? Have you considered time zones? Some of the places that are exotic for you are actually some board members home country! I think the figure of 4K for a board meeting was vastly exaggerated, the recent meeting in Peru for instance was way below the cost of a typical biennial, flight included (from the mainland US or Europe).

I do believe the IPS needs to break up this slightly rigid structure of involvement and participation in the societies affairs. One of the means to do that is certainly Palmtalk, but please be aware that still most of our members do not participate here. It will be a process that takes some time. I do agree that we need to find ways for all members to get involved and make decisions, hopefully with new website/Palmtalk developments underway we will be a lot more interactive in future.

Best, TOBY

[Mandrew968]

^{Some good points, but to get 30+ people set up for video conferencing may sound a lot easier than it actually is and I have a hard time imagining we could all lead a sensible conversation this way. Perhaps that will work for 4-8 people, hardly for more. It may be interesting to look into adding a video conference into a board meeting to let members attend that can not physically be present, however.}

^{BTW, we are the International Palm Society. Many board members come from countries other than the US. How do we fit them into a video conference? Have you considered time zones? Some of the places that are exotic for you are actually some board members home country! I think the figure of 4K for a board meeting was vastly exaggerated, the recent meeting in Peru for instance was way below the cost of a typical biennial, flight included (from the mainland US or Europe).}

^{I do believe the IPS needs to break up this slightly rigid structure of involvement and participation in the societies affairs. One of the means to do that is certainly Palmtalk, but please be aware that still most of our members do not participate here. It will be a process that takes some time. I do agree that we need to find ways for all members to get involved and make decisions, hopefully with new website/Palmtalk developments underway we will be a lot more interactive in future.}

^{Best, TOBY}

Toby, thank you for responding to Palmtalk's concerns and ideas--your contribution enriches the forum.

Yes, I have considered that many people live in different time zones; this is why video conferences should not be the majority of communication. Emails will no doubt be the bulk of communication. Once specific committees are set up, those specific groups can work together via emails and video conference/phones. Yes, some people will have to work with certain people in the dead of night, but this burden can be shared amongst board members so that the least ammount of sleep is lost--all this is just details but it comes down to a willingness to accept a great responsibility, prioritize, organize and get the jobs done. Yes being a director is a big responsibility, but it is a great privilege to be at the helm of such a great organization that is global and quite sophisticated. One day I hope to be on the IPS Board and donate my time and efforts into such a worthy cause...

An Idea: Maybe there are certain things to which the Board can come to members of Palmtalk, to ask for assistance, in order to make their jobs easier/IPS run more smoothly? An example might be to start a thread asking for possible local volunteers during the Biennials--volunteers can be some of the best help and they are almost always within the budget. I am sure there are more aspects that the members of Palmtalk could help out with... Toby, thanks again for your input.

[PALM MOD]

The PalmTalk Committee carries out it's numerous discussions using the PM Conversation feature here on PT. The advantages over email include the ability to add people as necessary, to see who has read what and when, ability to edit/correct, and it is all preserved and neatly archived if there is ever a need for review, etc. In addition, the polling feature could be used for any voting as necessary.

Where better to hold discussions than on software specifically designed for discussions?

[PALM MOD]

The PalmTalk Committee carries out it's numerous discussions using the PM Conversation feature here on PT. The advantages over email include the ability to add people as necessary, to see who has read what and when, ability to edit/correct, and it is all preserved and neatly archived if there is ever a need for review, etc. In addition, the polling feature could be used for any voting as necessary.

Where better to hold discussions than on software specifically designed for discussions?

[Toby]

I guess most of the committee and board communication happens vie e-mail, which at least in my very busy in-box regularly ends up as a huge tangled mess of replies and multiple threads of discussions, so not the ideal tool for the task. I have to say I have not used the PM feature much but sure hope we find an adequate replacement.

Best, TOBY

[cycadjungle]

I have been a member of two different plant society boards that communicated and voted on topics all during the year between the formal board meetings by using a private yahoo group. All conversations, files, and photos are archived forever and if you want to look to see who said what and why a bylaw was made in the first place you can see what took place as it was happening, even if that was 14 years ago. I think having this kind of tool helps the board and the society in all kinds of ways. With this kind of tool, things are getting done without a need for conference calls and skypes. Just being able to have and finalize votes all during the year makes the board productive all during the year. Tom