 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group CPU (Club President's Report) Charles Wright charles@melbpc.org.au |
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The executive is preparing to begin interviewing candidates for the position of Chief Executive. The appointment will mark a new era for this club, and it's important that we consider the implications.
Few of us have any doubt that our continuing dramatic growth has placed impossible pressures on our voluntary structure. We have now reached 11,000 members, more than five times the total when I first became involved with the group, and the range, demand for and additional load in delivering our services have grown many times more than that. Anyone who has observed how quickly we've moved from 10,000 members to 11,000 members realises the dimensions of the challenge that confronts that regrettably small number of dedicated people who've made all this possible.
I know there's an irascible handful of back-seat drivers in this club with alternative views of the laws of cause and effect, who think that we ought to cope with our present structure, and have taken to expressing their genius by abusing the office staff - an activity I'd seriously caution them against - but most people have no difficulty at all understanding what is, after all, a simple equation.
Unless we want the whole thing to collapse, we must have a full-time professional staff to take responsibility for the implementation of policy, the exploration of new opportunities and revenue sources, and the continued delivery of and improvement in the range of club services.
But however necessary that might be, it is inevitable that some of us will find the actual transfer of power - and at many levels this move involves a transfer of power - at times difficult, if not painful. The first step in minimising that pain is to anticipate it, and prepare from the outset to deal with it.
Many of us have grown used to the status quo. We might be aware of the inefficiencies and the consequent cost to our corporate state of health and future well-being, but they're familiar and in their own way, comforting.
Many things we've taken for granted are about to change. Although the Chief Executive will report directly to the President, I, like the rest of our volunteers, will find myself having to liaise with someone who has an entirely different background and timetable. That's going to require adjustments on both sides. All of us will have to work hard to lubricate the cogs, and keep our lines of communication open.
Even without the new professional agenda, I've seen instances inside our club and in the corporate world, where long-term senior staff and volunteers have been reluctant to share power with new people. It's human nature, after all, to maintain the status quo, and even while invoking the rhetoric of change, they frequently work, perhaps unconsciously, to frustrate it. The inevitable result is that newcomers become frustrated, the atmosphere is contaminated, and the club loses.
I've made it clear since my return to office, that I believe the future viability of this organisation can only be ensured if we establish efficient teams in every area of the club's activities, abandon the one-man-band mentality, and share the load and those warm feelings of achievement that come from achieving our aims.
In some cases - the communications and marketing areas are shining examples - we've been successful in fostering that transition. In others we've so far been less successful. A Chief Executive is going to hasten that process. If we work together, we will achieve immense benefits for the club, its members, and the community at large. Please keep that in mind.
Most of the members of this group have learned over the years that when we promise to do something, we work very hard to deliver. Sometimes it takes time, but we do get there. We have close to 2000 members who've had sufficient faith in our promises of an outstanding Internet service to sign up for the new year.
We've been saying for the past couple of months that we'd install 30 new lines, and double the bandwidth to 256 kilobits. The fact that we have not yet been able to do that has not been due to any shortcomings on our part. We've been waiting for our provider to shift premises and accommodate our equipment - a process that we understand is generally fraught with unexpected difficulties.
We know they've worked hard to keep us informed and to accelerate the procedure, but our responsibilities to members mean we're simply not prepared to wait any longer. We will maintain our service at Albert Rd. We have already placed an order to install double that bandwidth. With 512 kilobits per second of bandwidth, we will be able to re-examine the limits we've placed on our service, so be prepared for even more than we undertook to deliver. We have the modems and the lines available, and as soon as the bandwidth is installed, members will begin to enjoy what we promised would be the best value-for-money service available. As we require more modems and bandwidth, you have my assurance that we will add them.
We anticipate the upgrade will be in action either by mid-July. We think we can depend on Telstra to move as quickly as possible to provide the Fastway connection that will enable us to deliver this service, and to quickly increase bandwidth as we need it, up to a potential 4 megabits. For those who have had faith in this group's determination to deliver, and the patience to endure the delays, a sincere thank you. You deserve the rewards.
You will know about the efforts we've been making to do something about the declining advertising in PC Update, and the consequent drain on our funds. That required us to establish a marketing sub-committee, appoint a new agency, and develop a membership survey. We got most (but still not all) of that in place only a couple of weeks before the deadline for this magazine, but even so, the new team managed to double the advertising in this issue, and we can expect even better returns in future.
None of that would have happened without the efforts of Michael Douman, who has brought a high degree of professional and management experience to the committee. Unfortunately, Michael has just accepted a new position in Brisbane, and we have lost his services. The results of his work will continue to benefit this group for years to come. He leaves us with our thanks, and considerable regret. John Lawrence, who has also been a major force on the marketing subcommittee, will join the committee. You can expect further progress.
Reprinted from the June 1996 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
