Killing old/slow groups - transition thinking

[Natale, Robert C (Bob)]

Hi,

Concerning Randy's comments of Tue, 10 Dec 2002 06:34:42 -0800:
rb> i prefer to hear about the desired goal(s). given the voices which
rb> seem to be saying they resent the iesg taking too strong a hand
rb> (yes, there are voices in the other direction too), what do you
rb> mean by "actively lead and manage the ietf?"

I share the view that our leadership (IAB, IESG, and WG Chairs)
should "take a stronger hand", but with the emphasis on *leading*
versus *managing*.  Naturally, both are required...I am talking
about where the emphasis needs to go.  MBL:  Management by Leadership.

Packing on the management details w/o predicating them on strong
leadership results in some very undesirable states.

Strong leadership here refers to things like compelling vision,
architectural principles, design guidelines, and implementation
roadmaps, and cultural values enforced a priori to the extent
feasible and a posteriori when necessary for the inevitable cases
that will slip through.

Also, I am most definitely not suggesting any criticism of the
current body of people in the IETF leadership.  While some people
might have quarrels/complaints with a particular individual on a
particular matter, on the whole the group's performance in context
is outstanding.  It's the context that's flawed...it suffers from
the results of continuous analytical decomposition (an interesting
by-product of democratic fragmentation and expert specialization)
which can best be corrected by a new crop of synthesis and synergy
nurtured by stronger leadership (as defined above).

Cheers,

BobN