Tuesday, May 8, 2018

SOONER OR LATER

OK, friends, if I haven't been clear to date, after 9+ years of this Blog, let's talk some tachlis. History asks: "Which side were you on?" Were you a silent bystander to the debacle that JFNA is now and has been for years and years? Were you an active participant in support of the debacle? Or, were you for lack of a better term, part of the "resistance?" At one and the same time, we can see change in Jerry's retirement letter and understand that the same leadership who tolerated the lack of purpose or achievement finally screamed "ENOUGH" and it is they, whomever they are who joined the Board Chair in this change proces, whom I congratulate today.

This same JFNA leadership -- and you know exactly whom you are -- this leadership once sensed itself  so entrenched as to be immobile; unable and (NB, not "or," "and") unwilling not just to change themselves but to inspire positive change in others. They appeared to be frozen in amber. They were the masters of lese-majeste. And, yet, they, in the past weeks, months, they changed all of these descriptive phrases to past tensemonths, have seen a light...and have acted in a manner that can transformationally change JFNA and the system..

So, who will perform effect change going forward for JFNA? For a decade at least, I was certain that it wouldn't be the folks in power, for they appeared by inaction to have washed their hands of their responsibilities to the organization even while they were charged to lead it. These are the men and women who I thought vewed JFNA through a Panglossian prism that so distorted daily failures as to make them appear successes. And, yet, now, they have taken the reins and they have done something I thought would never happen.

Friends, all of you who read these things know that I have been unable to discern a guiding sense of purpose at 25 Broadway for almost a decade. Any sense of purpose? Anything at all? Now, though I don't know all who were responsible for change but change is happening...and, given my age and infirmities, I just wanted and want it to happen more quickly.

Richard Sandler...oh me, Richard Sandler...wrongly assumed from the jump that the strengths as he saw them that delivered his successful Federation Chairmanship in Los Angeles (where he had worked in partnership with a CEO dedicated to change with the strength to deliver it), would surely transfer 3,000 miles away to 25 Broadway where he assumed that Jerry Silverman was or would be a strong CEO and, it appeared from my distance from the decision-makers that Richard refused to believe that he was wrong. Both before and after a personal visit with Richard at his LA offices before he began his terms I felt, as I was told by those who knew him well, that Richard "did not and would not suffer fools," in fact, he did...and, now, he no longer does. Inasmuch as I know that the change that is occurring at 25 Broadway wouldn't have happened with the Board Chair, my normal question would be: "what took you so long?" is now "Thank you." 

 I sense that as it's Richard's name that has appeared on the transmittal of the so-called JFNA Mid-Year and Year-End Progress Reports (more new oxymoronic titles), he grew to realize, he grew to understand that they reported failure after failure. And, he decided to act.

From your Comments it is evident that amcha caught on and amcha was fed up. The realist in me senses that the action taken to date is not revolution. Whether it will be enough is on you, it is on us to assure.

It's time for those who could influence change at JFNA to answer the question with which I began this Post: "Which side were you on?" The forces for change are aligning. We can all be on the side of real change.

We are at the very beginning of something that could be/must be transformational; the end is not yet in sight. That light I see at the end of the tunnel may be the sun...or it may be a train coming at us. Let us hope for real change...and all of us need work to assure it happens.

Rwexler

15 comments:

  1. Richard, I hope that your observations are correct.
    However, I believe that the JFNA leadership cannot do this alone as evidenced by their inaction for the past number of years of ignoring what is in plain sight.
    Therefore I hope that JFNA will consider, and I know this will pain you, bringing in a talented consultant to steward them through this all important process so that a Kathy Manning situation doesn't occur again.
    We need an objective professional to help make this happen.
    And I would further suggest that it be someone who has never consulted with JFNA in the past.

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  2. Yes, better late than never and yes, thank you. But why a whole year and a half at a direct cost of one and a half million Dollars - not to mention the indirect cost of letting this continue for another 18 months before there is even a chance of fixing what is so very broken? If the realization is finally here, how can doing nothing for such a long time and allowing this to continue be justified? When the leadership was in denial or didn't realize that things were so bad it was easier to accept the situation than it is now to let it slide for another year and a half!

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  3. Now the biggest danger is that leadership will blow the chance to make things right and will simply replace the top professional with another. The problem starts there but goes much deeper and cannot be fixed without digging a lot deeper and revamping the whole organization and organizational culture.

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  4. You wrote about Sandler: "...that delivered his successful Federation Chairmanship in Los Angeles (where he had worked in partnership with a CEO dedicated to change with the strength to deliver it)..."

    You gotta be kidding.

    The LA Federation has all but disappeared from the community leadership role it once had.

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  5. 11:01am If you live in a hole everything looks dark!

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  6. I've been connected to Federations through my work as a Head of School at several Jewish day schools. Over the years I've read task force reports on the many dysfunctions in Jewish organization life: boards, CEO's, HR departments, lack of strategic vision and planning, etc. In my humble opinion, the professionals in the day school world have something to teach Federations. The largest program fees in the Jewish world (day school tuition), and the highest risk programming (a child's education) are found in organizations that mostly fly under the radar due to their size. There is no Jewish organization as mission/vision focused, using quantifiable metrics, as a day school. Wouldn't it be interesting to involve day school professionals in the deliberations of the Federation world?

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  7. Dear Anonymous 1:59.

    I certainly do not live in a hole. I'm sorry that your response was a personal attack. I guess that is what you do when you have nothing to say.

    Richard, I thought that you were going to reject anonymous personal attacks.

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  8. To Anon. 11:01 - I am not going t print your response to the Anonymous Commentator who responded to you. This nasty dialogue appeared to me to have started with you and it will now end. 9And, as you know, somehow your response ended up being directed at me, of course, as it should.) I apologize to both of you foropening this small Pandora's Box.

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  9. Yes, let’s look at the Jewish day school model with its underpaid teachers, massively subsidized and inefficient budgets, and woefully unskilled managers and administrators. Perhaps they could teach federations something? Let’s contemplate that for a while. Perhaps it would be in how to claim relevance with a shrinking market share. Wouldn’t it indeed be fascinating to involve day school professionals in the deliberations of the federations? Except, of course, that they already can if they wanted to. It’s called community involvement.

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  10. Sorry, but I can't let the snark of that last comment go by. A RESPONSE TO: Yes, let’s look at the Jewish day school model with its…

    Underpaid teachers: BECAUSE SALARIES ARE PAID FOR – IN PART - BY CUSTOMERS PAYING REAL MONEY FOR TUITION (UNLIKE FEDERATION STAFF WHOSE SALARIES COME FROM DONATIONS),

    Massively subsidized and inefficient budgets: AREN’T FEDERATIONS MASSIVELY SUBSIDIZED BY DONATIONS?

    Woefully unskilled managers and administrators: NOT SURE WHERE YOU’RE LOOKING, BUT THE GOOD ADMINISTRATORS I KNOW HAVE YEARS AND YEARS OF TRAINING IN THE ACTUAL FIELD THEY ARE WORKING IN.

    How to claim relevance with a shrinking market share: IS AN AGENCY THAT PROVIDES A SERVICE THE ONLY PARTNER IN CREATING NEED? WHAT DO FEDERATIONS DO TO STRENGTHEN THE COMMITTED CORE, AS OPPOSED TO JEWS ON THE MARGIN?

    To involve day school professionals…they already can if they wanted to. It’s called community involvement: CAN YOU LIST NAMES OF DAY SCHOOL PROFESSIONALS THAT HELP WITH ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT DESIGN IN FEDERATIONS (EVEN ON A COMMITTEE)? ON THE OTHER HAND, PLENTY OF DAY SCHOOLS LEAN ON EXPERTS FROM OTHER FIELDS TO IMPROVE THEIR ORGANIZATIONS. SEEMS LIKE THE LEADING EDGE AND OTHER REPORTS SHOW REALLY POOR HR PERFORMANCE AND LACK OF LEADERSHIP TRAINING IN THE FEDERATION WORLD...

    Okay, I feel better!

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  11. Anon at 1:37 has the last word on Day Schools as "models" for federations. I will not accept any more Comments on the suggestion. I am not persuadd that Day Schools in their current condition offer a model for the recreation of the community organization.

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  12. Wasn't saying day schools are the model for Federations. Rather, that day school professionals have a skill set that may be of help to Federation people as they move forward. After all, schools are all about balancing a "product" with the inevitability of change.

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  13. Anon who is obsessed with the good that Day Schools do -- please reread my closure of the Day School topic above. I really meant it

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  14. Wait, there is some synergy between the Day Schools and Federations as articulated by Jerry Silverman and Michael Siegel in their continental commitment to provide free pre-school education to each and every Jewish youngster.
    The dueling anons are looking at the glass as being half empty.

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  15. fyi: your friend Kathy Manning: https://www.jta.org/2018/05/09/news-opinion/politics/democratic-primary-winner-north-carolina-former-head-jewish-federations-movement

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