"Richard and fellow readers of this blog, I am a long time reader, and it dawned on me that this is probably a tough time for you, Richard because the problems at JFNA are indeed plentiful, as you have articulated so well over the years.Friends, no one welcomes Eric Fingerhut's service as JFNA's CEO and President more than I. He will be the breath of fresh air that JFNA, the federations and donors have needed for a long, long time..for way too long.
Jerry Silverman's performance notwithstanding, I think you need to tone it down a bit while Eric Fingerhut is getting his feet wet.
Give him a chance to get a sense of the organization that he was hired to fix.
Allow him 6 months to acquire some intel on his own.
See if he reaches out to people that don't work at 25 Broadway; who knows, he may even reach out to you.
My point is, give Eric a fighting chance, and then challenge him appropriately.
You might even start by making a list of observations and send it to him, as a prologue to a face to face meeting."
Eric's many accomplishments culminating in his successful reconstruction of Hillel are well known. There is an absolute need for all of his skills as he enters 25 Broadway at its lowest point.
When Jerry was hired, I confess I had little optimism; nonetheless, I declared a self-imposed hiatus returning to these pages when it quickly became evident that a bad, bad mistake had been made. (Even before Silverman took office, he went on a "listening tour," visiting federations. In Chicago, we discussed the role of federation in our community, the values we shared and it was obvious Jerry hadn't a clue what we were talking about. In a private session with a small group of us, we responded to a question Silverman posed, by recommending he immediately hire a COO with broad federation experience. Jerry's response: "I think I'd like to wait." He waited...and waited...and waited. Ultimately, a COO hire was imposed on him. Too little and too late. We knew we were in trouble.)
So, as my FOB suggested, I am calling a time out on this Blog as it pertains to JFNA. I hope to G-d it's permanent.
I want so badly to write of JFNA's successes. And, those I will.
Rwexler
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2 comments:
Fine to give the new guy a chance but I'm afraid that the organization is so damaged that there is no way that he can save it.
After killing UJA and UIA, all that is left is an inflated and overstaffed trade organization whose budget should be about 15% of what it currently is.
I'm afraid that the clock cannot be turned back and that the only way to go now is to recreate an organization that can replace the mission that should be JFNA's but evidently cannot be anymore.
It's all about the MISSION and there is none of that left at JFNA.
The challenges and opportunities we face go so beyond personalities and organizational dynamics. Use your smartly conceived hiatus,and your insights,gained from experience and acquired wisdom,to identify where and how collective Jewish action can make a positive difference. Think big and ignore the smallness of others.Your readers might be well advised to do the same.
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