It's been an interesting week on social media sites i participate on. Given the general manager's sudden departure, the board meeting that was so disjointed and some hot takes between members of the Facebook page i help with as an administrator. i found myself struggling to stay grounded. Then i did. Back in the day, i thrived on chaos. It fueled me, pushed me to do more, work harder and solve every problem. Not so much these days. As i wrote last night on FB Sun City Chat AZ, i've become more pragmatic. I've become less confrontational. I believe we all have to do our part to make our place in the valley of the sun (Sun City), a better place to live. In spite of my often spouted opinions, i've never claimed i was right. I have long touted the importance of asking those of us with skin in the game what the answer was. It used to be the members of the local union i was president of. They told me, quickly and loudly when i was headed in the wrong direction. That was a good thing because i understood the value/importance of listening to them. It's why when we moved to Sun City in 2003 i was so impressed. It's why when i became a student of our (Sun City's) history, i was enamored. They had built an entire community around the simple concept of "leading from the bottom." We were truly unique. John Meeker was pure genius, but he always understood our only hope to survive was if those living here took ownership of the process and became accountable and responsible for our success. Based on his efforts to subtly push incorporation, i have often told my friend Ben Roloff, even John wasn't convinced we could survive without becoming a city. The very idea those living here would embrace such a foreign concept was beyond lots of folks grasp. In reality, those moving into Sun City loved the idea they were the owners and it was up to them to make it work. They liked being different. In an exchange on the Sun City Advocates blog with former board member Rich Hoffer, i broke down the past 15 plus years in a way that made sense to me. Before i go there, i like Rich. We disagree on some stuff and agree on others. The easiest to identify is the general manager being gone (but that's another story). To Rich's credit, he said he was the wrong man for the job. Spot on brother. The point i made to him was this: Understanding that historically we had been created by "leading from the bottom," i was terrified to watch the newly hired GM (in 2006) evolve after her first three years (once the entire board who hired her were gone), begin to make her mark. She was really good at what she did. Really good. Board members were eating out of her hand. She offered them less work and willingly took on responsibilities previously done by board members. The board secretary became an employee working for the GM that provided every answer to the board on every issue she presented. It wasn't anything most would be concerned by. She was highly qualified, paid better than any previous GM, and she was well liked. Did i mention? She was highly likeable. She truly is a nice person. The problem for me was that i came from a world where leadership was ingrained in the fabric of the organizational structure around the concept of "leading from the top." It was how unions had evolved; the handful of us that were different called them the "business union model." Those at the top dictated what those at the bottom (the membership) would do. When we moved here, i vowed i would not get involved with the RCSC as a board member. I know my personality type better than most (4 whacks at Meyer's Brigg's Personality Profiling didn't leave any room for doubt) and i knew sitting in that board room would be problematic for me. Sadly, as i watched her dismantle 50 years of amazing history, i felt i had little choice and in 2011, ran for the RCSC board. Those next three years were a disaster for me. Watching from the outside was one thing, seeing it up close and personal ripped me apart. I was frustrated as i watched fellow board members being more concerned about making their 1 pm tee time than the direction the community was headed in. When i left i freely admitted i failed...miserably. In part, it was on me, i was simply too caustic. The evolution of the RCSC continued after i left and what anyone who has been involved with leadership and organizational structure understands, once the drift starts, it keeps getting farther afield. Let me be clear, there was nothing insidious about what was being done. The problem was that as we pushed the members away, as we labeled them all card holders, they simply became the folks who paid the bills. I stopped attending meetings for quite a while. Sitting in the cavernous Sun Dial auditorium with 2o members and far more RCSC employees and board members (usually around 30) was depressing. Reading stuff by board presidents who argued there was no need for actually reaching membership meeting quorums spoke volumes to me. We simply didn't care what the membership thought or said. The RCSC had evolved to the highest order of "top down leadership." They could do no wrong, even when they did. As i said to Rich in his comments to me that no one owns the RCSC; when no one owns us, no one is held responsible or accountable. It's like the difference between a renter and an owner of a home (no offense to renters), but generally speaking those owning something take better care of it than those renting. His rebuttal was sure we still were all supposed to be responsible; board, staff and members. The problem obviously came when committees were disbanded. They came when the memberships rights were stripped from the documents. They came when we told them Sun City was no longer the "City of Volunteers" and now had become "The Original Fun City." And then it got worse because we were told we were no longer the member/owners, but "card holders." Was it any wonder they stayed away? He lamented on the lack of interest by the membership, but i can tell you every organization builds interest through their actions...and conversely through their inaction. The RCSC went through a very long period of pushing the members away, rather than drawing them in. As my good friend Ben has told me time and time again, "set goals and then set a plan in motion to accomplish them." Good outcomes don't happen by accident. They simply don't. There's more, but for now, Sun City is back on solid footings. It's far from perfect with lots of missteps and starts. It will be a long slow arduous process and frankly we will struggle until we find a way to make the "member/owners" become responsible and accountable for our future.
Bill, not trying to step all over your thread, but I wanted to interject a few notes of my own about the years spent on the board. You and I have the shared experience of wanting to have more for the community. Of knowing what could be done to move forward with so many great ideas for the members and RCSC itself. Of having ideals set with a focus of inviting the members to become involved with the day to day direction of Sun City. Of seeing opportunities right across the street from the boardroom as the next great acquisition for the benefit of the community. You regularly beat yourself up for not accomplishing more, for not being able to achieve your goals and desired outcomes. The truth is, you never stood a chance to be heard. No one was paying attention, no matter how boisterous the conversations were, as there was a singular focus at play, and it did not include anything remotely designed to be oreinted towards the membership or anything that could have even been construed as being in the best interest of the members or the RCSC. The focus was driven by a single person with specific focus in mind, and the focus was clearly driven by ego and and the need to be in control. In other words, you never stood a chance of bringing forth the plethora of communitys you had for the community. You had no chance of moving anything forward in the environment in which you were a director as the cards and the outcomes were predetermined, and neither you nor I were invited or included in those decisions that drove the outcomes. So, pardon my dropping in, uninvited. I just needed to remind you that you stayed the path, always kept the truth at the forefront, and I for one, am glad to have had the ability to watch a true customer focused leader make every effort to bring a light into the room of darkness that is the RCSC boardroom.
You're certainly not stepping on anything C. We simply were in a position we had virtually no chance at changing. I knew full well when i ran it was an uphill battle and i misread the board and the idea they would be interested in restoring the values and tenets we were built on and around. Sun City's success was always ingrained in the members involvement. The decision to hire a GM and give her absolute control was one made as the greatest generation was turning over the community to the baby boomers. I know from talking with board members who were there when she was hired, they knew the potential of dramatic changes. They kept a tight reign on her for the first couple of years but by the third year, they were gone. I've written it often; the Faustian bargain was too good to pass up; lees work by them, more responsibilities and duties taken on by management. I get it as i said she was being paid a good salary, was clearly competent in her job and was well liked. What could wrong? Therein is the problem; when oversight goes away and you can just do what you want, what you think is right, you best be spot on, perfect in your assessment and direction. Clearly she wasn't and to my point, we should never have expected her to be. Nobody is, which we all should have learned from Sun City's amazing history. The smartest people in the world are wrong...think not? Ask Elon. No money for technology, too much money for golf, no vision for the more cerebral stuff (continuing education and other like-minded events for our elder population), disregard for investing in the needs of the community and simply building large carry-forward funds are all part of where we are today. The problem is, it always catches up with you. Ignoring stuff and hoping it goes away never works. It's folly and we got there because board's refused to challenge the GM or hold her accountable. At the very least we should have been questioning decisions but even that was minimal if at all. That's what top down leadership does. They solidify their positions and create a vacuum where their actions simply can't be questioned. I lived it during all my years involved in organized labor and it was devastating to watch as we became virtually meaningless to working men and women. The good news is, organizations survive either way; the bad news is their ability to impact those they are there for slips into obscurity. It's one of the reasons i have been paying such close attention to Sun City West. They have evolved and are continuing to do so. They hired a new GM before the pandemic and he came in to a challenging situation. There were issues with their IRS tax liabilities and he couldn't ignore it. He pissed some folks off with the changes, but they had to be made. Every step of the way he communicated openly and bluntly why the changes were done. Diffusing anger is fairly easy when you are open, honest and realistic. Had he just wrapped his arms around himself and smugly said dumb things, he too would be gone. What's even more interesting is how aggressive the Sun City West has become with increasing fees. I see they are proposing $5000 dollars for their point sale fee (like our PIF) and they have taken a significant hike in their rec fees. They still bill single owners a single fee. Somehow they manage that while we argue we couldn't begin to balance our budgets without per property fees. The challenge for us is if we take a large lot assessment increase, those single owners get clobbered with a huge fee increase. No, i don't know the answer, but i do know it's a problem. Realistically we are going to have to get past being the cheapest community on the planet and start recognizing costs are going up...on everything.
