NOT! Sorry, it's what writers often call clickbait; using a header that is far removed from the article simply to suck one into opening it and reading whatever the story is. My bad, but this topic is worth reading all the way through. If we are ever to fix the problems we face locally, we are going to have to break the mindset we are trapped in across our society. Way too many of us believe/think we are always right. Because we say or write something we immediately treat our words as the gospel according to whomever the author is. I always chuckle as i have written this often; the only one able to lay claim to being infallible is the Pope. And to be very clear, there are those who argue he doesn't have a clue. It's why our (Sun City's) history was so valuable as a teaching aid. The folks coming before us (Greatest Generation) were better able to adopt and embrace the ownership mentality. Don't get me wrong, they had some fierce battles but ultimately knew and understood the value of compromise. Even during the worst of times, their end game was a better collective Sun City. It was an easy translation for me as i spent my work life negotiating collective bargaining agreements. Many of my counterparts on the other side of the table were far older, and dare i say, far wiser. Our goal, most of the time, was to get a fair and reasonable settlement we could both live with and under. Finding mutually beneficial solutions through compromise was the norm. When we first moved here in 2003, i found the inner-workings of the community steeped in the concept of compromise. While everyone had ideas, the by-product was usually reached as the best points were discussed and acted on incorporating the membership and the committees suggestions they served on. There was a general manager and his/her function was oversight of the day-to-day operations. In 2006, a sea-change occurred as the new GM was given more latitude. By this time boomers were coming en-masse and the Community dynamic shifted. As years passed, she offered less board time commitments with greater leeway in how and what she did. She was very good in many aspects of her job and not so good in others. It mattered not because she took them all on. In 2011 i was horrified over direction and did something i said i wouldn't do; ran for the board. I had been there done that and had little interest going backward in my life. I only did it because i felt i could help restore that sense of community and ownership; i was dead wrong. By then the wheels were greased and the course was set. Carole Martinez and i were simply 2 no votes against the 7 board members believing the GM walked on water. They loved that fact she kept our fees so low. It became our calling card. We lived and loved showing how much more expensive everyone else was. It wasn't a fair comparison in many cases, most other age restricted communities charged singles half the rate. In Sun City we had singles subsidize couples. (No, i don't want to have the debate here). Worse than all that, was the promotion of being the "Fun City," not the "City of Volunteers." We actively promoted a lifestyle where members stayed home and the leadership solved every problem. It would have worked beautifully if indeed those making the decisions critical to our future were Pope-like, infallible. They weren't, nor should we have expected them to be. I don't even fault the GM for the power=grab, i fault myself and the other 50 or 60 elected board members who over the years allowed it to happen. There were two techniques used to facilitate it; a simple quid pro quo where she took the work off their backs and took it on herself and the old favorite used by so many leaders over the years, group think. She was masterful at both and with lot assessments staying so low, the applause on January 1 when there was a small increase, or none at all, was celebrated by all. It was a win/win/win as it appeared we all were getting the bargain of a lifetime. But, were we? Looking back, i would argue no. The challenge with ignoring glaring problems and pretending they are nothing is it all eventually comes back at and on you. It's exactly where we are today. The new board is now faced with numerous issues that should never have been shuffled off to Buffalo. Let me reiterate, that's not even a slam on the GM, she did as she felt was right. Our job as board members was to tell her she wasn't. Let me be very clear about this, a large part of the board's failures were because of the change in documents where she told board member after board member the most important aspect of their job was allegiance to the corporation. I've always argued, usually unsuccessfully, it is to the community. This thread isn't about how we got here or why, ultimately it will be about how we get out of the trap we all got caught up in. Stay tuned.
It's obvious, at least to me, that it's time to hit the "RESET" button but that's much easier said than done. How do you get a community that's been complacent and willing to allow other people to make decisions for them for so many years get back into the game and once again become engaged? The Mountain View issue is just one small part of the big picture. This one small issue has awakened some in the community but surely not enough! What will it take? I believe it needs to start at the top which is with the Board and RCSC management. They are the only ones who can reach out to the community as a whole and invite them into the decision making process. I'm not suggesting that the community needs to always get their own way, but they do need to be part of the discussion, after all, we can't just quit being a member of the community just because we don't get our own way! Only Board members seem to have that luxury?
I dropped out of college after 1 quarter at Mankato State. I quickly realized i could drink as much at home as i could at school and it was way cheaper. With that out of the way, i took every continuing education class i could during my 25 year work life; many of them on leadership. One of the lessons i learned (well) was the more you spoke, wrote or tried to do, the more you would be wrong and criticized for it. It's one of the reasons so many organizations cling to the status quo. Even to do this, writing and posting as much as i do, i find many times i am wrong. It's one of the reasons why, when posting on the Sun City Advocates blog, i always conclude with "One man's opinion." What's the old adage? Everyone is entitled to their opinions, they aren't entitled to their own facts. It also one of the reasons i find story telling to be so valuable, what happens can either verify or destroy one's credibility. All of which brings us full circle; I'm always right...NOT! No one is always right and realistically, the minute we believe that we are, we are doomed to fail; or most assuredly not be as effective or as successful as we could be. If i could put one well articulated fault on the former GM, it was she always felt she needed to be right. She wasn't alone as way too many people when they are placed in important positions feel they are always having to prove they are smarter than everyone else (how's that working out for you Elon?). Nobody knows everything, nor should anyone expect them to. I'm more impressed by people who know they have their weaknesses and surround themselves with people who are capable of solving the shortcomings of a leader and allowing that person to do what need be done. There is no more better example (yet again another story) than the situation the RCSC finds itself in regarding technology. Jan had zero apparent interest, and clearly she was out of her element. She had a tech guy and to this day i have no clue on what skills he had, other than he could program our ipad. He might have been a tech genius, but if we simply judge based on where we are today, he clearly didn't. And while the new GM can tell us it's no one's fault, that statement shouts volumes regarding the GM's skill set. Moving forward as a community and as an organization, if we can't or won't admit our mistakes, we have little chance to fix them. Before we even go there though, we need the capacity to understand whatever arguments members or clubs are making can be both right and wrong at the same time. Truth is whatever people want it to be these days. It's a truly pathetic statement on where we are, but it's the reality of the times and our evolution as a society. We need to be better than that, to rise above this belief we are always right and the other guy is always wrong. I know it sounds like i am talking in tongues, so let me use the near on perfect example. In fact, for those keeping track on their score card, watch how tomorrow's Exchange meeting unfolds (Monday, March 13, 9 am Sun Dial auditorium). You are going to witness the clash of for and against the theater. Oddly, there really aren't many against the theater, they are opposed to spending 40 million dollars on the Mountain View project. However, you will hear the new board castigated as anti-arts, haters of all things phase 1 and the scum of the earth because they had the nerve to undo the board actions from 2020 and 2021. From the board's side, i would (and have) argued they are being good stewards of the RCSC's assets. That slowing down the process is about trying to finally run the community the right way...by creating a cohesive strategic long range plan. The RCSC has been woeful in even attempting to do that. The former GM saw golf as her primary concern, past board's had their interests and the latest MV fiasco has pitted the theater supporters against those who are unwilling to commit the massive resources needed over the next 8 years on a single rec center. Those who want the Mountain View remodel argue they are right...at whatever cost. Yes, they have been short-sheeted more times than i can count, but that's not really the point is it? The very simple question that need be asked and answered is this: Can Sun City keep floundering about without a master plan. We have enormous resources (thanks to the PIF), but have treated it as cavalierly as humanly possible. Arguing "whatever" isn't a solution, it prolongs the point where we start using our amazing talent pool of members and becoming focused on how we effectively invest our resources in a better, brighter tomorrow. Compromise is an amazing tool. However if everyone just continues to beat on their chest they are always right, it will never happen.
