Re: guidance on avoiding too many people from one company/group

[Donald Eastlake 3rd <dee3@torque.pothole.com>]

On Tue, 12 Nov 2002, Dave Crocker wrote:

> Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2002 11:08:09 -0800
> From: Dave Crocker <dhc@dcrocker.net>
> To: Scott W Brim <swb@employees.org>
> Cc: ietf-nomcom <ietf-nomcom@lists.elistx.com>
> Subject: Re: guidance on avoiding too many people from one company/group
> 
> Scott,
> 
> Monday, November 11, 2002, 12:56:37 PM, you wrote:
> Scott> Please describe the problems we have already had with lack of management
> Scott> experience in Nomcom.
> 
> Area Directors must juggle two, very difficult and very different roles. One
> is technical quality assurance. The other is process management.
> 
> Nomcom discussion does pay attention to whether someone plays well with
> others, but tends to pay less attention to other management skills of
> candidates.  Instead, discussion tends to be dominated by concern about
> technical excellence of the candidate.

Well, I've been on four nomcoms, 2 as a voting members, one as chair and
one as previous chair, and I believe those nomcoms gave reasonable
consideration to management attributes.

> When the discussion is about IETF processes, those with little experience in
> it tend to have a rather simpler or inaccurate model than those who have had
> direct involvement.  That difference is important in assessing who is likely
> to work well as an AD.

As far as I know, essentially all nomcoms are particularly solicitous of
getting the opinion of other ADs and the nomcom chair, people who
presumably have pretty much maximum IETF management experience.

> Therefore a nomcom that has too little IETF experience among its voting
> members is likely to make dangerously naive decisions.

And a nomcom too heavily dominated by those inside the IETF management
might make dangerously incestuous decisions.

> d/

I'm actually not that adverse to the idea of biasing selection towards
those with management experience, I'm just leary of trying to make too
many changes at once and adding too much complication.

Donald
======================================================================
 Donald E. Eastlake 3rd                       dee3@torque.pothole.com
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