A decent proposal

[Guest guest]

Dear glorious and respected devotees of the Lord,

 

PAMHO. AGTSP. AGT ISKCON.

 

1. I did not tell nor am I telling now we should not assist our GBC in

restructuring the ISKCON management model.

2. There are many other problems reported in various corners/quarters of

ISKCON by individuals and groups (some of which I posted in aprevious text).

We must take a majority vote which is the most priority problem that our

society has to attend to.

3. If the majority of the society members feel that among these problems, the

GBC restructure/reshuffle is the topmost urgent, and highest priority problem

then let it be so, and every member of the society must respect that majority

vote, and so I too will respect that verdict, being a member.

4. Once it is decided that the society members feel that the GBC

restructure/reshuffle is the most immediate problem then we should form a team

of members to resolve this major problem of the society.

 

TEAM SELECTION:

 

The following questions must be answered when the team is chosen for this most

important problem solving.

 

1. The team should comprise of a single digit (less than 10 members) to

brainstorm, failure analysis, and short term and long term corrective

actions, and also make proposals to prevent recurrence of such a problem for

the next 10,000 years atleast. Have potential team members who are capable

of this task been identified?

2. Does each team member have skills that can support the goals of the team?

3. Are the responsibilities of each team member clear?

4. Does the team understand the authority that it does have and does not have?

5. Has a Team recorder been identified, who can follow up with the action

items of each team member.

6. Have the goals and timing of the team been defined?

7. Who will receive the copies of the minutes of the meeting as the project

progresses?

 

When these questions are answered, it will be clear to our society that we

need members in the team, who have proper above qualifications, sober in

dealings with proper Vaishnava etiquette.

 

Also there should be representation from various layers of the society in the

team. There should be atleast

Two current GBC Members, Two past GBC Members, Two Temple Presidents, Two

Congregation Directors, One honourable Life Members, and One professional

Consultant who will act as a moderator, who is totally third party, unbiased

without any mental blocks. Within that we can have mix of 4 varnas and 4

ashramas (if possible), so that they represent each varna and ashrama

properly.

 

The entire society must fall in line with the verdict of this team. That is

we must have faith in this team.

 

Not that every disgruntled member, or every honest and sincere member of this

society starts his own movement, his own conference (On COM or off the COM

somewhere in some part of the world), without any authority and throwing in

all sorts of garbage into the discussion, and enjoying in the sense

gratification comments like “How nicely you hit on his head. Hit first

apologise later”, “You are a rascal”, “Don’t you have any shame?”, “My big

foot in your mouth”, “impotent”, “useless”, “dishonest” blah, blah, blah.

That does not help anyone, except each one of us leading/dragging the other

one into perpetual hell.

 

Also at the end of 6 months or what ever time we realise we have created more

problems.

 

Once again in a society the problem is not you or them, it is us. Otherwise

what is the use of each one of us claiming “I am a member of IKCON, I am a

sincere and honest follower of Srila Prabhupada”.

 

I am not angry or sarcastic.

 

On the auspicious appearance day of Srimati Radharani, I pray that she must

throw her most merciful sidelong glance on all of US.

 

Your humble servant,

Bhadra Govinda Das.

[Guest guest]

At 07:56 AM 9/5/00 -0400, WWW: Balaji Prasad (Singapore) wrote:

>The following questions must be answered when the team is chosen for this most

>important problem solving.

 

According to whom? You are very good at coming up with questions and tasks

for everyone. In general, I agree with you that it's important to define

problems and understand issues before jumping in with solutions. However,

some of your steps seem to add work and bureaucracy of questionable value

to the process and they appear more likely to slow things down or stop the

process all together. I must admit that each time I read one of your long

list of what "must" first be done, I feel like I'm reading some pop

psychology management book.

 

Maybe you could enlighten us as to the source for all of these

"musts". Thank you.

 

Ys,

Madhusudani dasi

[Guest guest]

>>At 07:56 AM 9/5/00 -0400, WWW: Balaji Prasad (Singapore) wrote:

>>The following questions must be answered when the team is chosen for this

most

>>important problem solving.

 

Madusudani Mataji wrote:

 

>According to whom?

 

Thank you very much for asking questions. That is how problems are solved.

Ask questions and find answers.

 

In ISKCON's case it is according to Srila Prabhupada when he was there.

Today it is according to GBC. (Governing Body Commission). Tommorrow

unfortunately/fortunately (Krishna only knows), if the current GBC steps

down voluntarily or by force, and a new GBC takes over, these questions must

*then also* be answered by the new GBC, who ever it may be. These questions

must be asked and answered by top management, in any organisation, what ever

may be the organisational structure. Whether democratic, autocratic,

dictatorship, or any thing.

 

What I am trying to tell is , the current GBC has asked and answered these

questions, and formed a task force, on the same subject matter. The

resolutions on this look quite serious and impressive atleast on paper, and

the approach looks very professional. So those who are interested must work

with this task force, assist and help them.

 

The answer for your question is same, whether yesterday, today or tomorrow

or even after 100 years, when none of us may not be there, or inside ISKCON

or outside ISKCON. It is the top management who makes organisational

restructuring decisions.

 

Let's say, the current GBC steps down in 24 hours time and a new team takes

over. They also have to form/appoint a team or individuals to work on

problems and find solutions. This is the same not only in ISKCON but in any

organisation.

 

You said some time back, that when you showed ISKCON's organisation

structure to some management professionals, their eyes popped out. You ask

the same professionals that we are inviting the whole of ISKCON (Do not know

how many thousands of devotees) for restructuring our GBC and management

model, and let me know what is their input.

 

>Maybe you could enlighten us as to the source for all of these

>"musts". Thank you.

 

Life's experience and every day to day activities, is the source of all my

musts. If I give another long list I do not know what you will think. I

will give a few examples. Ofcourse even if you take any problem solving

basic management book the beginning lessons shoud be containing these

topics.

 

Case 1: My second son Caitanya's health was very bad since the time he was

born. He was not at all putting on any weight. We tried every thing but

there was no improvement. We went to the best doctors and hospitals later.

Everywhere they asked the same questions, for diagnising the problem. What

is the problem? Since when he has been loosing weight? Who are you? (Name

address, telephone number), simple questions. The team members were we

parents and the doctors. Neither we got offended when they asked these

questions, nor they got upset when we asked them the questions, like "What

are the possible reasons for a child loosing weight or not putting on

weight", etc,.. I hope you understand what questions further would be asked

in the discussion, by the team members of parents and doctors. It was

finally diagnosed he was on the verge of leukemia. (A little more drop in

his RBC/WBC) count the chances were he may end up in leukemia. Ofcourse

this problem has been resolved by mercy of Guru and Krishna, and he is very

hale and healthy. He can lead a complete Narasimha Arathi from the age of 2

and a half years, and now he is 4 and a half years. It was a big problem,

and a great trauma for us parents.

 

Case 2: Our opposite flat lady jumped from the 12th floor, and suicided, the

police came with an FIR (First Information Report) form. It contained these

simple questions. Who is the dead person? Who is the first complainant? Who

is the last complainant? When was the complaint recieved? (date/ time)?

Where did the incident happended (area location etc).

 

Case 3: My first son Anurag dropped in his gradings in school. When my wife

reported this time the performance has been very poor. How poor is poor?

We need a measurable. Very poor means what. The teachers and we parents sat

down to discuss this simple problem. We did not blame them, nor did we

blame them for the child's deterioration in performance. Simple questions

were asked by the team members, in this case, the parents, the teachers and

the child. Finally it was discovered that he had vision problem, that his

vision had deteriorated and he needed specatacles. Now he is wearing

spectacles and he is back on track.

 

Case 4: When my computer had problem, I called the service engineer, he

asked these simple questions.

 

Case 5: Same when the water was not coming in the tap and called the PUB

(Public Utilities Board).

 

Case 6: In any exit interview the employer asks the same questions to find

out the manpower turnover.

 

No body is expecting all our devotees should be big hotshot management

consultants to resolve these problems. I don't have to use a management

book to ask these questions.

 

Common sense tells me, in any of the above cases, however big or small the

problem may be, we cannot have a big team. For example in case 3 I do not

have to call the whole school, all teachers, all students, and all parents

for that specific problem or even for each and every other problem. To

collect data may be survey can be conducted, but not for brainstorming, and

problem resolving sessions. The team has to be small and focussed.

 

All I was saying was yes we know there is fever, but the doctor asks, what

is the temperature, since when you are having, etc,. Simple questions, to

diagonise any big or small problem. Yes we need measurables. Simply

talking of problem symptomatically like *high fever* does not help. We need

measurables, like in this case temperature, measured every hour and a chart

etc,.

 

All I am asking is some measurebles for each question, of What, Where, When,

Who, How etc,.

 

Yes problems are there everywhere in the material world. Padam padam

vipadam. *Only* Mukunda Lord Krishna *can* fit the big ocean of problems

into an impression of a calf's foot print. Let us pray to Him, so that we

will all cross over this ocean of miseries.

 

Note: I hate to write long messages. I pray that this will be my last

lengthy one. Please forgive me for my lengthy presentaion.

 

Your humble servant,

Bhadra Govinda Das.