Thursday, January 1, 2015

WE ARE SO LOST

Welcome to 2015 -- or deja vu all over again/

An incisive Comment from he/she who must be an ardent student of our system crossed our threshold recently. The Commentator raised extremely provocative and important points:

"...Belief is great but it can lack persuasiveness when it isn't backed up by anything but broad assertions ("public accountability being a major casualty"). What do you even mean by public accountability?
I get that you long for the institutional structure and power of of past decades. There's something powerful and compelling about centralized planning, fundraising, allocating and decision-making. It worked for the North American Jewish community for decades.
 
But the Jewish market place has changed. For sure there is a loss in the shrinking of the collective system. I'm not here to bash it and in fact I share your pain. But other things are gaining via the democratization of Jewish philanthropy -- and besides, you can't put the genie back in the bottle. 
When the market place changes, it's adjust or disappear. It doesn't mean Jewish philanthropy is dying. It just means that the traditional delivery mechanisms are shifting.American Jews know that the needs are not what they were during the heyday of the federation system.Thank God. It means we solved many problems and overcame many challenges. Declare victory and move on.
The segment of Jewish needs that is receiving increased focus is that of Jewish identity and engagement (just look at JAFI's strategic programmatic shift away from rescue and relief/aliyah). But it's also not as compelling (to many donors) as meeting basic human needs and there's lots of human misery and suffering in this world.
We can deny that change is happening. We can long for the glory of times past. I think we're better off understanding, embracing and engaging in change. The alternative, which denial and legacy genuflection succor, assures creeping irrelevance. And judging by the comments on this blog, irrelevance doesn't feel too good." 

The express assumption embodied in this Comment is that we face stark choices -- it's either adapt to change and abandon core values that have built our system or continue to be the dinosaurs and be abandoned as you/we wallow in self-pity and criticism.

The same knowledgeable and articulate Commentator then responded once again with the following:
 "As the author of the sections you've cited, I can tell you that I don't see change as requiring the abandonment of core values, and I regret leaving that impression. There are many options in finding ways to interpret and express these core values via institutions/structures and philanthropic enterprises/relationships. The federation system and its national collective are but one way -- and it seems the Jewish marketplace of the near past, present and future haven't/aren't/won't embrace this means of delivering on these core values.

A national (to say nothing of international) system that cannot decisively and with unrelenting commitment coalesce and deliver around vision, strategy, resource allocation and tactical execution has zero chance of successfully expressing these core values via the work of its membership (ie individual federations).

For the collective to demonstrate that its role is decisive -- that tomorrow is better than today because of it -- requires the individual to subordinate to the collective. (And by this I mean the donor to the collection of donors -- federation - and federation to the collection of federations -- JFNA.) This isn't rocket science, but in these times it is (obviously) difficult and elusive. The more the collectives don't deliver (federations to donor; JFNA to federations) the greater the challenge and the self-reinforcing notions of the irrelevance/obsolescence of this local/national collective."
Brilliant stuff whomever you are. (And I would love to know just whom you are, of course.)

This Blog in retrospect has become a 5 year jeremiad; and no one could be more sorry about that than I. JFNA is suffering, has been devastated by a continuing series of self-inflicted wounds...and, instead of "getting well," the organization, suffused with inept leadership, just keeps shooting itself in the foot to the point where it not only cannot walk, it can hardly crawl. Yet, the decline continues and, with it, the decline of the federations as well. So, what do JFNA's leaders do? They keep repeating the errors of the last decade; they perpetuate the myth of their own strength while the facades of their Potemkin Villages crumble into dust. They never learned the "First Rule of Holes" -- when you're in one, stop digging. And, so they dig, dig away, pretending that all is well when almost nothing is.

In response to the ejweishphilanthropy invitation, two experienced leaders, one the Houston Federation CEO, the other, that community's Chair, offered the rational and responsible suggestion that JFNA convene a "Conversation" on the future, on purpose and revisioning. But, like one with an addiction to alcohol, who must first admit his/her addiction before the process of "getting sober" can really begin, the leaders of our federation "system," if one still really exists even in theory, must admit that there is the threat, if not the reality, of their own failure before that "conversation" can be convened let alone begin. And, these guys think all is well -- for they are the "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" leadership -- literally the ostrich leadership of a system that once was. They truly believe that if they don't acknowledge failure, then all will be well.

Well, they are wrong.

Rwexler

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

If the "ostriches" charged with leading JFNA ever stuck their heads up from the sand, they would just stick them back in their holes once again. They don't know about the"market place," they don't know about leadership. They are, as Richard has written, so totally lost.

Anonymous said...

As the author of the sections you've cited, I can tell you that I don't see change as requiring the abandonment of core values, and I regret leaving that impression. There are many options in finding ways to interpret and express these core values via institutions/structures and philanthropic enterprises/relationships. The federation system and its national collective are but one way -- and it seems the Jewish marketplace of the near past, present and future haven't/aren't/won't embrace this means of delivering on these core values.
A national (to say nothing of international) system that cannot decisively and with unrelenting commitment coalesce and deliver around vision, strategy, resource allocation and tactical execution has zero chance of successfully expressing these core values via the work of its membership (ie individual federations).
For the collective to demonstrate that its role is decisive -- that tomorrow is better than today because of it -- requires the individual to subordinate to the collective. (And by this I mean the donor to the collection of donors -- federation - and federation to the collection of federations -- JFNA.) This isn't rocket science, but in these times it is (obviously) difficult and elusive. The more the collectives don't deliver (federations to donor; JFNA to federations) the greater the challenge and the self-reinforcing notions of the irrelevance/obsolescence of this local/national collective.

Anonymous said...

As your anonymous comment person suggests, a collective that fails to deliver is obsolete/irrelevant -- and that's where we are. One great tragedy is that but for the Blog and those who Comment to it, there is no demand (certainly no public demand) for the collectives to deliver ANYTHING let alone relevance. And that's what we get for our $30 million dollars a year in Dues -- absolute irrelevance.

Anonymous said...

Lost? Lost? We have been lost since JFNA was born and Charles Bronfman tried to install his version of Jerry Silverman as CEO. It's all been downhill since then to the point where you think it can get no lower and then it does.

Anonymous said...

You're expecting too much from JFNA, as an organization and in terms of its leadership.
JFNA will only be as good as its membership. It can only do what its membership wants. Apparently its membership either doesn't care, feels utterly powerless (ie non LC federations) or wants what it has, which is to say largely an organization on paper.
There is no city group, LC, ILC, I or S (to say nothing of Network Communities) that is happy. And they all want different things out of the continental system. Other than the LCEs, nobody can really make anything happen. Is there any dispute over this? Let's hear it if there is.
I know these pages are places to bash Jerry. And perhaps someone like Moses could rise above all that I've described above to lead effectively. Lo kam b'Yisrael K'Moshe od. So if you're mad at Jerry because he's not Moses, well you got a point.
It's not Jerry. Or at least it's not only Jerry (and not even close to being only about Jerry). I wish he had been put to the test by a system that was comprised of members who would truly commit, as the author states above, to "vision, strategy, resource allocation and tactical execution."
Instead he's the powerless captain of a ship owned and run by its crew, and the crew cannot decide on and commit to a destination, a route, or pace.

Anonymous said...

As one long time federation executive I find it very strange that someone would even suggest that the role of the CEO is to follow the crew. Probably the most important role of the CEO I was always thought was to be a leader and if the crew didn't follow then it was my job to retrain or replace the crew. To think that Jerry is powerless look at all the stupid things he has promoted. Are these idea coming from the crew? Utter nonsense.

Anonymous said...

Sure you can pass the buck back and forth.
It's not that the role of the ceo is to follow the crew. Of course that' silly.
The federation members of JFNA aren't crew. What's silly is to suggest they are.
The governance structure of federations (and JFNA) isn't anywhere near that of a corporate ceo structure.
The prior anonymous commentator is a good example of the flawed system.
No doubt he/she (as we all know, longtime ceo means highly, highly likely it's a he) has sent representatives to serve on various JFNA governance structures including the board. They have routinely voted for JFNA budgets and initiatives (like the GPT and various special campaign). So has this longtime ceo supported the votes of his federation representatives via tactical execution? How has this federation ceo instructed his representatives with regard to accountability of JFNA vis a vis budgets, programmatic achievement etc?
If any of this has happened, please share.
More likely, there are 100+ voices and egos and accountability shirkers like the commentator. They are adept at pointing the finger elsewhere, as if they are unwitting victims. If you're really just the crew, then let the leaders lead and do what you're told or leave. If you're more than the crew, then stop pointing the finger, embrace your role and work with your federation colleagues to creating the vision, strategy, and resource allocation you will commit fully to and unequivocally participating in their tactical execution.