I want my SSA

Ian Cant wrote:
Without wishing to throw out the fresh thought, it
might be well-advised to be very cautious before abandoning
the physical headquarters concept. A main contributor
to the present debacle would appear to be that nobody
on the Board, and very few ordinary members, was ever
in the office to see what happened day to day. Cat's
away, mice play. An internet-distributed office might
be an even harder situation to supervize.

Has anyone had any first-hand experience at actually
running such a 'virtual' headquarters ? How did it
work out in practice ? What sort of safeguards were
used to ensure productivity and financial integrity
were maintained ?

My own limited experience with teleconferencing suggested
that it was lousy for management purposes, but very
effective for engineering. Things that can be reduced
to hard numbers can be disseminated easily; anything
that has human factors or personalities involved tends
not to travel well through the ether. Or perhaps I'm
just a reactionary old fuddy-duddy on this.

Ian

I am on the board of a not-for-profit with 400 employees located in 8
counties of southeastern Washington state that delivers in-home
services for the elderly. The board rarely makes trips to the head
office, even though it is within a short driving distance. We are
briefed monthly by the executive director, finance officer and
department heads. The organization turns a small surplus in a
notoriously money losing business. This can only be accomplished by
very good management and a committed board.

Do not confuse head counting with effective management, because it is
not. Management of people requires the setting of goals (tasks) and
close monitoring of work product.

Communication systems have come along way since the speaker phone. I
just got back from a demonstration of Cisco's Internet telephony
systems. They provide high quality voice and video world wide:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/...esw/index.html
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/...dies_list.html

Major U.S. companies are going this route with at least part of the
work force. Telecommuting is a fast growing trend, and I think it can
work for the SSA. Whether the members can accept it is another, totally
different, question.

Tom

How many members have every been to the SSA headquarters? As far as the
members are concerned, having a headquarters location is probably at the
bottom of the list.

Mike Schumann

P.S. People's attitude toward this might be different if there was a
historic or other draw that made the SSA headquarters a desirable and
relatively easily achievable destination.

wrote in message
ups.com...

Ian Cant wrote:
Without wishing to throw out the fresh thought, it
might be well-advised to be very cautious before abandoning
the physical headquarters concept. A main contributor
to the present debacle would appear to be that nobody
on the Board, and very few ordinary members, was ever
in the office to see what happened day to day. Cat's
away, mice play. An internet-distributed office might
be an even harder situation to supervize.

Has anyone had any first-hand experience at actually
running such a 'virtual' headquarters ? How did it
work out in practice ? What sort of safeguards were
used to ensure productivity and financial integrity
were maintained ?

My own limited experience with teleconferencing suggested
that it was lousy for management purposes, but very
effective for engineering. Things that can be reduced
to hard numbers can be disseminated easily; anything
that has human factors or personalities involved tends
not to travel well through the ether. Or perhaps I'm
just a reactionary old fuddy-duddy on this.

Ian

I am on the board of a not-for-profit with 400 employees located in 8
counties of southeastern Washington state that delivers in-home
services for the elderly. The board rarely makes trips to the head
office, even though it is within a short driving distance. We are
briefed monthly by the executive director, finance officer and
department heads. The organization turns a small surplus in a
notoriously money losing business. This can only be accomplished by
very good management and a committed board.

Do not confuse head counting with effective management, because it is
not. Management of people requires the setting of goals (tasks) and
close monitoring of work product.

Communication systems have come along way since the speaker phone. I
just got back from a demonstration of Cisco's Internet telephony
systems. They provide high quality voice and video world wide:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/...esw/index.html
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/...dies_list.html

Major U.S. companies are going this route with at least part of the
work force. Telecommuting is a fast growing trend, and I think it can
work for the SSA. Whether the members can accept it is another, totally
different, question.

Tom

How many people are actually planning to visit the SSA in the next year
no matter where it might be located?

I wonder how many would visit the SSA building if it was next door to
them?

I am asking myself is there some reason why I would want to visit....am
I missing something here?

Its just an administrative building with accountants, secretaries, and
some other committed individuals that are earning a living right?

Actually I'll bet the movers and shakers are mostly out of the office
rattling politicians cages and helping us glider pilots all over the
US.

So why all the talk about moving it? Hobbs is cheap...labor is cheap
and why take an airliner when you can fly a glider there ;-)

Lets just lend assistance putting it back in its proper place by
sending in our renewals early so they can pay the bills.

Help with your $$$ and leave strategic planning for another
day........priorities!

Ray

If you were looking for a new CFO, how many candidates are there in Hobbs,
or would be interested in relocating there? That's the real downfall of
being in such an obscure location.

Mike Schumann

"jb92563" wrote in message
ups.com...
How many people are actually planning to visit the SSA in the next year
no matter where it might be located?

I wonder how many would visit the SSA building if it was next door to
them?

I am asking myself is there some reason why I would want to visit....am
I missing something here?

Its just an administrative building with accountants, secretaries, and
some other committed individuals that are earning a living right?

Actually I'll bet the movers and shakers are mostly out of the office
rattling politicians cages and helping us glider pilots all over the
US.

So why all the talk about moving it? Hobbs is cheap...labor is cheap
and why take an airliner when you can fly a glider there ;-)

Lets just lend assistance putting it back in its proper place by
sending in our renewals early so they can pay the bills.

Help with your $$$ and leave strategic planning for another
day........priorities!

Ray

"jb92563" wrote in message
ups.com...
How many people are actually planning to visit the SSA in the next year
no matter where it might be located?

I wonder how many would visit the SSA building if it was next door to
them?

I am asking myself is there some reason why I would want to visit....am
I missing something here?
Ray



Oh, I dunno . . . if it were in Minden, I'd probably stop in maybe once a
month and ask to see the financials. If the secretary was cute, more often
(g).

bumper

I think by assuming that the headquarters is for members to visit, you
are missing an important point. The headquarters exists for a reason.
It's there to show the rest of the aviation community that we are a
viable concern, an organization of serious people that care greatly
about our sport. I believe we would be better off with it in Dallas,
for the same reasons others pointed out... travel, and being able to
attract a better CFO. However, if the CFO is a glider pilot, perhaps
Hobbs isn't such a bad place. I'm in Clovis, and fly out of
Littlefield. My job brought me here and I'm fine with it. Really not
much difference between Clovis and Hobbs. The soaring sure beats
Houston, where I came from. It's better than it was at TSA, also... but
there aren't nearly as many people in the Caprock Club as in the other
clubs, so the duties fall more heavily on the very few willing souls...
I am not CFO material... I'm a telecommunications guy...

The problem with volunteering for any organization is the time drain. I
barely have time to keep my glider in a good state of repair, let alone
volunteering for more. I worked on radios at Houston while my ship went
begging. Alas, all this to be bitched at a couple of times by members
that showed up to fly like it was a country club.

Directors, thank you! I know what it's like to volunteer your time and
money for such a (mostly) thankless crowd. Please don't count me among
them.

Jack Womack
bumper wrote:
"jb92563" wrote in message
ups.com...
How many people are actually planning to visit the SSA in the next year
no matter where it might be located?

I wonder how many would visit the SSA building if it was next door to
them?

I am asking myself is there some reason why I would want to visit....am
I missing something here?
Ray



Oh, I dunno . . . if it were in Minden, I'd probably stop in maybe once a
month and ask to see the financials. If the secretary was cute, more often
(g).

bumper

Maybe it's more important for the CFO to be an accountant than a glider
pilot.

Mike Schumann

"Jack" wrote in message
ups.com...
I think by assuming that the headquarters is for members to visit, you
are missing an important point. The headquarters exists for a reason.
It's there to show the rest of the aviation community that we are a
viable concern, an organization of serious people that care greatly
about our sport. I believe we would be better off with it in Dallas,
for the same reasons others pointed out... travel, and being able to
attract a better CFO. However, if the CFO is a glider pilot, perhaps
Hobbs isn't such a bad place. I'm in Clovis, and fly out of
Littlefield. My job brought me here and I'm fine with it. Really not
much difference between Clovis and Hobbs. The soaring sure beats
Houston, where I came from. It's better than it was at TSA, also... but
there aren't nearly as many people in the Caprock Club as in the other
clubs, so the duties fall more heavily on the very few willing souls...
I am not CFO material... I'm a telecommunications guy...

The problem with volunteering for any organization is the time drain. I
barely have time to keep my glider in a good state of repair, let alone
volunteering for more. I worked on radios at Houston while my ship went
begging. Alas, all this to be bitched at a couple of times by members
that showed up to fly like it was a country club.

Directors, thank you! I know what it's like to volunteer your time and
money for such a (mostly) thankless crowd. Please don't count me among
them.

Jack Womack
bumper wrote:
"jb92563" wrote in message
ups.com...
How many people are actually planning to visit the SSA in the next year
no matter where it might be located?

I wonder how many would visit the SSA building if it was next door to
them?

I am asking myself is there some reason why I would want to visit....am
I missing something here?
Ray



Oh, I dunno . . . if it were in Minden, I'd probably stop in maybe once a
month and ask to see the financials. If the secretary was cute, more
often
(g).

bumper

Maybe even more important that he or she should be both... accountant
and glider pilot.

Jack Womack
Mike Schumann wrote:
Maybe it's more important for the CFO to be an accountant than a glider
pilot.

Mike Schumann

"Jack" wrote in message
ups.com...
I think by assuming that the headquarters is for members to visit, you
are missing an important point. The headquarters exists for a reason.
It's there to show the rest of the aviation community that we are a
viable concern, an organization of serious people that care greatly
about our sport. I believe we would be better off with it in Dallas,
for the same reasons others pointed out... travel, and being able to
attract a better CFO. However, if the CFO is a glider pilot, perhaps
Hobbs isn't such a bad place. I'm in Clovis, and fly out of
Littlefield. My job brought me here and I'm fine with it. Really not
much difference between Clovis and Hobbs. The soaring sure beats
Houston, where I came from. It's better than it was at TSA, also... but
there aren't nearly as many people in the Caprock Club as in the other
clubs, so the duties fall more heavily on the very few willing souls...
I am not CFO material... I'm a telecommunications guy...

The problem with volunteering for any organization is the time drain. I
barely have time to keep my glider in a good state of repair, let alone
volunteering for more. I worked on radios at Houston while my ship went
begging. Alas, all this to be bitched at a couple of times by members
that showed up to fly like it was a country club.

Directors, thank you! I know what it's like to volunteer your time and
money for such a (mostly) thankless crowd. Please don't count me among
them.

Jack Womack
bumper wrote:
"jb92563" wrote in message
ups.com...
How many people are actually planning to visit the SSA in the next year
no matter where it might be located?

I wonder how many would visit the SSA building if it was next door to
them?

I am asking myself is there some reason why I would want to visit....am
I missing something here?
Ray



Oh, I dunno . . . if it were in Minden, I'd probably stop in maybe once a
month and ask to see the financials. If the secretary was cute, more
often
(g).

bumper

Maybe most important that he be honest. And since
that cannot always be guaranteed up front, then he
should be located somewhere where he can be observed.

Ian



At 18:19 15 September 2006, Jack wrote:
Maybe even more important that he or she should be
both... accountant
and glider pilot.

Jack Womack
Mike Schumann wrote:
Maybe it's more important for the CFO to be an accountant
than a glider
pilot.

Mike Schumann

'Jack' wrote in message
I believe we would be better off with it in Dallas,
for the same reasons others pointed out... travel,
and being able to
attract a better CFO. However, if the CFO is a glider
pilot, perhaps
Hobbs isn't such a bad place.

Mike Schumann wrote:
If you were looking for a new CFO, how many candidates are there in Hobbs,
or would be interested in relocating there? That's the real downfall of
being in such an obscure location.

I don't know, but I'll bet you haven't researched the job market in
Hobbs, either. Have you done the research for any of the other places
mentioned, like Elmira, Colorado Springs, or Chicago, and determined
what a CFO would cost? It might be easy to find a CFO on Hobbs if we
paid a Chicago salary. Besides, we only need one CFO, so it's not like
we're trying to staff a major corporation, and have to line up 500
applicants to have enough bodies to hire.

--
Note: email address new as of 9/4/2006
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA

"Transponders in Sailplanes" on the Soaring Safety Foundation website
www.soaringsafety.org/prevention/articles.html

"A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation" at www.motorglider.org