Re: [council] ICANN hires weight loss guru as vice president?

[Kurt Pritz <kurt.pritz@xxxxxxxxx>]

Kristina, Andrei and others:

I will comment on this issue even though it is probably not necessary. When 
Elad first came to ICANN, he and I worked closely together on the Organization 
Effectiveness Initiative (OEI) - I was the exec staff lead on the project.  I 
found him to be a good fit with the ICANN team, intelligent by any standard, 
and effective in the role. I have worked with many organizational improvement 
consultants throughout my career and Elad's efforts to date have exhibited an 
effectiveness and shelf life longer than other initiatives at ICANN and 
elsewhere.

Also, there have been improvements since Elad has joined: internal meeting 
management has improved markedly, as has project planning. In addition, an OEI 
staff survey has led to the creation of three teams, one that is focusing on 
internal process improvements, one on internal communications, and the third 
considering employee retention and development programs. All, I think will 
benefit the community and ICANN's mission.

Since then, we retained Elad to bolster an HR and executive function that is 
short-staffed even by ICANN standards.

So while Elad is certainly a well-rounded individual, ICANN is utlizing those 
talents that have a payoff for the organization. As I see it, we retained a 
senior-level consultant for a specific purpose and, after achieving success, he 
was retained as a staff member.

Kurt



On Mar 9, 2011, at 11:29 AM, Rosette, Kristina wrote:

Andrei,

Ordinarily, I would agree that ICANN's HR policy is probably not an issue for 
the community.

However, under the circumstances I noted and in light of the fact that there is 
already someone identified to me as a "spiritual adviser" listed on the ICANN 
staff page (and, presumably, on the payroll), I have to disagree.

Even my 6-year-old can't make up stories this good.

K

________________________________
From: Andrei Kolesnikov [mailto:andrei@xxxxxxxx]
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2011 2:02 PM
To: Rosette, Kristina; council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: [council] ICANN hires weight loss guru as vice president?

I'm about to take back my words regarding good marketing with Mr. Clinton. This 
must go beyond my imagination :)
However should we address more generic question: on what level Council / 
Councilors can penetrate into ICANN's day to day operations and what bylaw 
pectorals say about it.  Is it dependable from the overall level of community 
dissatisfaction? Should HR policy become an issue for ICANN community? Don't 
think so.
I will support a contract  with alien from Jupiter and his private jet 
reimbursement if only this will help the gTLD process to be launched.

The Board selection process is much bigger concern IMHO.

---andrei

From: owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 
[mailto:owner-council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Rosette, Kristina
Sent: Wednesday, March 09, 2011 5:33 PM
To: 'council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx<mailto:'council@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>'
Subject: [council] ICANN hires weight loss guru as vice president?

All,

(With credit to Kevin Murphy at DomainIncite for breaking the story)  ICANN has 
reportedly hired "a psychotherapist with a distinctly Buddhist bent who has 
previously specialized in weight loss" as Vice President for Organizational 
Effectiveness.  http://domainincite.com/; 
http://www.icann.org/en/general/staff.html.
ICANN has gone without a Director of Compliance for almost 9 months and the 
GNSO Council is being told that no new policy work should be initiated because 
of staff workload, yet ICANN focuses its resources on hiring a VP for 
Organizational Effectiveness?  Unbelievable and inexcusable.  Does anyone 
believe the organizational effectiveness has improved since Mr. Levinson was 
hired?
I propose we raise this example of misplaced organizational priorities with the 
Board.  I'm willing to sacrifice my GAC question to do so.
Comments?
K