While I agree with Milton Mueller and others that we have to stay focused on our NCSG concerns, I think they are clearly stated as NOT having been central to the achievements of the outgoing ICANN CEO, as he says in the press release: “I can summarize my time here in four words: strong execution, great teambuilding,” he said. “We have built a world-class executive team, and elevated ICANN’s stature through *strategic relationships with governments, businesses, top technology firms and international organizations.*” Is this the "Internet community"? Norbert Klein On 08/19/2011 04:05 AM, Milton L Mueller wrote: > Maria > I did not say that it didn't matter who the CEO is. Of course it does. > But its a fact that NCUC/NSCG had its worst forms of persecution by > ICANN staff before Rod was CEO, and that little changed for us when he > was hired. > > What I think we need to distance ourselves from are Kierens claims > that Rod took credit for things that others did and other kinds of > personality issues. Its just not relevant to us. > > Milton Mueller > Professor, Syracuse University School of Information Studies > > > -----Original message----- > > *From: *Maria Farrell <[log in to unmask]>* > To: *Milton L Mueller <[log in to unmask]>* > Cc: *"[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>* > Sent: *Thu, Aug 18, 2011 17:59:19 GMT+00:00* > Subject: *Re: Fwd: [council] Rod Beckstrom to leave ICANN at the > end of his term > > I have to disagree, Milton. > > For a start, Kieren resigned at his own behest. (I was fired > though - and I'm not in this for revenge but because I care about > how the organisation works.) He's not a vengeful guy and is > demonstrably pursuing the same arguments and issues he did before > he ever worked for ICANN. > > But to the main point - that it doesn't matter who's running the > ship - the 'plague on all your houses' approach. Of course it > matters who's in charge. NCUC has, rightly, complained strenuously > for several years about being pushed aside by staff in favour of > the at large and other gnso constituencies. That's staff-directed > policy and can change overnight, depending on who runs the > show. Even if we care less about the org as a whole, there's still > a clear benefit for ncuc in some types of ceo rather than others. > > Which is not to be completely naive about it. The CEO is not going > to change our lives, here in NCUC, but she or he will have an > impact and we can have one back. > > 2011/8/18 Milton L Mueller <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> > > Kieren makes some worthwhile points here but you have to > remember that Kieren was fired by Beckstrom, so he has a > revenge motive in writing things like this. From NCSG’s point > of view, a lot of this kind of stuff is a bunch of snarky > disputes among insiders and doesn’t affect our status or the > policies we care about much. > > --MM > > *From:*NCSG-Discuss [mailto:[log in to unmask] > <mailto:[log in to unmask]>] *On Behalf Of *Poomjit > Sirawongprasert > *Sent:* Wednesday, August 17, 2011 2:16 PM > *To:* [log in to unmask] > <mailto:[log in to unmask]> > *Subject:* Re: [NCSG-Discuss] Fwd: [council] Rod Beckstrom to > leave ICANN at the end of his term > > How about his? > > ICANN fires its CEO > http://news.dot-nxt.com/2011/08/16/icann-fires-ceo > > > ICANN fires its CEO > > by Kieren McCarthy | 16 Aug 2011 | > > The CEO of ICANN Rod Beckstrom has announced he is leaving the > organization at the end of his contract. > > According to a tweet > <http://twitter.com/#%21/RodBeckstrom/status/103607748717060096> > sent out by Beckstrom at 4.20pm PST: “I have decided to wrap > up my service at ICANN July 2012”, adding “Press release soon.” > > The press release > <http://news.dot-nxt.com/sites/news.dot-nxt.com/files/release-16aug11-en.pdf> > [pdf] followed 20 minutes later and comprised largely of > Beckstrom listing his achievements in the first and third > person. “I can summarize my time here in four words: strong > execution, great team-building,” he was quoted as saying. > > Board chair Steve Crocker, who took over the post only two > months ago, noted that: “The Board of Directors fully supports > Rod through the completion of his July 2012 term.” > > Behind the pronouncements lies a different storyBehind the > pronouncements lies a different story. It is well known in > ICANN circles that there has been significant concern over > Beckstrom’s performance for some time. And we understand that > Beckstrom’s “decision” was made for him at a secret Board > meeting earlier this month. > > Unlike the three other CEOs that have presided over ICANN in > its 11-year history, Beckstrom lobbied hard to have his > contract renewed, even giving a public speech at ICANN’s most > recent meeting in Singapore in June listing what he had > achieved as CEO. Accompanying today’s press release, somewhat > bizarrely, is a separate PDF > <http://news.dot-nxt.com/sites/news.dot-nxt.com/files/factsheet-beckstrom-accomplishments-16aug11-en.pdf> > listing Beckstrom’s “notable accomplishments”. > > *Credit score* > > Ironically, it is Beckstrom’s attempt to personally attach > himself to all the organization’s successes that is a major > reason for his failure as an ICANN CEO: he is seen as too > quick to claim credit for others’ work and to put personal > promotion ahead of effective management. In two years in > charge, almost the entire senior management team has left. > Community questions as to why were met with obtuse reference > to industry percentages. > > Having written a book lauding the power of leaderless > structures over traditional hierarchy – the first likened to a > starfish, the second to a spider – many were surprised when > Beckstrom created an even stronger hierarchy within ICANN, > with him as the head. And the bottleneck. > > Beckstrom’s claim to have encouraged “great team-building” > were famously called into question at the organization’s > meeting in San FranciscoBeckstrom’s claim to have encouraged > “great team-building” were famously called into question at > the organization’s meeting in San Francisco in March this year > when former staff member Maria Farrell took the microphone > during a public forum to announce her “profound disquiet about > how the organization is operationally being managed” and > talked of a "hollowing out of expertise” and a “climate of > fear stalking the ICANN staff”. Her comments were met with > prolonged applause. > > *Parachute* > > Likewise, Beckstrom’s most significant claim to have > negotiated an historic agreement with the US government that > saw ICANN gain greater autonomy is largely fanciful: he was in > charge for less than three months before the agreement was > signed, whereas negotiations had been going on for 18 months > between ICAN > -- A while ago, I started a new blog: ...thinking it over... after 21 years in Cambodia http://www.thinking21.org/ continuing to share reports and comments from Cambodia. Norbert Klein [log in to unmask] Phnom Penh / Cambodia