Dear NEM members and community,
My name is Jason Lee and it has been a real honour and privilege to serve with the expansion of NEM in Australia and New Zealand. Today, I am officially announcing that I will be running for the positions of Secretary and Council Member.
Why Jason for Secretary/Council member role with NEM:
- Knowledge and experience in secretarial work with large corporates and associations
- Corporate background working c-level management and senior executives
- Ability to lead a team, document and produce results (https://medium.com/nem-anz)
- Familiarity in working with NEM as expansion director for a region
- Networked across leadership teams around the world
- Has experience being ‘on the ground’ talking about the NEM blockchain platform and equipped to be able to appreciate and execute in the role of secretary/council member
POLICY & STRATEGY PLAN FOR 2018-2019
First, a secretariat office will be proposed to the council to oversee and be accountable for all reporting, documentation and communication to the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and members – with a focus towards public chain adoption. The secretariat shall always maintain an up-to-date register of members and work with the company secretary and legal counsel on relevant foundation matters.
Second, the position of the secretariat office will be used as a place to communicate trust and transparency, working closely with the leadership team. The creation, upkeep and integrity of endorsed information and archives will be the core responsibility of the secretariat office. There should be an emphasis towards knowledge of the underlying technology to provide world-class advisory and solutions for projects using the NEM blockchain.
Third, the secretariat office will have the function to execute 3 core strategies:
- Strengthen organisational structure and administrative integrity
- Focus on existing leadership before rapid expansion
- Develop solid documentation, policies and procedures
Strengthen Organisational Structure and Administrative Integrity
NEM.io Foundation should be an organisation that endures through the years with unquestionable stability and this 2018/2019 strategy should be grounded on the premise that we ‘go far and not fast’. Our community has rapidly expanded across regions within the last year. Now, there is a pressing need to develop a solid structural approach with the right legislative and supervisory guardrails.
Action plan:
- Organise with regional heads to confirm organisational structure with clear lines of accountability and responsibility for all employees to ensure we are a high-performing organisation – have intentional staffing initiatives to support catapult development.
- Ensure turnaround times for deadlines are adhered to for contracts, bounties and future commercial and non-commercial agreements. Put measures in place to curb complacency and non-compliance.
- Develop an ‘intelligence team’ to conduct due diligence on potential employees, leaders, partners before official engagements to ensure administrative integrity. All findings and research to be archived methodically and access provided to relevant officers.
- Streamline workflow and remove unnecessary duplication of work.
Focus on Existing Leadership before Rapid Expansion
As a foundation, the quantity of leaders has grown with speed across the globe with continued success, alongside challenges. Ensuring that the existing leadership are equipped with the right tools and resources to succeed is crucial so that we do not lose leaders to other organisations, lag in growth with technology development and most importantly, lack buy-in from the wider community. The policy focus is to ‘go deep before wide’.
Action plan:
- Have a strong focus on building product and technical leadership capabilities towards the facilitation of the public chain release of catapult. Allocate resources towards releasing a solid technical roadmap with the consultation of core devs and stakeholders.
- Make certain that new and existing leaders are properly qualified to represent NEM and provide leaders with a repository of resources for action. The success of the NEM is a strong as its weakest leader. There should be a high standard of quality for all leaders.
- Structure a leadership ladder for developers, employees and volunteers with a path of career development – there should be a strong focus on leaders with technical competence for 2019.
- Explain the communications strategy through leadership ‘town halls’ and formulate a roadmap for leadership recruitment, retention and development.
Develop Solid Documentation, Policies and Procedures
Integrity, accountability and transparency within NEM’s structure, performance and operations have been something the community has tasked the council to commit to. For this to happen, the right people need to have the right authority to make effective and efficient decisions, with consequences for failure to follow through.
Hence, ‘go strong on governance’ where there is organisational-wide recognition that the foundation is managed for the benefit of its members, considering the interest of the community at large.
Action plan:
- Put together a task force to produce a report on governance models of foundations that have been established to incorporate best practices and strategies.
- Forge clear and transparent policies and procedures for employees and members which will be accessible, where relevant. Also, to work with incoming Treasurer for the administration of bounties, claims, awards.
- Work with a team to set up a regularly updated go-to library of practical and technical information for the public, members, stakeholders on use cases, codes and matters relevant to understanding NEM’s core goals – members can make requests for further documentation to ensure that there is up to date information constantly.
- Share documentation to members – a strategic vision of council, public plan on how funds spent will benefit the community, meaning internal governance system and more.
Summary of Strategy:
- Far not fast: focus on laying strong foundations in establishing an enduring organisation.
- Deep before wide: design structures for leadership development in the technical and operational, particularly in building strong developer competence.
- Go strong on governance: embody a culture committed to compliance with world-class standards and ensure there is clarity in decision-making and follow-through.
Further links:
Jason’s background and achievements here and watch video interviews here and here
I have also prepared a list of questions and responses here
Endorsement from Alex Tinsman
Looking forward to engage with everyone and let us work together towards building a solid foundation for NEM!
