Subject: [Pso-discuss] Re: What makes a good director?

From: Steve Coya <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2000 08:07:51 -0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)

Bonjour, Jean-Francois

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond so completely. I am
sure the PSO-PC appreciates it, and that it will prove to be very helpful
in selecting future ICANN directors.

Steve

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From: jean-francois abramatic <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 03 Jun 2000 23:33:36 +0200

Bonjour,

>At the most recent PSO teleconference, I was asked to send the three 
of

>you a letter, soliciting your thoughts on what sort of person would
make

>the best director (i.e. what qualities each of you believe are
important

>in the selection of ICANN BOT members).

Three set of qualities :

1. ICANN directors need to be familiar with the Internet culture :

- Decentralization

The hype around Internet governance puts pressure on ICANN.

Directors need to have a solid <bold>vision</bold> to help focus ICANN on
its core responsibilities.

- Interoperability

ICANN directors need to understand and contribute to <bold>develop</bold>
the appropriate

<bold>partnerships</bold> with a large collection of very different
organizations

(eg from IETF to Governments) on a wide variety of issues (eg from
technical to legal).

- Evolvability

The deployment of the Internet is in its infancy (3 to 4% of the World
population).

New problems and new opportunities will arise. ICANN is young and small
enough that it can

develop a flexible structure that will be able to adapt and face the new
challenges.

Directors should be capable of <bold>adaptability</bold> since they may
not have to do

what they were expecting to do when becoming candidate.

2. ICANN directors are accountable to the Internet community and the
Society at large

- Public accountability

ICANN directors need to be ready to develop substantial efforts to 
share

the rationales that lead to ICANN decisions. Managing open discussions in
an

environment where shared understanding is limited requires a significant
amount

of <bold>patience and faith in open processes</bold>.

- Legacy regulations

As much as we all believe that the Internet will bring new ways of
communication between

people, societies have developed (so far) their cultures and rules
without the prospect of the Internet

in mind. More importantly, these rules and cultures were able to develop
"independently"

of each other when the means of communication were limited in scope.
Hence a wide

variety of situations where the impact of the Internet is very different
from one country

to the other. <bold>Understanding the existing legacy environments</bold>
is essential for ICANN.

Directors need to be conscious of those differences.

- Internationalization

While IETF may have the luxury to declare itself "a-national" (from Fred
Baker during

a panel on Internet governance at CFP2000), ICANN cannot and will never
be able to.

The first membership recruitment phase has shown discrepancies between
countries

involvement that ICANN will have to face. ICANN board and staff need to
take proactive

steps to <bold>enhance international coverage</bold> of ICANN efforts.
For the years to come, this

will continue to be a priority for the organization.

3. ICANN is an organization like any other one

- Business model

ICANN needs to <bold>develop a stable business model</bold> and execute
its business plan.

As a young organization, there is still a set of unknowns that need to be
addressed

and may require appropriate actions if actual results do not match
initial plans.

Directors need to be ready to take action to update the plans if
necessary.

- ICANN team

Individuals have chosen to pursue their careers within ICANN. The youth
of the

organization together with its visibility put a high pressure on ICANN
staff.

Directors need to be aware of this situation and should be <bold>ready to
adapt

expectations to the available human resources</bold>.

- Commitment

In the building phase where ICANN is now, Directors should be <bold>ready
to face

unexpected situations</bold> and commit to address them whatever
difficult or curious

these may be.

Concluding comments :

It should not be expected that every director has the experience,
expertise and qualities

to address each of the issues described above.

However, <bold>every director should be able to share the understanding
of all issues

and contribute to resolve some of them.

</bold>

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Jean-François

A 15:37 01/06/00 -0400, Steve Coya a écrit :

>Greetings,

>As you are aware, Jean-Francois Abramatic's term as one of the 
Protocol

>Standards Council's appointments to the ICANN Board of Directors ends

>later this year.

>At the most recent PSO teleconference, I was asked to send the three 
of

>you a letter, soliciting your thoughts on what sort of person would
make

>the best director (i.e. what qualities each of you believe are
important

>in the selection of ICANN BOT members).

>As we once again begin the difficult task of selecting one individual,
we

>are hoping that the past year has been enlightening and your thoughts
will

>better enable us to select the best candidate for this task.

>Thanks in advance,

>Steve Coya

>PSO-PC Secretary du jours