A Word From Above

As we stand yet again at the beginning of a new year, not only should we look back at our achievements, but also look forward with excitement as to the further development and growth of OTF. In addition, as most of us do every new year, we should also look back and evaluate the decisions we made in hopes of learning what works and what does not. Through learning via past successes and mistakes we utlimately become more experienced and better suited to being effective as leaders in an online environment.

Of course, our high points this year include the 2001 official OTF union held in Amsterdam and hosted by Capt. Henri, and the successful purchase and implementation of our own web server. These successes demostrate the dedication and support of our membership and should not be taken lightly. I remember when we held our first official union in Las Vegas in 1999. I wondered as to whether the first one would ultimately be the last. It's good to see that two-and-a-half years later OTF is still going strong.

Our future at OTF revolves around the implementation of the Vision of the Future plan; a plan I'm sure many of you have heard of and wondered about. This plan contains our objectives and strategies for the next few years and has not been released in its entirety to the OTF public. Given the importance and seemingly secretive nature of this document, many people have expressed uncertainty and in some cases concern. It is difficult to become excited over the future when one is not certain as to what it holds! However, the Executive Council has reasons to keep the plan secretive and only release pieces of information when the time is right. Firstly, as much material in this plan is considered "strategical" we are hesitant to announce it to the world prior to being fully ready to implement. Many of the ideas are great ones and we'd hate to see them ripped by other copycat sites. Secondly, we don't want to blast all the plans out in onego. The reason behind this is to ensure that we don't overwhelm both ourselves and the community in the process.

So far, the only three aspects in the Vision plan that have been addressed are the announcement of our objectives, the restructuring of our departments and personnel, and the execution of a project audit that has resulted in projects becoming frozen, terminated, or moved to other departments. The reason behind the project audit is not to upset people, but to rather better organize and concentrate our content. Through having such content nicely organized we cut down on conflicts, and in the long run strengthen our efforts in key areas. This is probably the most frustrating and challenging part of the plan as it involves serious change . . . and as we all know, people in general resist change. I personally have been very impressed with the efforts of our departments and managers to adapt quickly to the plan; we hope to have the departments and projects properly in place and instructions/changes communicated to everyone by the end of January.

As we move past this stage we prepare ourselves for more enjoyable aspects of the plan that work to involve the entire community in its development. As you know, the ultimate goal of this plan is to make OTF one of the best and most respected Sci-Fi/Fantasy sites online. This is a task that requires the input and assistance of each and everyone of you. Stay tuned for more!

Finally, I'd like to reflect on what I've learned this past year. Firstly, the following do's:
- Communication is the key. More is always better, especially in an environment such as OTF.
- Diplomacy is vital. Treat others as you would want them to treat you.
- Server backups are important. Always remember to back up your content regularly.
- Always give positive reinforcement. When someone does a good job tell them. There's never enough of this going around.

And of course, some don'ts from personal experience:
- Never overwork an officer at OTF. They have real lives and will resign if they become too pressured.
- Don't get too caught up into OTF stuff. There are more important things in life.
- Don't leave for long stretches of time without informing your team members as to your status.
- Don't send pointed or angry emails. If you're upset, take a deep breath, think, and then write.
- Don't set up a web server with only 64 megs of RAM.
- Don't use the word handbag to describe a "carry-all."
Remember that one, guys.

I wish you all a happy new year!

Links

• A Convention Diary, Part I
• A New Dawn for a Pioneering 'Enterprise'

• OTF: The Future and Beyond
• A Word From Above
• Departmental Reports

• Bio-George Lucas
• Bio-Gene Roddenberry

• Submission Form