[ARIN-consult] Community Consultation on Increasing the Size of the ARIN Board of Trustees

[William Herrin]

On Fri, May 12, 2017 at 1:58 PM, Alyssa Moore <alyssa at alyssamoore.ca> wrote:

> I, for example, am grateful to the folks who encouraged my own
> participation in the community. I am both qualified, and fill some
> diversity criteria that have been historically scarce on the AC
> (woman/young/non-Ontario Canadian/non-profit background). I would not be
> here if it weren't for measures such as the Fellowship Program and ample
> support from various community members.
>

Hi Alyssa,

And glad we are to have you around.



> Size
>
> I sympathize with Bill W’s comments on large boards being less effective
> (I sit on one with -40 people…), but I’m not sure that adding 1-2 seats
> pushes the Board over the threshold from small and mighty to large and
> unwieldy.  The Board will know better than I do what the current working
> dynamic is, and whether adding 1-2 seats will be crippling.
>

The size of effective decision-making bodies has been studied. A lot.
Essentially every study says: odd number. As for which odd number...

seven:  http://www.cbsnews.com/news/rule-of-7-the-ideal-work-group-size/
4.6 (five): https://sheilamargolis.com/2011/01/24/what-is-the-optimal-group-
size-for-decision-making/
20 or more tend to deadlock and for some weird reason exactly 8 is very
bad:
http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/2009/01/15/the-right-or-wrong-size-for-a/


There are also some papers liking nine. Seems to be consensus that three is
too small. The most common numbers the studies report as an optimal size
for decision-making bodies seem to be five and seven.


> Term Limits
>
> I disagree with the folks who have chimed in that the pool of expertise is
> too small to warrant term limits. It is this very attitude that precludes
> the embrace of new people in positions of leadership.
>

I think term limits could potentially be handled on a "one year off" basis.
After taking one year off, you can run again if you choose with a fresh
term limit.


While a complete understanding of the complexities and history of numbers
> is an asset, it’s certainly not a requirement to carry out the high-level
> duties of a Board member.
>

I could not disagree more. ARIN is not a charity, it's a _regulatory_ NGO.
The very technical decisions made at ARIN have billion-dollar impacts. No
one who hasn't yet learned the hows, whys and wherefores has no business
running for the board and certainly no business serving on it.

Regards,
Bill Herrin

-- 
William Herrin ................ herrin at dirtside.com  bill at herrin.us
Dirtside Systems ......... Web: <http://www.dirtside.com/>
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