I had a chance late Wednesday morning to chat with new Hurricanes President Doug Paisley.
He was very candid in our 7 minute talk over the phone.
Listen to the entire interview with Doug below.
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Interesting interview. Transparency is a must as it has been lacking for the last several years. Too many questions never accurately answered by the former president. Allowing the hockey ops and business ops to work free of meddling is good, but only if it produces positive results both hockey wise and business wise.
ReplyDeleteWith a professional heading up the business ops committee, the figures presented to the shareholders should be precise.
Meanwhile the only thing that will prove the hockey operation is working will be a very competitive team each night and wins.
RJS
(get rid of the cheerleaders)
Great interview Pat. Let us hope that the meddling has stopped and that the focus is back on making this team a success on the ice, succeeding financially, gaining trust in the community and respectability in the WHL. I question whether the business side of things with the two in charge will succeed without some guidance but hopefully egos don't stop anyone from getting help so that the best results can become a reality.
ReplyDeleteWe send good luck to the players in PG tonight.
-cc
That’s like shifting the chairs on the Titanic. The big difference is the BOD has seen the ice berg coming for years and done nothing about it.
ReplyDeleteThe mess we are in belongs to the BOD, particularly their past and current executives (new designees excluded). They’ve run the board like owners, with no accountability or transparency towards the shareholders or community. The blame of course ultimately lies at the feet of the shareholders.
At the next AGM we will vote to put our Jr. Hockey Club up for sale, taking ownership away from the community to private. Ironically, as shareholders we have influence on the club, with ownership you have none. Who can forget the last time this happened. (Hint: Broncos) Despite assurances from the WHL, the team could be sold to another market. We have not done a very good job of holding the board to task and therein lies the problem. As a shareholder my suggestion to the 2015-2015 BOD would be this.
1. Fully grasp the concept of what it means to be a community owned team vs. a privately owned team. A simple strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) would flush this out. Just the very fact that you’re fighting for survival of this community owned team should be enough to motivate you to get this figured out. You may also find some untapped funding opportunities that are available exclusively for not for profits.
2. Create a synergy with the other not for profit teams in the league.
3. Take this information and actually follow through on the learning, then shout it from the rooftops, you only have one year.
4. Repeat above steps for the BOD and act.
5. Start posting monthly board meeting minutes on the website.
6. Have a dedicated Director for Human Resources and Board Recruitment
7. Release the current Business and Operation Managers and hire people who have the experience and track record to steer the ship. Most importantly when you do get these people in place let them do their jobs! The BOD appears to hire based on who they can control, therefore most major decisions come from the board executive and not the management, this needs to stop immediately as that is not their role as volunteers.
8. Get rid of the old boys club stigma, recruit more women to sit on the board. Half your audience is women and chances are many dedicated hockey moms, time to bring this board into the 21st century.
As a shareholder and a fan this would be a good start, in my opinion.
GO CANES GO!!
Excellent thoughts. As a recent shareholder (I had a share transferred to my name), I agree full-heartedly!! Thanks for putting in writing what many of us believe!
DeleteDarren
He has no idea how it happened that the team did so poorly last year!!!!!
ReplyDeleteGosh, that's a confidence builder. How can someone that blind find his way to the rink?
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"The mess we are in belongs to the BOD, particularly their past and current executives (new designees excluded). They’ve run the board like owners, with no accountability or transparency towards the shareholders or community".
ReplyDeleteI am quite amused at this comment. There are 15 board members on which on any giving night, 8 need to pass any resolution. You are assuming that all are braying sheep and blindly follow along and everything is 15-0. I understand the paint brush theory you are using. In short it is your theory and your opinion and you are wrong. There are many board members past, present and probably future that will not see eye to eye with other members and will vote against resolutions many times. Who has the biggest flock carries the day. Sounds like democracy to me. There is lots of agreement and disagreement and in certain cases not enough disagreement.
The minutes from the Board meetings (especially how each Board member voted on issues) needs to be available for shareholders to read.
DeleteDarren
You can make that request at the office. However, BOD sign confidentiality agreements. A lot that goes on at the board level is just that confidential, contracts, player moves, satisfaction and dissatisfaction. You may get them, they will contain plenty of black marker and further all motions are just "carried". No dissenting votes are noted by name unless specifically requested. Secretaries decisions. Most likely you will be FOIP'D
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