Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Steele
in the end we felt awkward about leaving the AutoCAD awards to go to the field to play... it felt like a snub to all of the other teams that worked so hard to get their awards...
Better communication.... the answer to many things... in fact ... it is always the BEST ANSWER...
We had a great time in St. Louis... we will be back... and now we can anticipate things better...
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I am glad that FIRST is finding additional supporters that have the fame to be able to get FIRST more 'out there'. I will never condemn FIRST for that. Thanks go to the Black Eyed Peas. You made many FIRSTers feel special by being there (along with the huge boost in publicity).
We also had a good time in St. Louis, however FIRST will never sell me on the way this was handled.
1. I do not want to play in the pits. Some people seem to believe that the ends support the means: that the increased exposure for FIRST justifies the inconvience and decreased value the teams recieved at this year's championship. I wholeheartedly disagree.
2. Secrecy. The teams have begged for more transparency. Yet, FIRST has now come forward and said that FRC fields were going to be in the pits with or without the Black Eyed Peas. They had to plan that well in advance. So where was the upfront team feedback, the requests, the surveys, the trial balloons? Why weren't teams told in advance how it was going to be handled? Our team spent our Friday night elsewhere because we were not going to wait two days before the event to figure out how we were going to feed and entertain 80 people.
FIRST overall continues to be a positive experience for our team. I see areas in which they are improving, and trying to improve. FIRST Choice has the potential to be great - as long as FIRST doesn't use it as a way to decrease the total value we receive and then spin it as a positive. At the same time, I grow upset when I see problems the teams bring up glossed over as if they did not happen.
The true mark of an organization that works FOR it's participants is honest feedback. Admitting that people are upset or inconvienced, or that something didn't go off as well as had been hoped. An honest Mea Culpa gains far more respect in my book than a policy of trying to ignore mistakes. Putting a positive spin on an issue that doesn't deserve it results in a total loss of respect. I will use the rookie kit vs. the veteran kit as an example: when FIRST tried to spin that as an increase in value for veterans it was an insult. Indeed several posts on Chief Delphi documented that the decrease in the value of the kit - in useful parts - far outstripped the 'savings' to the team.
Stop spinning things. Give truthful explanations. Give REASONS. Give the teams as much warning as possible. Communicate, communicate, communicate.
For instance - I certainly hope FIRST is planning on giving honest feedback on the surveys we all sent in. What were the top issues? How does FIRST plan on addressing them?
St. Louis was a positive experience, but FIRST can be so much more.