Totally agree with what being said here, as community strives to move forward it is important to be inclusive and communicative. The same principle also applies beyond this mail-list, as we also need be inclusive and welcoming to contributors who contribute via github, write issues and use discuss forums.
Tianqi On Mon, Jul 9, 2018 at 9:35 PM, Yasser Zamani <yasserzam...@apache.org> wrote: > I thought these could be great for our community so I shared them here. > > "The most important and first lesson I learned from the Apache Community > was to avoid short term gains that were unsustainable in the long term. > This very important core principle derives in part from the concept of > "community over code". It does not matter how much code you write, or how > good your code is if you cannot get along, compromise, and communicate > respectfully with your peers. The code does not write itself, its the > community behind it that keeps the code alive." Alex Karasulu, an > entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience said. > > Best Regards. > > >-----Original Message----- > >From: Sally Khudairi <s...@apache.org> > >Sent: Monday, July 9, 2018 8:00 PM > >To: Apache Announce List <annou...@apache.org> > >Subject: Success at Apache: The Apache Way for Executives > > > >[this post is available online at https://s.apache.org/2Wg8 ] > > > >by Alex Karasulu > > > >I'm a long time member of the Apache Software Foundation and have been an > >executive officer of several corporations over the course of the past 20 > years. > >I've co-founded several projects in the community and mentored several > others. > > > >The "Apache Way" has benefited several aspects of my life, however I never > >imagined it would help make me a better executive. Even non-technical > >executives, in organizations totally outside of the realm of technology, > can > >benefit from the Zen of the Apache Way. > > > >Life is hard when you're stupid > > > >I was involved in a number of early dot com startups as an executive, > however > >that was before my involvement with Apache and long before any exposure to > >the Apache Way. To this day, I remember how opportunistic decisions for > short > >term gains, the lack of collaboration, openness and communication kept > causing > >friction that made my job and ultimately my life much harder than it had > to be. > > > >Learning while on the job > > > >Exposure to the philosophy began early even while lurking on mailing > lists but > >picked up more while incubating the Apache Directory Project where I > worked > >with others to grow an active community. Meanwhile, I was the Chief > >Technology Officer of a large financial services company called Alliance > Capital > >Partners. It was 2002, and the first time I had to conduct myself as a > C-Suite > >executive in an enterprise that was obviously not a technology company. > >Incidentally, the lack of hands-on coding got me working on a pet project > that > >ultimately became the Apache Directory Server and Apache MINA. The project > >was medicine to keep me sane and technically up to date. Unbeknownst to > me, > >this would save my career, not as a developer, but as an executive. > > > >The Apache Way makes life easier > > > >The most important and first lesson I learned from the Apache Community > was to > >avoid short term gains that were unsustainable in the long term. This very > >important core principle derives in part from the concept of "community > over > >code". It does not matter how much code you write, or how good your code > is if > >you cannot get along, compromise, and communicate respectfully with your > >peers. The code does not write itself, its the community behind it that > keeps the > >code alive. Involving only the most technically proficient contributors > should > >never trump the need to build a sustainable community. I saw projects > often > >suffer from self-centered yet skilled coders added as committers for > short term > >gain at the detriment of a healthy sustainable community. So as a > corollary to > >community over code, avoid short term gains that get in the way of the > long term > >sustainability of an organization's culture. This has immense > applications for any > >executive in both technical and non-technical fields. > > > >While growing my new development organization in this financial services > >organization, I decided to avoid hiring people that seemed to be very > skilled > >technically but lacked the desire or social skills to collaborate with > others. Thanks > >to experiences at Apache, I could start telling them apart much better > than I did > >before. Also, I was calmer and less anxious when hiring to fill gaps on > the team. It > >was better not to have the resource than to introduce a bad apple onto > the team. > > > >This was contrary to how I had operated earlier and started producing > great > >results. The application of this basic principle lead to a solid team > that worked > >better together than ever before in the past. They were able to leverage > each > >others' skills thanks to collaboration to out perform any one skilled > developer. > >This is all thanks to the concept of community over code where social > skills, and > >collaboration were stressed more than technical skills. In the end, being > kind, > >listening, and asking smart questions begets the kind of collaboration > needed to > >build complex software. > > > >Not only did this help with developers, it also worked with teams that > did not > >produce code like project managers under the CTO office. The rule is > golden, and > >IMHO should be applied to any executive's decision making process > regardless of > >the nature of the business or topic at hand. > > > >Inner Source is the Apache Way > > > >Executives drive the architecture and cultural direction of their > organizations and > >the Apache Way provides a solid framework to create healthy foundations > >through open collaboration, communication and the availability of > knowledge for > >everyone to participate. > > > >Several very successful technology companies have adopted the Apache Way > >without really realizing they're doing so. In 2000, Tim O'Reilly coined > the term > >Inner Source https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inner_source to apply Open > Source > >principles to any organization. Tim was essentially talking about > applying the > >Apache Way within organizations. The Apache Way has proven itself with > >companies like IBM, Google, Microsoft, SAP, PayPal and even financial > >institutions like Capital One which have adopted the Inner Source > methodology > >which is one and the same. > > > >Without going into the details, of which we the Apache Community are > intimately > >aware (using it daily within our projects), I would like to stress how > important the > >approach is for executives outside of Apache to understand. The Apache > Way can > >save organizations from all out disaster, not to mention billions of > dollars by > >impacting the quality of services and products they produce. Again this > does not > >only apply to companies in technological sectors. Capital One a financial > services > >company has also used open source methods for internal projects to be > >extremely successful https://www.oreilly.com/ideas/using-open-source- > >methods-for-internal-software-projects . > > > >Conclusions > > > >The Apache Way provides several benefits to executives aware of the > approach. > >Executives can directly integrate the principles of the Apache Way into > their own > >thinking to improve their potential for personal success. However the > biggest > >value comes from the cultural framework it produces for the entire > organization, > >however to leverage it in their organizations, executives must be aware > of it. The > >Apache Way has personally helped me grow as an effective executive and it > can > >help others as well. It also provides a compass for how to properly build > effective > >organizations, not only technical ones. > > > > > > > >Alex Karasulu is an entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience in the > software > >industry and a recognized leader in the open source community. He is > widely > >known as the original author of the Apache Directory Server, used by IBM > both as > >the foundation of the Rational Directory Server and also integrated into > the > >Websphere Application Server. Alex co-founded several Apache projects, > >including MINA, and Felix, among others, which, along with their > communities, > >thrive independently past his day-to-day involvement in the projects. He > is the > >founder of Safehaus, where he authored the first low-resource mobile OTP > >algorithms in open source with the OATH community that was later adopted > by > >Google in their Authenticator product. In addition to IBM, Atlassian, > Cisco, and > >Polycom are just a few of the many companies that sell commercial hardware > >and software solutions that bundle or embed software and products that > Alex has > >created. Alex holds a BSc. in Computer Science and Physics from Columbia > >University. He is the founder and co-CEO of OptDyn. > > > >= = = > > > >"Success at Apache" is a monthly blog series that focuses on the > processes behind > >why the ASF "just works" > >https://blogs.apache.org/foundation/category/SuccessAtApache > > > >= = = > > > >NOTE: you are receiving this message because you are subscribed to the > >annou...@apache.org distribution list. To unsubscribe, send email from > the > >recipient account to announce-unsubscr...@apache.org with the word > >"Unsubscribe" in the subject line. >
