rotorless | Amicus.eth#0429
Detailed thoughts on how you would solve these two problem spaces
Both of the named problem spaces result from gaps in governance and they can be resolved by building absent governance tooling.
A strategic process looks like Environmental Scan(1) > SWOT Analysis (2) > Vision/Mission statement > Risk Framework( 3) > Strategic Plan (4)
The steps 1,2,3 and 4 above, did not occur at DAO genesis or since in a meaningful way but are core functions of governance.
To decentralize opportunity and reward necessitates a decentralized risk framework; to do so we have to first identify and map the risks.
There are three separate but related efforts:
Effort 1: Risk Framework Guidance
Effort 2: SWOT analysis
Effort 3: Strategic Guidance (incl environmental scan)
Delivered these will be powerful tools in the hands of DAO members.
The effort are mainly a bottom-up effort of surveys, town hall, and individual conversations to capture and synthesize the knowledge of members *inside* their own guild or project and includes the aggregation of internal(what we control) and external (what we cannot control) data.
Expected outcomes
As a data driven approach, there is no way to definitively know what the answers will be. However, based on experience here are some expectations:
-Empower a Risk aware culture across DAO membership through tooling:
e.g. “DAOworthiness” checklist tool – A suitability questionnaire that accompanies a funding request.
e.g. Funding Priority matrix tool – a reasoning questionnaire that enables weighting of dissimilar projects against a universe of projects/proposals.
-Possibility of monetizing the Environmental Scan or the process externally
- Identifying emergent opportunities for organizational decentralization
-Simplifying compensation schemes
-Identification of sustainable business and revenue models
-Baseline DAO data for future reference
Risk Framework Guidance
Risk Framework is a bottom-up effort. Each entity is canvassed (guild, project, server, individuals) and the information is synthesized into a basket of diverse risks from our across the DAO. The interviews are a necessary component because most people do not ordinarily label risks. For example, many people will answer yes to driving off the road as a risk, which it is not, the risks are loss of the vehicle, injury, life, driving off the road is a cause of the risk.
The deliverable tools:
DAO risk appetite
DAO risk tolerance
DAO Risk Universe
DAO risk impacts
DAO Risk Severity
DAO Risk Assessment
DAO risk mitigation Strategies.
Environmental Scanning
This is a large effort and consumes the most amount of resources. The quality of the Environmental Scan will largely determine the quality of the SWOT analysis, which will in turn largely determine the quality of the Strategic plan. Garbage in = Garbage out.
This effort is built through research and member consultation ( individual, guild, projects, etc..), thought leaders and GSEs.
The deliverable tools:
Environmental Scan
Business Model & organizational Capacity
IMO this can be a pioneering effort, a first in the DAO space, and there may be an opportunity to monetize. (This is a separate discussion open-source free use license vs closed).
SWOT analysis
GSEs will complete a Strengths and Weakness assessment (things the DAO controls) and an opportunities and Threats assessment ( external things we do not control) through member canvassing survey and whiteboard, and town hall activity.
Strategic Guidance
Risk Framework+ SWOT + Mission/Vision analysis>>> Strategic guidance.
Q1: How might we create value for membership? Financial/non-financial
Q2:How might we make sustainable decisions?
Q3: How might we measure value creation and sustainability?
Deliverable tools:
Strategic Guidance
Compensation alignment
With these baseline tools, DAO frictions should be reduced and alignment, consensus and directionally going west together should be enhanced.
The concepts outlined above can be injected in part, or full, into any process the GSE group decides to follow.
Sponsor(s)
Frogmonkey, Katarina, Above average Joe, Grendel, Eagle, SovereignHealth.Crypto, Taxpanda, Bo|Bankless, Marvel
Other obligations during Season 3
I do not have a full-time traditional job. My other commitments during the period are two board of directors meetings; A weekly Treasury Management meeting at ShapeShift; and I will be attending EthDenver for a week.
I will step back from my role in the bDAO Ombuds office for the term if need be.
Qualifications
I am collaborative, detail oriented, creative problem solver and I have education, experience, and skills in governance, organizational science, and project management.
IRL I have has led the redesign of risk frameworks, strategy, and governance process in both public, private and NFP enterprises in tech, finance and sports with various titles like “change agent”, “special projects”, "advisor" first as employee, then as a consultant, and for the last few years as a board director.
I have some visibility with the state of the bDAO from my perch in the Ombuds office, where I listen to the problem spaces across the DAO.
Reason for Applying
I am applying to this role for a few reasons:
I have the time and the motivation to do this, I identify with the Bankless DAO ethos, and I have been waiting for an opportunity to contribute my full skill to the DAO. I cannot draw, write, sing, or code well, but I have spent most of life engaged in building risk frameworks and in strategic planning spaces, and this is an area where I can contribute.
Great planning of any type starts with an understanding of where we are today, confronting the brutal facts, so we can build a future.
Firstly, there are many great proposals and ideations already underway by other DAO members, each trying to address problem spaces. Building a bottom-up, member inclusive holistic risk framework, will group the ideology and cultural norms of the DAO. As the DAO scales a risk framework will be a key element for ensuring that emergent contribution and member pathways remain in service of the DAO’s ethos and mission. Right now, this is a missing enabler.
This framework can move us further towards horizontal collaboration and multiply power in the system so we can create what we need to create without running a bureaucracy with permissions. Longer term, this could enable the dissolution of the grants committee and further enable decentralization and move projects and guilds towards self-organizing without requiring unity in internal process and structures between them. Ultimately, a risk framework can evolve into a risk protocol.
Secondly, building strategic guidance as a tool grounded in the risk framework will amplify the lessons of the risk framework and evolve responsible decision-making and contributor compensation to be in alignment with the direction of the DAO.
The practical skill I can bring to the GSE working group is to help identify, aggregate and synthesize the risks resident of each corner of the DAO and integrate it into collaborative strategic guidance.