As of Tuesday morning July 24, 2007, I am no longer the Executive Director of the Sakai Foundation. Michael Korcuska is now the Sakai Executive Director and he is already doing a great job and I will continue to work closely with Michael to ensure a smooth transition.
For me personally it is a big transition – not so much because of a change in title – but instead in a change in what I will be doing with my workday and work week. I have had the distinct pleasure over the past 3.5 years to have a single job to do and great flexibility, resources, and people to advance the cause of Sakai.
Each day I could wake up and think about only one thing – “how to move the Sakai needle in the right direction today” – for me this was a blend of all the things I like to do – writing code, talking to people, making decisions, making presentations, traveling to far off lands, editing a video, sitting across a table from a faculty committee evaluating Sakai, and on and on.
We operated at a fast pace – we built the bicycle while we were riding it. We defined “Community Source” under crucible-like pressure and then re-adjusted the definition when we needed to evolve.
My job with Sakai stretched every bit of my skills to the limit and made me grow as a person as a result. I am very thankful for that.
I am amazed at the diverse talent that we have assembled around Sakai from all over the world and the dedication of the Sakai community. Working this fast and under this much pressure leaves everyone some bumps and bruises. What amazes me is that through it all – we have stuck very much together like a family – we never let small and medium sized issues distract us from the overall goal. Ultimately we knew that from the beginning we were all in this together so we had to adjust as we went along.
As I drop from 50 hours a week on Sakai to 4-5 hours per week, I am happy that there are so many passionate members of the community that do such a good job and with such dedication.
Starting now I will be very focused on learning Ruby and preparing for my classes. This Fall will take a lot of my attention to make the transition back to the faculty approach to things – teaching, writing papers, writing grants, not-much travel, etc. This is the first time I will be full-time in a faculty role – so I want to do it well.
I would just like to close thanking everyone in the Sakai community – without your willingness to make a commitment and take a bit of a risk on Sakai – we would have nothing at this point. Each new pair of hands reduces the risk for the rest of the community – we have grown to an amazing point in Sakai – the key is not just adoptions – but the size, strength, and diversity of the worldwide creative community around Sakai.
For me I never set out to just produce software – I tried to build a real community of friends that would naturally produce software once we got together and had a few beers.
I am pleased to report that we have made excellent progress on the “making many friends” and “having a few beers” goals.