Open Eyes

Back in October, I agreed to approach this whole SMGI/Tribal Council scenario with an open mind. Nobody will convince me I haven't done just that. Not that I won't be second guessing this exercise all the way through.
I usually show up for work between 8:30 and 9:00, being a big fan of sleep. Today was one of those days in I had to come in early. In addition to being sitting board members of Spirit Mountain Gaming, Incorporated, there are a handful of committees, in actuality sub-groups of the board, that filter upward to the directors. I have yet to pick out which committees I would act as liaison to. In an effort to get a feel for these committees, I showed up at 8:30...okay more like 8:45, to give each one a test run. Out of respect for policies of Spirit Mountain Casino, I will not go into detail about these committees, other than that they are tied to fairly important departments like Finance, Audit, and Surveillance.
I can't really say that any of the committees jumped out at me more than the others, in fact all of them in some way trully fascinated me, particularly Surveillance. Catching even a brief glimpse of floor action through the eyes of our own casino Big Brother is one of those guilty pleasures. What did jump out at me though was that between the 8:45 a.m. start time and the eventual 4:30 adjournment of the SMGI session, I spent nearly seven hours of time in complete meeting mode. No wonder I have a headache.
Which gets to my real point here: The Council position some times is stretched dangerously thin. As I peruse my work email, my teeth grind at the more than 200 unread emails which have piled up in the old mailbox. Maybe that iPhone isn't such a bad idea after all.
That is probably my biggest objection to being on the casino board. In reality we are assuming a whole new world of responsibilities, and the casino trully is its own territory, with its own politics, dynamics and personalities. The last few SMGI meetings have started to bear an odd resemblance to our Tribal and General Council meetings, with Tribal members demanding time in which to air their grievances, and offer suggestions as to how we can improve this overall operation. Outcry from the membership, and/or the fear of, are alluded to often in our board meetings.
As I say all this hopefully nobody will see it as pure criticism. More than anything it's observations from a unique position, of a unique situation. Indian gaming must be enigmatic to newcomers. My own guess is that gaming tribes, especially those where the line of tribal government and business (i.e. casinos) intersect, are kind of a hybrid organization, and I really wonder if there has ever been some model of administration designed that would incorporate both. If there is I sure would like to see and learn about it, because there are definite challenges here.
The biggest challenge of course is time, and you realize that when the monthly report comes in, loaded with numbers, summaries, comparisons with previous years, budgets versus actuals, etc. Expertise is a close second. The role of a Tribal Council member within the tribal community already is a time-consuming vocation. Taking on a multi-million dollar business on the side is a considerable workload to add, and I question whether we have the time to dedicate to doing it right.
The expertise is another argument. To be honest, in the limited time I've been involved, I can't really say that my peers are clueless to how this business is run. They know more than I do. But there are a number of managers and directors that report to us as a body who occupy positions with skills and experience that, to be nice, none of us Council members could apply for were the jobs vacant and be expected to have much chance of getting. I certainly wouldn't be taken seriously if I did. There is something to be said for that.
It's all moot, though. The membership let us know months ago they were comfortable, barely, with the present scenario. Me, I remain skeptical. Yeah, I see now, but my vision hasn't changed much.