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Front Page
The MAG Annual Group Conference 2002
Annual Reports by National Officers to the
AGC 2002
Why Me?
Possible New NC Post - Network Communications Officer
Daytime Headlights
Vehicle Excise Duty - Where MAG Stands and Why
Henry Marks Gets MAG into Parliament!
Free European Bike
Events for MAG Members
How Your NC Really Works
MAG and the Motorcycle Industry Association
Communicating With Clubs
Running a Local MAG Branch
MAG Events
Previous Issues
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How Your NC Really Works
Over the years there has been a lot of rubbish talked about how the NC works, what the different roles involve and who has the power, most of it by people with personal vendettas to pursue.
And it is very easy to do. In any organisation there is always a degree of suspicion directed from the membership towards the people in charge. To a reasonable degree this is helpful. Worthy concern resulting in
positive pressure is to be welcomed and encouraged. It keeps the NC on its toes. There is however a line to be drawn between worthy concern on the one hand, and destructive and groundless paranoia on the other.
MAG's NC is actually very open in the way it runs its affairs. Ordinary Members can attend MAG National Committee meetings to see first hand what goes on. NC minutes are published in Network. The MAG Board is
likewise amenable to receiving observers for all but the most sensitive business - usually that dealing with staff matters.
A Good Example of a Bad Example
About fifteen years ago MAG had a Local
Rep -his name is not important - who rode on demos with a placard on the back of his bike saying "Don't Trust the NC". The NC at the time was the most devoted and talented MAG had ever had. This individual
created conflict in his own region, with his own Regional Rep, and suspicion and animosity in other Regions. Years later he joined the NC and admitted he'd been a plonker. Once on the NC he'd seen what was really
involved and understood how much work got done.
The sad thing is that there are still people in MAG today who would rather create divisions than try to achieve positive progress, who try and talk MAG down
rather than motivating the membership for success. The unforgivable thing is that from time to time these are people who themselves serve on the NC. Thankfully there are not many of them. The vast majority of MAG
Members and officers at all levels are in it for the betterment of biking.
Time for Reality
Your National Committee discussed this tendency at the Regional Affairs Meeting on February 9th 2002.
That discussion resulted in the following minute:
"All Regional Reps agreed that contrary to the perception of some in the membership the NC does work properly, the Regional Reps make the decisions and
that this just needs communicating better to the membership so as to correct this misconception."
MAG NC decisions are not dictated by Neil Liversidge or Ian Mutch or Henry Marks or the Board or any
other combination of individuals save for the legitimate decision making body represented by the only voting members - the Regional Reps themselves. The reality, pure and simple, is that MAG works as it was designed
to work when the Constitution was written. All NC Members have a say certainly, as is right. National Officers have their mandate from the AGC. But the Regional Reps make the ultimate decisions. Those who seek to
create a false impression of the NC's workings actually insult the integrity and ability of the Regional Reps, as well as those others who they accuse of dictating the agenda. The Regional Reps are neither lap dogs
nor fools.
The Role of the Board
It also seems to have become fashionable on the part of a few people to try and make out that the Board is up to something nefarious. The strange thing is that some
of these putting this scare story about were Board members themselves before they went off to work for the Motorcycle industry Association. Strange then that the sentiment never occurred to them before. Let's face
it though, the Board is a softer target. It's a lot smaller than the full NC and its members have the title of Director. Calling somebody a Director is a gift to the proponents of pedestal jealousy. The reality
however is that 'Board' is just a posh name for the good old fashioned MAG institution of a working group. This particular working group looks in depth at the money side of things, handles the staff, reviews the
work of MAG Central and suchlike. As a body it does next to no work on MAG policy simply because a) there is not the time and b) most of its members are not concerned with the policy side of MAG anyway.
The
reality is that MAG's Directors can do very little without the say so of the rest of the NC. If they goof up however they can be held personally liable for their actions. It makes no policy decisions at all. What it
does do occasionally is try to thrash out complex issues so that the facts can be presented to the NC in a clear way. Nobody seems to have any problem with that, as it means NC meetings finish at 5pm instead of 8pm,
as was once the case. In recent times most of the Board's work has concerned money earning initiatives, membership administration and staff matters.
Come and See for Yourself
With the new Regional
Affairs Meeting format MAG has a closer and tighter NC than ever before. National officers can get a better handle on what is bugging the members and solutions can be found faster. Never has the atmosphere felt so
good as at the last NC and never has the NC got so much value out of a meeting. The end result of all this is that MAG is better and more effective than ever. Come and see for yourself. If you want to come to a NC
meeting, just tell your Regional Rep. We will make you very welcome.
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