DAOs are on my mind.
And you probably know why.
They are a big initiative for Harmony and I want to pull from the wisdom of our community to make them better and better.
I find myself going over some of the same concepts with people I talk to regarding who “runs” or “manages” a DAO and what it would mean to be a governor of a DAO.
Here are some thoughts. NOTE: This is not prescriptive. These are just my thoughts.
Minds can change with new facts and new arguments.
WHO MANAGES THE DAO?
Quick answer - no one.
The DAO is a “member-managed” entity. Which means that the people that make up the DAO community manage that DAO.
“But, Sam,” I can hear you say. “We have DAO Governors”
Yes, that’s true. And they are great people - each and everyone of them. They are putting a lot of hard work and time into getting these projects off the ground.
But they aren’t the DAO managers.
At the end of the day - the role of the DAO Governors is - at it’s root - three fold. (a) Facilitate voting for the members of the DAO, (b) Managing the Voting process, (c) Signing the Multi-sig wallet when an approved vote has funding attached.
If you think about it - this is 100% the value of a DAO. No single person is “anointed” as God Emperor of a DAO-universe. There is no leader. There is no bequeathing of authority. There is just DAO → a Decentralized Autonomous Organization.
Tell me your thoughts on this topic. I want to know. I hate shouting in an echo chamber so - please - disagree with me
I fully agree, the DAO itself just has to make sure things are being done, people vote and hire people/teams to do the jobs they want to see done (with community vote backing ofc). In the end, like you said, the DAO should serve the community, and not the other way around.
there are good DAO models for us to look at already such as sushi, maker, synthetix where the multi-sig holders (governors) are primarily responsible for executing on the will of the community.
i think of DAOs similar to a government of the people, for the people, and by the people.
I prefer to be precise with this and will always follow the idea that only $ONE holders (HRC-20 derivatives, etc are included) can manage various DAOs on Harmony
“But, Sam,” I can hear you say. “We have DAO Governors ”
Yes, that’s true. And they are great people - each and everyone of them. They are putting a lot of hard work and time into getting these projects off the ground.
But they aren’t the DAO managers.
They are more likely a ‘bridge’ in btw the core team and DAO communities (VDAO, CDAO, anynewDAO). There should be someone who can take responsibilities on and facilitate the delivery of thoughts/ideas, do routine work and make all DAO initiatives happen. They are GOVERNORS - volunteer individuals who can commit time and work.
I agree, unlike the government of a “democaratic” country, power is still retained by the people and the ‘elected officials’ do not have the power to make any decision without a majority vote by the community.
The governor does not only have the role of being responsible for managing popular decision-making. They can be hired for their specialties and skills that the community determines are important over a period of time.
In the case of Continent DAO, governors are experts in their fields who will be vital in the organization’s 12-month development. BD, Marketing, Community Management, Ops and others.
In other examples, governors may represent their DAOs in front of other institutions, as in the case of Australia that wishes to recognize DAOs.
Governors have an influence on DAOs. It doesn’t change the fact that the community has the final word.
