Quality of Experience: 

Stress

[He] looks for tiny reasons to get upset.  He's like a
high-strung child that everyone
[else is] afraid of.
Owner

Key members of the board have been accused of using power irresponsibly by needlessly fabricating issues and then treating them as zero-sum games.  The rationalization is often juvenile or obscure.  Rules and fines for owners are imposed arbitrarily and with prejudice.  Those wanting to be left alone are provoked and taunted in ways that are childish and excessive. 

This not only creates unnecessary stress on the victims, who simply want to relax and enjoy themselves, but also on those not directly involved, as it raises legal, liability and other expenses while putting downward pressure on sales prices.  (As one investor bluntly put it, “Who wants to have any part of their lives controlled by an asshole?”) 

A thoughtful e-mail from a former owner agrees that the problems stem from the president's personality.  Here are relevant excerpts:

"Scott is one of those people who needs stimulation, but his fun always comes at other people's expense [...]

"With Scott, everything is about winning.  In order to win, you need issues, which is why he creates them.  Most of it is about control, but sometimes he manufacture 'wins' that he can brag about so that we pat him on the back.

"He loves to push people's buttons - make them run around and waste their time and money.  Since there is zero accountability [at Beaver Ridge], he can take it much further than you might expect a community of adults to tolerate.  Lives have been turned upside down for his amusement.

"He is very good at detecting and exploiting weak spots, but you will never see him take responsibility for the damage he causes
[...]

"At the same time, he has to deceive and manipulate a core group to retain power.  The trick is keeping them from finding out what he does or, if they do, conning them into thinking that it is the victim's fault.  This is what thrills him.  How outrageous can he act around the edges without the people in the middle figuring him out?"


Next Issue: Favoritism and Shifting Bylaws

Home