Pearl of Wisdom # 78 Public Officials' Goals

It is a fact - it is impossible for the largest magnifying glass in the world to ignite a piece of paper on a bright sunny day if you keep moving the magnifying glass.  However, any small magnifying glass, if properly focused, over a piece of paper and kept focused, can quickly ignite the paper on fire.

The same, I believe, is true with elected and appointed officials of county boards, city councils, parishes, townships, boroughs, or school boards.  If they fail to develop goals and keep a tight focus, they shouldn't expect  much to happen in their unit of local government.

Pearl of Wisdom # 77 Government Officials Relating to Employees

As a local government official, never walk in front of your public employees - they may not follow.

It's also important that you not walk behind your local public employees - they may not know which way you want them to go.

It's important you walk alongside your public employees and give them clear directions, solid advice and personal feedback so they know what you expect.

Pearl of Wisdom # 76 Trick Questions

Most of the questions raised at a local government public hearing are similar to those raised at the American Association of Magicians ... they are all trick questions.

Pearl of Wisdom # 75 Accepting the Best

There is a funny thing about serving in a unit of local government - or in a business environment. 

Once you begin to accept anything but the best you seldom ever get the best.

Pearl of Wisdom # 74 Do Your Best

You are not expected to be the best local government official the world has ever seen - all that is expected is that you try your best while you serve in public office.

Pearl of Wisdom # 73 Perfect Answers

There are few perfect answers - respond to every question the best that you can.

Pearl of Wisdom # 72 Implement a Plan

Implement a plan or a policy now - perfect it later.

Pearl of Wisdom # 71 Failures in Government

The real failures in local government are those elected and appointed public officials who really never tried to make a difference.

Pearl of Wisdom # 70 Conversation

When a local public official engages in a conversation without a purpose it is like going on a journey without a destination.

Pearl of Wisdom # 69 Direction Wind Blows

You can't control the way the wind blows in your community but you can adjust the direction of your sails.

Pearl of Wisdom # 68 Leading Public Employees

Either lead your public employees, follow your public employees, or get the hell out of their way.

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Pearl of Wisdom # 67 Leadership is Action

Local government leadership is action - it's not a title on a business card or a position you hold on a committee.

Pearl of Wisdom # 66 Your Colleagues

Your colleagues - the other men and women who are elected and appointed officials who serve on your public body - school boards, city councils, commissions or regulatory authorities are not against you ... it just that they are merely for themselves.

Pearl of Wisdom # 65 Positive Thinking

If local public officials think they can - they usually can.

If local public officials think they can't - its almost a given they can't.

Pearl of Wisdom # 64 Constituents

       Simple Truths About The Constituents of Local Government Officials

The vast majority of constituents will forget what their local government officials say while they are in public office.

The vast majority of constituents will forget what their local  government officials do while they are in public office.

Few, if any, constituents will ever forget how their local government officials made them feel while they were in public office.

Pearl of Wisdom # 63 Concerned Public Officials

There is a "significant difference" between local government officials who worry and those who are concerned.

Public officials who worry are the ones who only see the problems in their communities.  Public officials who are concerned generally are evaluating possible solutions to improve their local communities.
 

Pearl of Wisdom # 62 Daydreams

Local government officials should daydream often as to how life in their local communities could be better; for it's often their  daydreams that become the blueprints for how they achieve true success in public office.

Pearl of Wisdom # 61 Enthusiasm

Successful local public official understand one basic and very important concept:  It is important that they go from a failed idea in local government to another without losing enthusiasm.

They know that Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron did not hit a home run every time they went to bat.   

Pearl of Wisdom # 60 Professional Opinions

Professional opinions expressed by senior public employees and department supervisors have a tendency to quickly devalue as they are brought up for discussion during public meetings or public hearings.

Pearl of Wisdom # 59 Information Deterioration

Most information that is collected in a unit of local government has a propensity to deteriorate in quality as it moves upward toward the local public officials.  The rate of deterioration increases dramatically when the information that has been collected is being discussed in a public meeting or public hearing.

Therefore verify, verify and verify any information you have before you go public with it.

Pearl of Wisdom # 58 Blame

In local government, just like in corporate America, assigning the blame when a problem is detected is always easier than actually fixing the problem.

Pearl of Wisdom # 57 Time Spent on a Project

They best way to understand any project undertaken by a local government unit (i.e. city, village, county, township, school board, borough, parish, district etc.) is to remember that the first 90% of the project will take approximately 10% of the time; it will be the last 10% of the project that will take up 90% of the time.

Pearl of Wisdom # 56 Fallout

If you're an elected or appointed local public official, expect to receive fallout "when anything hits the fan" - even if you were out of town, in the hospital recovering from open heart surgery, and had absolutely nothing to do with it.

Pearl of Wisdom # 55 Productive Public Hearing

You never know for sure when it will arrive, but there comes a moment during every public hearing when you know nothing more productive can possibly come out of the rest of the meeting.

Pearl of Wisdom # 54 Realizing You Are Wrong

Nothing will be more infuriating for you as public official than that very moment when you are in a heated discussion with a political adversary or speaking out in a well attended public meeting and you suddenly realize that you are totally wrong in what you have been saying.

Pearl of Wisdom # 53 Sending Out Minutes

We all know it is very important to send out the minutes of any public meeting in a timely manner, but we sometimes forget ...

Only two delegates to the Continental Congress actually signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776: John Hancock and Charles Thomson.

Most of the delegates did not sign the Declaration of Independence until August 2 and the last signature was not added until 1781 - five years later.

Pearl of Wisdom # 52 Saving Phone Numbers

It’s a good idea to save the phone numbers of many of your political adversaries and community antagonists in your cell phone so you know which calls not to take when you are in an important meeting or enjoying quality time with your family.

Pearl of Wisdom # 51 Business Development

The question is not whether your town, village, city or county wants business development ...
The question is, what does your community offer businesses and their employees who might consider relocating to, or establishing a new business in, your community?

Pearl of Wisdom # 50 Double Standards

Eliminate double standards in local government -
Don't have one standard for government employees and another for the elected or appointed public officials who serve in local government.

Pearl of Wisdom # 49 - Public Office Term Focus

Remember your term in public office will be short so focus on:

1) Speaking slowly

2) Forgiving quickly

3) Laughing often, and

4) Walking away with absolutely no regrets.

Pearl of Wisdom # 48 Good Judgment

In local government “Good Judgment” comes from experience -- and experience in local government seems to only be acquired from previous bad judgment.

Pearl of Wisdom # 98 How To Be a Great Failure in Local Government

The quickest way to ensure you are "total failure as a Local Public Government" is to try to make everyone in the community happy with your decisions.

Pearl of Wisdom # 47 Ways Public Officials Learn

There are three ways local public officials learn.

Some learn by reading - so give them documentation regarding the subject.

Some learn by observation - so take them out for a tour of the problem.

Some learn only by trial and error - get out of their way and hope they figure it out.

Pearl of Wisdom # 46 - Just Listen

Never pass up a good chance to shut up and just listen.

Pearl of Wisdom # 45 - Raising Taxes

There are two well-known and widely accepted theories on how to raise property taxes without causing pain in your local community - neither of them work.

Pearl of Wisdom # 44 - Problems You Have to Face

99.3 % of all the problems, controversies, and delicate issues you and your colleagues will have to face, confront, or deal with are either created or initiated by the actions or lack of actions taken by the board, councils, or committees that preceded you in local government.

Pearl of Wisdom # 43 - Accomplishments While in Office

No matter how much you accomplish or personally try to accomplish during your term in office, there will always be a handful of adversaries - constituents and/or community residents - who will insist you didn’t do enough while you were in office.

Pearl of Wisdom # 42 - Crisis

When your unit of local government is confronted with a crisis or an extremely difficult situation, trying to find a viable solution you can live with might be a lot easier if you ask yourself, "How would my mother or father handle this situation?"

Pearl of Wisdom # 41 - State Statutes

Following state statutes can often prevent you and your colleagues from solving the unique problems plaguing your unit of local government or community.  But rest assured, finding cost-effective ways or creating ways to resolve your unique local problems will never, ever be accepted as a valid excuse for not following state statutes.