We Will Be
I was a Director of a Department several years ago that was newly established. We had opportunities to create a lot of initial structure, such as program fees, cost recovery ratios, standard operating procedures, etc. We created the first of several ongoing strategic plans. In other words, some cool stuff that I enjoyed working on since we were able to design and implement much of the structure we needed.
I wanted a vision statement, and especially a mission statement. I felt strongly that the citizens needed to know what we believed in and were about. Furthermore, I wanted the staff to know it as well. We were a new organization and we needed a constant we could always refer to and remind ourselves, “This is what we do.” And, by exclusion, this is what we don’t do. I appointed a committee of 6 staff people to work on it (I’m not smart enough to be that creative. But I’m smart enough to appoint people who are). The mission statement started out with a couple of introductory sentences. Then it said something I still think is the best start to ANY mission statement, ANYWHERE, I’ve ever read. It said:
“We will be the leading provider…” and then outlined the areas where we would be. Not we will try to be, we hope to be, we think, maybe, under the right circumstances we can be. We Will Be.
When is Good… Enough?
If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I’ve had two parallel careers. One as a Navy Reserve Intelligence Officer for 30 years, and one working for local city and county governments for even longer.
You’ve heard, I’ve heard, almost everyone has heard the phrase, “It’s good enough for government work.” It drives me crazy. What does that even mean? When is good enough, enough? It demeans anyone who has worked in local government, or any government. It implies that “government work” is mediocre at best. It casts doubt on the professionals who work daily in and for local government. I mean, if “it’s ” good enough for government work, then the people who work there must just be good enough also. Quality and service? Commitment? Attention to detail?
Maybe I’m fortunate, but I’ve never worked in any environment that had the “good enough for government work” attitude.
We never hear, “It’s good enough for military work.” “That’s half-ass, the Navy will be fine with it.” We expect the best from the military- both leadership and principles. We should expect the best from local government officials as well.
I recently wrote (HERE) about military leadership. I highlighted General James Mattis, the new Secretary of Defense. He issued several command guidance principles when he assumed command of 1st Marine Division. One of those in particular is relevant to “good enough.”
We’re Not Bush-League
General Mattis said: “This (1st Marine Division) is not some JV, bush-league outfit. We’re the Marines. ”
If he were in the Navy and taking command of Pacific Fleet, for example, I’m confident he would have said, “We’re the Navy.” If he were taking over as CO for 4th Infantry Division, he would have said, “We are the Army.”
No Worse Than Anywhere Else
What does this have to do with local government?
We want– we expect- our elected leadership to be proud of the organization, proud of the people who work there, and to hold employees to the highest of standards. Don’t we? Do we really want our government organization to strive to be average? A bush league, junior varsity outfit? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live in a city or county that has, under the city seal or county seal at the top of the letterhead:
