Being a successful small town City Manager quickly brings the revelation that you do all the same things as the managers in larger cities but without the staff or resources. You certainly don’t have the same scale but you certainly do have the same responsibilities for each of the fundamental and functional basics of municipal management. It can quickly become overwhelming, frustrating and dysfunctional unless you learn to become focused.
Throughout the organization, the tasks mount up and the realization that you need to take a very disciplined and calculated approach to the operation of things needs to occur quickly. The adage of “trying to be everything to everyone means you are nothing to no one” will hit you quickly. In my experience, the discipline of knowing what you want most and working toward a very focused goal will help you achieve the best things over the long term with a much higher quality.
Hence, my “In-N-Out Burger” philosophy on city government.
Growing up in Southern California, without question, the best hamburgers always came from driving through In-N-Out Burger. They have a simple menu of hamburgers, fries, sodas and really delicious shakes. The difference between them and the other restaurants was how delicious the burgers were, the consistency of the product and the fact that the simplicity of the menu allowed them to focus on serving the best. No taco’s or McRibs, fish or chicken sandwiches and never a salad bar or breakfast menu. Burgers, fries, sodas and shakes. Period!
When it comes to strategic planning, goal setting and the inevitable prioritization of what you are working on, I have learned to keep a very focused menu of the most important and critical path issues needed to be successful. This does not mean going for easy items, it means a high level of focus on the most important items which will produce the most benefit. The ability to get the elected and staff members on board with the smaller list means establishing measurables and accountability for follow through. It also means celebrating the milestones toward bigger items which have transcendental impacts to the organization and the community.
Over the years, I have stressed my In-N-Out philosophy to every department and division head I have worked with and in many cases, the job offer was made at an In-N-Out Burger for emphasis. Job expectations focus on the small menu with the evaluations considering only the main items and never on the “a la carte” items which seemed to pop up periodically.
A funny story on the emphasis- I had a chief of our very small police department come into my office and pitch the idea of adding a “bike patrol” to our operations. I looked at him and said, “that sure seems like we are adding a taco to our menu!” The chief just froze in front of me and began a rant on “how this would be incorporated into core patrol operations!” I then asked him, “what kind of hot sauce would this include and could they add some “fire or picante” flavor?” He just turned an walked out the door! (eventually we added it to our events security program)
Abraham Lincoln was once quoted that “Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most.” Staying focused, working on the items which will bring the greatest benefits and not deviating from your core mission will make all the difference between being “good or GREAT.”
Plus, you get to eat at In-N-Out periodically which is a good thing!!!!