Guest Blog from Doug Bodary

Each member of the IPS Leadership Academy is required to make at least one blog post during their two-year leadership experience.  This is Doug's post:

 

County Official Orientation Program in August 2014 and Its Importance

Every four years the majority of county officials in Tennessee run for re-election and inevitably these elections produce fresh faces in some of the courthouses.  This upcoming August’s elections, with numerous retirements as well as officials just deciding not to seek another term, is shaping up to be an election with a major turnover of county elected officials.  While some of these new elected officials may have an idea of the office of what they will be elected to (i.e. they were an employee in the office), many will be entering the office that they will manage for the first time on September 1.  

Seeing the need several years ago for a basic introductory course for the newly elected officials, CTAS created the County Officials Orientation Program (COOP).  This intensive course not only provides an overview of the basics of the elected offices, but also gives the new officials a chance to meet the CTAS staff and the field consultant that is assigned to their county.  Additionally, this program gives the opportunity for networking of the new officials with the county officials associations, as their board members and their executive directors attend the conference as well. 

Through the training and networking opportunities that the newly elected county officials will find at COOP, they will know who to call and turn to for assistance and guidance when they take office on September 1 and face an issue that they are unsure of an answer to.  It is through this orientation program and the first couple months in office that many of the new officials form a professional relationship of trust and confidence with the CTAS staff that can carry on for the duration of their time in office. Therefore, it is critical that their experience at COOP is a positive one. COOP truly is the first and lasting impression that CTAS gives to the newly elected officials and it is paramount that it be successful. 

 

Doug Bodary, CPA, MBA
Finance & Budget Consultant
County Technical Assistance Service
315 John Rice Blvd. STE 101
Murfreesboro, TN 37129
615-532-3555 office
615-653-7001 cell

Promoting better county government through direct assistance to county officials and their associations

 

15 Great Leadership Lessons

This is a re-post of Dr. Harry Hertz's Baldrige blog. These 15 Great Leadership Lessons are particularly relevant to our work at IPS.

A Sense of Comity

I am basing this leadership column on remarks delivered by Secretary of State John Kerry in his farewell address to his colleagues at the end of his 28 years in the Senate. I think Kerry’s "15 Great Leadership Lessons" make a compelling case for study and emulation by all leaders. And I see clear parallels to characteristics of CEOs of Baldrige Award recipients (Baldrige CEOs) and to the concepts of visionary leadership (a Baldrige Criteria core value), servant leadership, and comity.
Let me start with a very old concept, comity. Comity means a state of civility or courtesy between people, organizations, and nations. It's a hoped-for attribute reflecting mutual respect. I would assert it is a critical characteristic for successful leaders in both political and "business" environments. It is a key characteristic expressed by Kerry and implicit in the beliefs of Baldrige CEOs. It is also a critical attribute if one believes, as Kerry does, in servant leadership, which is practiced by many Baldrige CEOs.

Servant leadership is based on the premise of being a servant first and then aspiring to leadership for the benefit of those served. The servant leader focuses on the needs of others and serves in an organization characterized by an inverted pyramid, with "customers" at the top, and with leaders at the bottom enabling organizational accomplishment.

The Baldrige core value of visionary leadership is practiced by senior leaders who set a vision for the organization, create a customer focus, demonstrate clear and visible organizational values and ethics, and set high expectations for their colleagues in the workforce. They foster innovation and intelligent risk taking, build organizational knowledge and capabilities, and ensure organizational sustainability.

A recent study by John Latham (PDF) of 14 Baldrige Award recipients identifies the following six individual leader characteristics possessed by the leaders of those Baldrige Award-winning organizations: having a sense of purpose and meaning, being both humble and confident, possessing integrity, having a systems perspective, and sharing particular attitudes and motivations. In the area of attitudes and motivations, Latham has identified these six patterns (PDF) that differentiate Baldrige CEOs:

• They are more likely to want to evolve change and drive continuous improvement.
• They are strongly motivated to work with systems and processes.
• They are less likely to think sole responsibility is important.
• They study the past and use their experience to make decisions.
• They are strongly motivated to manage by fact.
• They are not very motivated to deal with people who have rules different than their own.

Servant leaders, visionary leaders, Baldrige CEOs could not behave as described above without a sense of comity. I think the intersection of all these characteristics and a need for comity was wonderfully displayed in the 15 leadership lessons shared by John Kerry at his Senate farewell. Here I’ll share those lessons with you, adding some commentary and encouragement for your own leadership style:

1. Failure is important—it teaches us humility. Think of the leaders you have respected over the years, and ask yourself if they were humble or arrogant. How did they react to failures along the way? Did they learn or did they burn?
2. Acknowledgement matters—give thanks to the big and little giants whose shoulders you stand on. Success is a team sport that involves everyone on the team. Credit should be shared.

3. Federal workers should be celebrated, not demonized. I won’t comment on the specific reference to federal workers, but how often do we wince at CEOs who demonize their employees?

4. Respect America’s institutions—they’re bigger than any one person and unite us. Kerry said, "What’s right about the Senate [is] the predominant and weighty notion that 100 American citizens, chosen by their neighbors to serve from states as different as Massachusetts and Montana, can always choose to put parochial or personal interests aside and find the national interest." We face many challenges as a country whose solutions evade us for a lack of comity. For all of us, the parallel question is, do we put parochial or personal interests aside to serve the larger interest of our organizations and communities?

5. Servant leadership is the truest kind of leadership—and it demands courage.

6. Divided we will certainly fail.
Lessons 5 and 6 are true for our national governance system, for our workplace governance systems, for our communities, and for our families.

7. We must lead for our times and for all times. Kerry talked about honoring history, but also acting for the legacy that we can and want to leave. As Latham’s research shows, Baldrige CEOs learn from the past and build on that experience. All leaders should learn from the past and think of the total legacy they will leave.

8. Our choices, not processes and rules, define us. Problems arise when we can’t live by the same rules; another Baldrige CEO characteristic relates to these rules. And to paraphrase Kerry’s words, when an individual—or colluding caucus—determines that the comity essential to an institution’s proper operation is a barrier to individual ambition or partisan ambition, the larger community suffers.

9. Our problems are manmade, so they can be solved by man. Kerry quoted President Kennedy, who said, "Reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable, and we believe they can do it again."

10. The Senate faces three challenges: lack of respect, the corrupting influence of money, and the disregard for fact. Kerry spoke of the interest peddling by those with a lot of money, the access it affords, and the way it can silence the voices of the majority of Americans. I think this point applies to many institutions today. Lack of respect, the corrupting influence of money, and the disregard for fact are certainly contrary to Baldrige CEOs’ style, visionary leadership, and servant leadership.

11. Leadership must be by example.
12. Relationships matter.
Lessons 11 and 12 are at the crux of servant leaders’, Baldrige CEOs’, and visionary leaders’ characteristics.

13. Diversity strengthens us. While not explicitly included in the three leadership styles discussed above, the Baldrige Criteria emphasize diversity and that your workforce should represent the diverse ideas, cultures, and thinking of your hiring and customer communities.

14. Youth shouldn’t stop you from sharing your voice – or listening to others.
15. Finally, listening, above all else, is what matters most. Servant leaders listen and communicate. Baldrige CEOs believe responsibility needs to be shared; therefore, Baldrige CEOs are effective two-way communicators.
What is required as an overarching belief and attribute of successful leaders? Comity, exemplified by civility and discourse. Kerry summed up his time in the Senate this way: "The privilege of being here is in being able to listen to your constituents. It is the people and their voices . . . that determine whether or not our democracy works." I would paraphrase his last comment as, "The privilege of being a leader is being able to listen to your customers (and employees) because they determine the organization’s success."

I commend Kerry’s 15 lessons to all leaders. If I had to summarize this Insights column in one lesson, it would be this: Serve with comity. That attribute of respect for all could take us a long way toward a better workplace and a more engaged customer community for all organizations. Leadership is a privilege, and those who are so privileged have a duty to exercise that privilege with a commitment to serve and serve with comity.

Guest Blog from Mandy Johnson

Getting back to Basics with Modern Technology – Connecting with our Customers

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit in on training about using social media.  To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect.  I use some social media personally, but I have struggled to find ways to effectively use social media at work.  And, truthfully, keeping up with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and a blog just make my “to do” list even longer.   Who has the time? 

But, then, sitting in class I had that “ah-ha” moment.  The moment where it clicks and you realize not only do I get it – but we, as an organization, can’t afford not to get it.  For me, there were two key points that brought home the essence of social media.  The part I was missing. 

#1 Social media, when used correctly, is a way to get back to the basics of doing business – person to person.  I know, it sounds crazy – personal interaction via technology – but it is true.  Social media takes business back to the same fundamental values when business transactions took place with a handshake between two people.  Social media removes the barriers of the digital divide created by mass marketing, radio, television and the web.  It restores the person-to-person interaction of business.  Social media fosters complete transparency.  It offers immediate access and results.  It relies on word of mouth reputation.  And, it issues severe penalties for cheating.  While it may not be conducted literally face-to-face; social media is personal.       

#2 People want to connect with me.  Our customers want to connect with us – not the Institute for Public Service, MTAS, CTAS, CIS, LEIC, etc.  They want to know us – individually – not the organization.  Our customers want to know Kevin Lauer (CTAS fire consultant) and see the pictures he has posted from his latest trip to Philadelphia with the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF).  They want to share in the excitement of the students who got to participate in the first National Forensic Academy Collegiate Program.  Your blog post, Tweet or status update doesn’t have to be a dissertation.  It is the accumulation of small, meaningful interactions (yes, interactions through technology) that build the relationship.  For as long as I can remember, IPS has touted that our employees are our greatest resource.  Yet, we are hiding behind printed brochures, static web pages, and e-newsletters.  The people that get the opportunity to meet us, attend one of our trainings, or receive our services, love us.  But, how can new people find us or hear about the great work we have done for others?  We have to put ourselves out there – not just as the Institute for Public Service – but as the people who make us great.

So, really, social media isn’t more work – it’s more of being ourselves.  It’s helping us achieve what we want most – a meaningful connection with our customers. 

For more on the training and Mark W. Schaefer visit http://www.businessesgrow.com/.  A copy of his presentation is on the I drive in I:\Social Media.

Guest Blog from Erin Ketelle

By now I am guessing that most IPS employees have heard the five letters “TNCPE.” For those not familiar with TNCPE, the acronym stands for Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence. TNCPE operates a four level awards program based on the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program.  As part of the IPS Leadership Academy, our class project was to submit a level 1 application and a level 3 application.

I will admit when we started the project I was completely lost. I read the criteria book multiple times and did so many Google searches on the criteria that it still comes up in my search auto fill. I felt like I was reading some foreign language.  I have come to learn that I actually was reading a foreign language, the Baldrige language.

In my quest to try to better understand the criteria and process, I attended the 2011 TNCPE Conference and a pre-conference workshop on level 1 application writing. I left the workshop a little more comfortable with the terminology, but I was still very apprehensive with the thought of working on an application. Thankfully, I had great groups to work with in drafting our level 1 application which was submitted in August 2011. 

After completing our level one application and site visit, our teams were back to work, but this time on a level 3 application. The level 1 application we completed previously was a five page organizational profile, now we were on to the 35 page application with much more detailed questions all written in Baldrige language.

In our early stages of working on the level 3 application, I felt like someone who had taken an introduction to Spanish class trying to understand a fluent speaker. It wasn’t the words that didn’t make sense it; I was struggling with how to respond to the questions. Remembering the benefit of attending the application workshop the previous year, I decided to attend an advanced application workshop at the 2012 TNCPE Conference. During the workshop and conference things started to fall into place and all the Baldrige stuff was making sense. I had finally gotten myself to think Baldrige. I left the conference so engaged and excited about Baldrige that I even talked my boss into letting me become a TNCPE Examiner.

I took my new understanding and excitement back to our application writing team and became our team leader. Once I really understood the value of Baldrige and the criteria itself, the application changed from a Leadership Academy assignment to something I really wanted to work on. Our team worked diligently through the spring and submitted our level 3 application in July. We are very excited to have our site visit and receive our feedback report. I am very thankfully that my participation in the Leadership Academy introduced me to TNCPE and the Baldrige Program.

Guest Post from Robin Roberts

Baking a Cake in the Legislature

It has been said that creating legislation is an ugly process. It could be compared to baking a cake without a recipe with an Italian chef, a French Baker, a German Chef, and an American Baker, each with their separate ideas, ingredients, tastes and concept of the end product. This is how one could look at a piece of legislation that had its beginnings in 2004 and continues to be discussed, created and possibly introduced for the third time as the 2013 County Financial Management System. A Little history is needed to fully comprehend the complexity of this piece of legislation.

Formal accounting standards were developed and created after the stock market crash and during the great depression. These standards were established in financial reporting that would allow investors, lenders, and regulators to make decisions and prevent another crash and depression. Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) were established and private industries and governments with publicly traded financial instruments on the stock markets regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) were required to be audited and reported in compliance of GAAP. Transparency and uniformity were some of the goals to be achieved from the standards. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) was created to develop and maintain the standards.  In the 1970’s Governmental Accounting Standard Board was created to develop, adopt and enhance the standards that were unique to governmental accounting and reporting.

The Tennessee Legislature passed legislation in 1957 to assist in meeting the standards, provide uniformity, and efficiency in accounting for the funds of counties. This was the first legislation to centralize the budgeting and financial reporting of counties in Tennessee. This was a state law with local option of adoption by counties. Another state law with local option was passed in 1981, which enhanced the accounting and compliance of centralized accounting beyond what was contained in the 1957 law. Then in 2004 The University of Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) was asked by the Tennessee Comptroller to assist in drafting an act to be presented in the 2005 legislative session. The 2005 act was presented with mandates for counties to comply and not as an act with local option for adoption. Strong opposition from various officials was immediately presented to the Comptroller. The education lobby expressed the greatest opposition to the proposal and the bill was withdrawn.  This bill languished until 2011 when it was modified and represented as the 2012 County Financial Management System. It still contained mandated enactment over time. The Comptroller stated the bill was introduced to generate discussion and find the common areas to address to eliminate the opposition from the various groups. This is where the analogy of baking a cake comes to be. With each change of flavor presented or the final design it increases the level of opposition. Although, everyone recognizes the need for the desert to complete the meal, what each baker wants to deliver is different and they are not willing to accept the change in their concept. Each group of officials think their way is best, however the Comptroller charged with overseeing the standards for the counties and the compliance with accounting standards has not been able to sell his concept to their satisfaction. Knowing the state legislature has the ultimate decision as to the ingredients, they will be influenced by bakers (county elected officials) as to how they want their cake to look and taste. Interestingly, the elected officials within their own groups do not agree on what is best. When it is finally passed it will taste sweet to some and sour to others, and few will enjoy the icing.

Guest Blog from Libby McCroskey

What Is a Mentor?

Why Might You Want One?  Why Might You Want to Be One?

A mentor is, in short, an advisor.  Having one is a requirement of participation in the IPS Leadership Academy.  As a veteran of over 20 years at my job, I didn’t think I wanted or needed a mentor.  Being a participant in the Leadership Academy, I got one anyway.  The experience has been much more than I expected, and in a very good way.  Here’s a little of what I learned:

A mentor is a two-way relationship that is founded on trust and honesty.  The most important ground rule, to me, is that nothing within the relationship will be used to harm the other person.  The next most important rule is that each must have the best interests of the other person in mind.  

A mentor’s role is not merely to impart wisdom, and a mentee’s role is not just to listen.  Both parties will learn, and both will teach.  Both must be willing to listen as well as to speak. 

It is not a superior/subordinate relationship.  While the mentor generally does have more experience, is more accomplished, and/or has more knowledge, the relationship is primarily based on mutual respect.

Do I think that everyone should have a mentor?  Absolutely.  And if you have wisdom and experience to share, you should also consider being a mentor.  When the relationship works, it’s a very rewarding experience for both participants.

Advice to Mentors:  Your mentee may not always follow your advice, and may even (gasp!) disagree with you.  This may be an opportunity for you to learn in the relationship.  Be open-minded.

Advice to Mentees:  Your mentor will not always tell you what you want to hear, but instead will tell you what he or she thinks you need to hear.  Be open to learning. 

Guest Blog from Marty Spears

The University of Tennessee

When I started thinking about what to write for my blog post, I kept coming back to what the University means to me. I attended my first game in 1969 and have never looked back. Whether it was Condredge Holloway or Peyton Manning or Tyler Bray in football; the Ernie and Bernie show, or Lofton and Bradshaw in basketball, the memories are still there. My brother attended UT and I would visit in the summer, and while he attended class I roamed the campus. If any of you were at UT between 1973 and 1977 you probably saw me in the summers on campus and wondered who that little twerp was. Many family trips were made in the fall to games. I carried on the tradition with my son and now he is a student on the Hill. I am saying all of this because after I came to CTAS I knew this was hopefully my last job I would have. The atmosphere is like a family. The acquaintances I have made in the Leadership Academy will carry me the rest of my life. I know I am able to call on any one and get help, not only in work but personally. Mary asked me when she interviewed me if I had anything I wanted to add and I told her I knew when I was younger I would work for UT, I just thought I would have been Head Basketball coach. Well, it’s a good thing I wasn’t, but I am proud to be working for IPS, CTAS and representing The University of Tennessee. GO VOLS

Note from Mary Jinks - Marty currently serves as the IPS representative to the UT Board of Trustees' Committee on Research, Outreach and Economic Development. He attends three meetings annually and will serve a two-year term.

Guest Blog from Carey Smith

Advocacy Is Critical to Strengthening the University of Tennessee

UT Advocacy was on hand at the IPS Annual Conference in Chattanooga this month to discuss the importance of advocating for the University of Tennessee System. 

Raising awareness of the UT System’s distinctive contributions to improving the education, economic development and qualify of life of all Tennesseans is a goal of the newly completed System Strategic Plan.  To help accomplish this goal, the University has launched a new advocacy program.  UT Advocacy seeks to engage faculty, staff, alumni, students, and friends of the University more extensively in government relations and the political process.  The goal is simple:  to educate and mobilize supporters to effectively advocate for the University of Tennessee at both the state and federal levels. 

With hundreds of thousands of alumni, faculty, staff, and students in its ranks, the University of Tennessee is awakening a sleeping giant in the world of government relations.  The influence of this group will develop as numerous individuals send coordinated messages to their elected officials.

Several online tools have been created to assist this effort.  Advocates can learn about critical political issues facing the University, register to receive Advocacy Alerts, and learn effective communication strategies to maximize their impact.  These tools can be found at: http://advocacy.tennessee.edu.  

Building a community of informed advocates is critical to strengthening the University of Tennessee.  The Institute for Public Service can play an enormous role in this effort.

 
How can you impact Tennessee’s future?
Get educated.  Get connected.  Speak out today.

http://advocacy.tennessee.edu/
http://facebook.com/UTAdvocacy
Twitter: @UTAdvocator

Guest Blog from Dwaine Raper

Innovation is a Significant Factor of Success for All Types of Organizations

by Dwaine Raper, Solutions Consultant with the Center for Industrial Services

During a recent training session on the Innovation Engineering Management System, I found it encouraging to learn about the system being utilized to help non-manufacturing organizations address the need for innovation to remain viable.  The specific example shared was the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, in Louisiana.  This chamber experienced significant member loss after Hurricane Katrina, as many businesses closed or moved.  In addition, the economic downturn has also resulted in member loss as businesses increasingly scrutinize all expenditures and the benefits that they get in return.  The value of just being part of the association is no longer enough.  The Greater Lafayette Chamber has embraced innovation to make its service offerings more value-added for business, and in-turn grow membership.  To be more specific, they utilized the Innovation Engineering program, provided by the MEPOL, LA’s Manufacturing Extension Program.  The chamber was selected as the 2011 Chamber of the Year by American Chamber of Commerce Executives, and its focus on Innovation was a deciding factor in them being chosen for the award.

The customers that we work with across the Institute for Public Service have a need to be Innovative in their approach to attracting and retaining customers, or investment partners.  The reality is that if they are not actively working to innovate and improve, then their competitive position is in decline.

Learn more about the Greater Lafayette Chamber at: http://lafchamber.org/AboutUs

Guest Blog from Terri Kinloch

What you can learn from observing an autopsy

 As part of the requirements for the Leadership Academy, I job shadowed Mandy Johnson in her role as the administrator of the National Forensics Academy.  I shadowed her on a day that they were observing autopsies in the Knox County Medical Examiner’s office.  The experience was extremely enlightening on many different levels.  First, I directly observed the National Forensics Academy in action.  Mandy and her team do a wonderful job with the Academy and after talking to the participants it was clear that they receive a top notch education in the program. 

Second, I had the opportunity to learn a great deal about the operations of the Medical Examiner’s office.  On the days that we were there, we saw five bodies brought into the autopsy room.  Three of the five bodies were under the age of 40 and three of the five people had drug abuse issues.  I was not expecting to see so many young people have their lives ended so early, but the experience taught me a few life lessons that will stick with me for the rest of my life.  The lessons I learned were:

Life Lesson #1: Death Stinks (literally).  Take good care of your body.  Eat healthy and exercise (and don’t use drugs)!

Life Lesson #2: Always have fun at work.  The Medical Examiner had a skull disco ball hanging from the ceiling, played upbeat music and sucked on a lollipop while he performed the autopsies.  If he can make his job fun, so can everyone else.

Life Lesson #3:  Life is good (I wish I would have coined that phrase and put it on a bumper stickerJ).  Enjoy every day.  Slow down and appreciate the little things in life.

I know everyone already knows these lessons, but once you observe death it really makes you realize how wonderful life really is.  We all spend so much of our lives at work, we need to appreciate what we have and enjoy the people around us.

Guest Blog from Lynn Reed

The Hidden Cause of Quality Failures

You have to read the previous blog about common cause failures of quality systems to get a foundation and understanding before reading this. As mentioned in the previous blog on quality failures, it became increasingly evident that the five common cause failures for quality seemed somewhat superficial and didn’t dig deep enough in terms of the core problem. The hidden causes that the study uncovered were the result of a simple thought experiment using a basic problem solving tactic taught in most every class where the subject of problem solving comes up – asking “WHY” multiple times till you drill down to the bottom of the well. Many times, the simplest of experiments can yield discoveries that show the true nature of the issue.

According to most experts in the field, quality systems generally tend toward being reactive to the circumstances encountered day to day. Companies that are truly proactive are few and far between. Why? Well, Deming might say it can all be blamed on management failure. Crosby (another noted quality guru) might say it is failure to measure real organizational performance metrics (cost of quality). Still another (for example, Juran) might say it’s a lack of preventive action on the part of the company or Jim Collins might claim it’s a matter of getting the right butts in the bus seats while on the road to greatness. While not claiming my analysis to be earth-shattering like some of the great thinkers on quality, the thought experiment does give one pause to consider the possibilities. What if part of the core problem is a fundamental lack of awareness by the decision maker with no or, at best, limited / obscured risk assessment abilities?

From the earlier blog on this subject, a decision maker will make the right choice if they see the problem coming. They would put in place a barrier to prevent the “causative agent” from affecting the outcome. What follows is the result of the “WHY” thought experiment.

The earlier diagram is easy to follow (the yellow blocks are the core causes): 

1)      Q: Why was there a significant quality failure? A: No barrier to cause was in place.

2)      Q: Why was there no cause barrier? A: No preventive (proactive) action was taken.

3)      Q: Why was there no preventive action? A: There is a basic lack of awareness.

4)      Q: Why is there a lack of awareness? A: There is no or a flawed risk assessment process.

5)      Q: Why no/flawed risk assessment? A: Decision makers have no/limited risk assessment skills, no performance indicators to warn them, or, in some cases, they have tremendous business pressures (in a hurry, too much to do, too costly, etc.).

The no risk assessment skills and bad performance indicator scenarios need a final round of “WHY” to drill down a little further. At the bottom of the well, at least a portion of the core causes to major quality system breakdowns are:

1)      Lack of basic risk assessment tools (fundamental to decision making)

2)      Lack of understanding of cost of quality (performance metrics)

3)      Business pressures that are pushing decision makers into the wrong decision.

The first two are fixable with improvements to education within the college ranks or as part of adult education for professionals (an area CIS can offer a service in). The latter (business pressures) can be helped with risk assessment education but, ultimately, it is mitigated by a moment of pause. Decision makers must be capable of rapid risk assessment as well as be good problem solvers. Neither is taught well at the college graduate or undergraduate levels and to which many business owners (an older generation with perhaps no college education) may never have had exposure to.

In the final analysis, it’s a matter of knowing when a risk is acceptable and when it is not and making the decision quickly. Without the proper skill sets and time to think, decision makers are left with their intuition, gut reaction, or past experiences to make decisions – all of which leaves the organization open to potentially unacceptable risk and failure. Deming got it right in the end; this piece of the puzzle is a management failure of sorts. There are benefits to getting it right – sound decision making builds organizational trust and foster a high morale among the troops engaged in the daily work of the organization. Every good leader needs a mechanism to assess risk and, if they lack one, should take the necessary steps to acquire a method(s) to assess risk.

Guest Blog from Lynn Reed

Why Do Quality Systems Fail

As part of the industrial engineering master’s degree, the University of Tennessee requires either a thesis or a capstone research project. A capstone project linked to work efforts here at the Center was completed by me during the spring semester. This blog is about the research and highlights the discoveries made. The project focused on a study of why quality systems fail – a subject I have been interested in for several years both intellectually and professionally. If some of the root causes could be uncovered, it might point to some business services that the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) might offer to their customer base.

When you read the paper or watch the news, you see major failures in business and industry, almost daily. A recent example most everyone’s heard about was the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf. The federal investigation that followed revealed a series of failures to execute fundamental duties on the part of BP and its subcontractors responsible for the well and its completion. The failure was a classic example of a project behind schedule, too many unknowns, equipment failures, flawed and misinterpreted data, and poor judgment by decision makers responsible for the work; all spiced with  a bit of “group think”  attitude by senior managers making the decisions. After reading and studying the root and contributory causes of this event, most individuals capable of coherent thought would conclude this catastrophe was easily preventable – it should never have happened; and yet, it did. Most notable was the loss of eleven lives, seventeen serious injuries and a financial bite on BP’s bottom line currently estimated at $42.5 billion. Had management seen it coming, wouldn’t it have made sense to take steps to save the lives and the money? One immediately knows that answer is yes. Consequently, it begs the question of why then wasn’t it prevented?

The methods used in the capstone were not nearly as important as the fundamental truths they revealed, many of which are common sense issues when we pause to consider them. Although the results reported by seventeen customers are not a statistically representative sample of the Center’s industrial customer base, it is important to note all seventeen individuals plus nine of our internal staff each pointed to the same five core causes. Though their order of rank (one through five) was different individually, the collective group agreed on the following five factors as major contributors to quality system failures:

1)      Failure to communicate effectively (two way exchange of information)

2)      Failure of management / leadership (fact based decision making)

3)      Failure to adequately measure performance (voice of the customer and voice of process)

4)      Lack of basic problem solving skill sets (identification, cause, and solution)

5)      Lack of basic manufacturing skill sets (work skills & job competency)

These core causes are seen at some level in most businesses, even those outside manufacturing. Any individual in a managerial or leadership position would do well to remember these basic failure modes and take steps to overcome or avoid them. 

During the project, it became increasingly evident that though these five factors make a great deal of sense and appeal logically to most individuals, there was something deeper – something hidden and perhaps more revealing in terms of cause. What is it? …… to be covered in a second blog on the subject……… till then.

Guest Blog from Josh Jones

Lessons From Penn State

 The recent scandal at Penn State reveals more than Jerry Sandusky’s heinous crimes. It brings to light the all-too-common inaction, or even concealment, by bureaucratic leadership when confronted with allegations of impropriety - the prevailing rationale being protection of the institution. Ironically, collective silence in response to malfeasance does more harm to an institution than public knowledge of the crimes ever could.

At Penn State no less than a dozen university officials and employees were made aware of Sandusky’s serial abuse. As the many of the assaults occurred on university grounds over a fifteen year period, numerous employees witnessed the unspeakable acts in person. Despite all of this not a single person mustered the courage to stop Sandusky’s brutal crime spree or even attempted to restrict his access to victims. Instead, university leaders pusillanimously looked the other way hoping that they and their university could remain unscathed, unlike the children who they allowed to suffer. Now, in addition to Sandusky and his victims, known and unknown, three university officials are facing criminal charges, many more have lost their jobs and their reputations, and the university’s reputation is forever tarnished.

As university officials and employees we are not so different from primary actors in the Penn State tragedy. We too will likely be faced with confronting wrongdoing and will have a choice to make. Likely, hopefully even, the misdeeds we will confront won’t be as monstrous. Our reactions will matter nonetheless. Ultimately, making the hard choice and doing what we know is right, regardless of short-term consequences or fears of reprisal, will better serve us and our university.

Guest Blog from Wendy Eddy

Aging Population

I recently attended a conference where one of the speakers discussed the challenges of our aging population.  With the advances in health care and nutrition we are living longer than ever before.

One of the main points was that, as members of our communities, we need to be aware of the special needs of our aging population.  Some needs may be handicap accessible buildings, transportation services, larger and better marked traffic signs, affordable housing available in close proximity to businesses such as doctor’s offices and grocery stores.

Another point was that as our population ages, we as employers, need to be conscience of the impact this may have on our employees.  A lot of families now find themselves in the position of caring for an elderly family member.  Although this can be a rewarding life experience it could also be time consuming and stressful.

Aging should be a graceful process so we all need to be supportive of the members of our communities as we all navigate our way through this life.       

Guest Blog from Susan Robertson

Job Shadowing

As part of my participation in the IPS Leadership Academy, I, and all members of the academy, was expected to job shadow a fellow IPS employee from a different agency. In my position, I’m fortunate enough to get to work with all agencies and know a little bit about what they do, but shadowing gave me the opportunity to see first-hand how our employees help the people of Tennessee every day.

I chose to shadow UT Municipal Technical Advisory Service’s (MTAS) Municipal Management Consultant Margaret Norris, who covers a 40-city territory in East Tennessee. We set out on this particular day to meet with five of the cities she serves – Bean Station, Blaine, Rutledge, Luttrell and Plainview. Honestly, I never knew a city of Plainview existed in Tennessee! During these visits, Margaret had a questionnaire, which was a part of MTAS’s Building Better Cities program. She asked the city recorders, in most cases, about the city’s audit, whether the city employs an attorney, what the ISO rating is and 25 other questions related to the city’s operations. 

I was surprised at how small these cities are; many of them only have a volunteer fire department and a very, very small police force. Because we have some rural areas in Tennessee, it is so important that cities and counties have MTAS and CTAS at their disposal. However, it was no surprise to see how much they like Margaret and have a tremendous amount of respect for her and her knowledge of municipal government. The cities we visited treated Margaret like family and were just as welcoming to me!

Throughout IPS, I often hear that employees of one agency don’t know what some of the other agencies do. If you really want to know, I would suggest that you choose an employee from another agency and job shadow for the day. This is a great opportunity to learn about our agencies and to see first-hand the impact that our employees have on Tennessee.

Guest Blog from Gary Petree

Setting an Example in Higher Education
 

I often like to reflect on the various ways in which our form of government enriches our lives, especially during the season when we commemorate and celebrate our national independence. Did you know that our system of shared governance in higher education is uniquely American? In fact, the system of checks and balances found in our concept of shared governance in higher education predates our constitution!

Witnessing the most recent meeting of the UT Board of Trustees gives me good reason to celebrate this year. One item on the agenda had a particular appeal to my love and compassion for democracy. Our board members invested time and energy in evaluating the quality of their service, individually and collectively, as a governing body. Jim Murphy, Chair of the Trusteeship Committee, reviewed the results of the performance evaluation process line by line in the open forum, highlighting the not-so-good as well as the good ratings. Although I have heard of the concept of boards committing themselves to self-evaluation, this is the first time I have actually witnessed the results of such a process. The event seemed to supply a refreshing air of humility and responsibility to the aura of power and prestige that must certainly come with service as a member of the board of trustees. It reinforced the fact that neither credit for success nor blame for failure can be ascribed to one person or one group of people at our institution. The University of Tennessee, including those who have committed themselves to responsible public service as members of our board of trustees, is a standard bearer for shared governance in American society.      

Gary Petree

Training Program Manager

gary.petree@tennessee.edu

office 865.974.9830  cell 865.643-3117

The University of Tennessee

Municipal Technical Advisory Service

120 Conference Center Building

Knoxville, Tennessee  37996-4105

www.mtas.tennessee.edu

Guest Blog from Andre Temple

Guest blog from Dr. Andre Temple, who is a member of the first class of the IPS Leadership Academy.

The Tennessee Certified Economic Developer (TCED) Program, administered by the University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services, provides high quality training, continuing education and professional development opportunities to Tennessee’s economic and community development practitioners and community leaders. The TCED program is tailored to give participants broad-based knowledge of economic opportunities and trends, core components, and tools required to compete in today’s global economy, with a focus on economic development in Tennessee. Upon completion of the TCED course curricula and certification requirements, participants are awarded the Tennessee Certified Economic Developer certification, indicating that they have developed core competency in the principles and practices of economic development in Tennessee. The TCED program offers a series of economic development courses in locations across the state or online. The Tennessee Basic Economic Development Course (TBEDC), an International Economic Development Council (IEDC) certified 24-hour course, is considered the anchor course for the certification program; however, it is not a pre-requisite to other course offerings. Other course requirements include six specific subject matter core courses (10-hour courses) and an elective course*. In addition to completing the required courses, participants will need to complete a paper or capstone project and presentation, which applies knowledge gained in the program. Course offerings are structured such that a TCED candidate can complete certification requirements within a two-year period. To maintain certification, participants will need to complete a minimum of seven hours of training in each calendar year. The required courses and a tentative schedule of upcoming courses are presented below. REQUIRED COURSES FOR TCED CERTIFICATION* TN Basic Economic Development Course (24 hours) TN Business Retention and Expansion Course (10 hours) TN Strategic Planning for Economic Development Course (10 hours) TN Economic Development Finance Course (10 hours) TN Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Course (10 hours) TN Marketing and Attraction Course (10 hours) TN Managing Economic Development Organizations Course (10 hours) Elective Course (7 hours)

Guest Blog from Margaret Norris

The IPS Leadership Academy:  thoughts from a soon-to-be graduate

If you are thinking about applying or being nominated for the IPS Leadership Academy (due date is less than two weeks away on May 15) I want to encourage you to do so.  The last two years have flown by and it’s hard to imagine that my time is almost up.  If I were asked to do this again, I wouldn’t hesitate and respond with a strong and confident “yes.”  The Academy does require a large time commitment but what I have learned will be useful throughout my career.  If you think about the time spent on this two year program compared to the span of your work life, then it’s really not that much. 

The highlights for me have been:

·         building relationships with colleagues at other agencies,

·         getting to know Mary and my mentor (Don Green) on another level,

·         travelling to each of the UT campuses (I’ve been with UT for 11 years and had never been to the Martin campus or the UT Health Science Center in Memphis),

·         understanding how IPS is viewed by other campuses and institutes at UT,

·         spending a day job shadowing CIS employees Jim Slizewki and Chuck Beasley in the field, and

·         I have enjoyed a majority of the educational sessions. 

The low points for me have been finding time to get the assigned book readings done, the Baldrige process has taken way more time than I ever imagined (but I understand the next class won’t be doing this so fear not), being out of the office for three consecutive days once a quarter for the training is not always convenient, and sometimes the guest speakers/educational sessions didn’t go into as much detail as I would have liked and sometimes I wished they would have moved along faster. But as I said, I would go through it again if given a chance. The benefits did outweigh the low points because I have learned so much: about IPS, about other agencies, about my own agency (thanks to the Baldrige process), and about myself.

The Academy is an investment; from IPS and your agency in you and also it’s your own investment in you.  You will get out of it what you put into it.  I hope you will consider being a part of the next Academy class it and if you have any questions about the program, feel free to get in touch with me.

Guest Blog from Macel Ely

Each member of the IPS Leadership Academy is writing a blog about one of their experiences. Macel is the first to write...

This past month, CTAS e-learning specialist Mary Ann Moon and I were asked to speak at the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) Symposium held in Atlanta, GA. This conference highlighted some of the “best practices” of continuing education across the country. We were honored to be invited to speak as panelists and shared the stage with groups such as the Georgia Department of Labor, ESi University, and Emory Healthcare.

As many of you know, this past year IPS was granted an additional five years as an Authorized Provider for IACET accreditation. IACET is a top-quality entity that strives to “promote and enhance quality in continuing education and training (CE/T) through research, education and the development and continuous improvement of criteria, principles and standards.”

IACET is proud of its rich, professional history and for good reason. The organization was the first to develop the original Continuing Education Unit (CEU) along with the creation of the ANSI/IACET Standard for Continuing Education and Training.

During our particular session, Mary Ann and I shared our personal insight on the task of going through the accreditation process for IPS. We concluded by showing the audience the recently developed IPS CEU Approver’s Sharepoint Site that IT administrator Scott Gordy helped create for us. This site has streamlined the process by which all IPS agencies submit courses for CEU approval; and as a result, the new method of approving courses has enhanced the level of effectiveness and efficiency for our training departments. In order to better familiarize IPS employees with the new CEU online approval system for courses, Mary Ann created a demo of the site which we showed in our presentation.

For those unaware, each IPS agency has individuals on the overall IPS CEU Approval Committee. Once a course has been submitted for CEU, it must then be approved by 3 committee members and then receives a fourth approval by the overall IPS CEU Administrator. Below are the individuals that work diligently to ensure that our courses meet the IACET standard and provide us with a competitive edge over others in the area of adult learning.

Macel Ely, CEU Administrator
Martha Kelley, CIS
Bryan Lane, CIS
Kimberly Clark-Carney, CTAS
Mary Ann Moon, CTAS
Chris Payne, CTAS
Emily Miller, LEIC
Lori Ungurait, LEIC
Kurt Frederick, MTAS
Gary Petree, MTAS
PJ Snodgrass, MTAS

Our session was well received by those in the audience, and the feedback has been very flattering. As employees that strive for excellence in the field of public service, I am confident that our training is positively impacting society. Thanks to everyone at IPS for the hard work done day after day in order to make this possible!

Guest Blog from Steve Thompson - SCUPSO

On April 2-4 I had the opportunity to attend the annual SCUPSO (Southern Consortium of University Public Service Organizations) conference, held this year in Biloxi, Mississippi, and hosted by the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State. Dr. Jinks has been active in SCUPSO in the past, as has Chuck Shoopman, and this year I attended with Dr. Jinks and Keith Groves of CIS. Keith lead an interesting and well-attended discussion on LEAN government and principles, and provided a major piece of the conference.

I’ll take just a moment both to talk about Biloxi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the experience of working with and discussing issues common among university-based public service organizations, such as ours.

Over the past few years most of us have witnessed severe storm damage in Tennessee and across the southeast, and during the conference we heard and saw a number of videos and presentations on the 2005 storm and the on-going recovery of the area. Clearly the communities and businesses in the Biloxi area were not prepared for the storm event or for the aftermath, and for those of us in MTAS this demonstrates the need for effective emergency management systems and proper emergency planning. I personally witnessed the impact and recovery of Hurricane Hugo on the Charleston, SC area, and while there are a number of differences between the areas, after 7 years, and unlike Charleston, the Mississippi gulf area continues to struggle with economic recovery and reconstruction. Biloxi appears to have lost almost 1/3 of the city population, and many homes and businesses have not been rebuilt. In addition to emergency preparation there are a number of factors in this discussion that are of interest to all of us working with cities and towns, but despite federal grants and private insurance claims neither the population nor the economy have fully returned. Economic recovery measures are certainly important to communities in Mississippi and in our state, and are often overlooked in emergency planning.

We also discussed the need for public service organizations, and the growing role of these organizations with data analysis, convening of public forum discussions and facilitation, and public policy research and support. A number of these organizations also provide “boots on the ground” technical support for local governments in their states, somewhat similar to the work of MTAS, CTAS, and CIS, but while there were similarities I am not aware of another organization that provided the depth and detail of IPS services. The other organizations are, however, very effective in the areas of public policy, research and training, and there clearly are opportunities for greater sharing of information and resources.
As we constantly look for other organizations that can assist us in our service, the colleges and universities of SCUPSO offer contrasts and models that will continue to serve us in the future.

And I’m quite sure that the others will agree - Dr. Jinks, Keith and I enjoyed the seafood of the gulf coast.