IPS to give away $7500!

IPS Annual Conference Awards:

Don’t we have awesome colleagues working in IPS???

Friday is the deadline to submit nominations for this year’s awards ceremony at annual conference. In a typical year we give away at least $7500. The awards are funded by gifts from IPS employees and friends. Let’s not let the money stay in the bank – I want to give it away!

Please take a few minutes to nominate a worthy candidate at

http://intranet.ips.tennessee.edu/awards.asp

Click on "nominate someone" and it is easy from there! Remember the person reading your nomination may not know the nominee at all, so please be specific and brag shamelessly!

 

Pi Alpha Alpha

In college I was a good student, but never at the top of the honor roll. I was always too busy working to worry too much about joining clubs and didn't understand the value of membership in honor societies and such.

So, recently I was honored to be asked to speak at the UTK Pi Alpha Alpha/East TN ASPA Awards luncheon. Eight very deserving graduate students were inducted into this prestigous honor society, including some of our former interns Christopher Shults and Andrew Morelock.

The purpose of Pi Alpha Alpha is to encourage and recognize outstanding scholarship and accomplishment in public affairs and administration. Its objectives, such as fostering integrity, professionalism, and effective performance, promote the advancement of quality in the education and practice of the art and science of public affairs and administration. PAA membership identifies those with the highest performance levels in educational programs preparing them for public service careers.

Imagine my surprise when at the end of my presentation, I was presented with membership! Special thanks to Dr. Dave Folz and the faculty of the UTK MPPA program. I am a proud graduate.

The Importance of Relationships

 

Harry Hertz, director of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Conference, is always insightful and the remarks he made following the recent natioanl conference made we think about how these principles apply to IPS.  Aren't we really about relationships?


Harry, says, "these are challenging times for all organizations. The unique blend of Baldrige Award recipients in 2012 (Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control—large manufacturing; MESA—small business/manufacturing; North Mississippi Health Services—large health care system; and the City of Irving, Texas— municipal government) allowed me to observe a set of commonalities that represent “universal truths” that are independent of sector. While the following two key themes were not necessarily stated directly in conference presentations, I found a profound commonality in the mindsets and operations of the very different enterprises.

• The importance of relationships and transparency: These two concepts are foundational to the sustainability of an organization or enterprise. Role-model organizations strive to build strong and supportive relationships with employees, customers, partners, and key suppliers. A key to building these strong relationships is transparency and openness in all aspects of the relationship. If transparency and relationships are strong, trust between people and organizations are built, and there is a basis for both longevity in the relationship and commitment to allegiance and support through periods of change.

• The logic chain of purpose → employee → customer → strategy (implementation): With a clear, meaningful, and well-communicated sense of purpose, an organization can gain an enduring sense of commitment from employees. That commitment leads to employees building strong customer relationships and loyalty. Furthermore, that loyalty from employees and customers engenders support at all levels in both groups for the organization’s strategy and its implementation. This is particularly important in times of rapidly changing external environments that require agility, trust, and commitment as strategy and, therefore, strategy implementation change."

Yes, I think this is the foundation for all we do in IPS.

Budgets, Budgets

We recently concluded the budget preparation process for fiscal 2014. It includes some good news -

Revenues:

• a 2.5% increase in our base state appropriation
• funding for a 1.5% across the board salary increase (everyone gets it, but we were only funded for "E" account positions)
• a $500,000 new state appropriation for LEIC
• fee income is improving, while fees are mostly staying flat

Expenses:

• We are matching the state funding for a total salary pool of 3%
• We are increasing our commitment to professional development for all staff
• We are maintaining our equipment replacement schedule
• We are enhancing office space in Memphis and Cookeville
• Most importantly, we are maintaining our commitment to our customers by providing the resources necessary to meet their needs

All of this is possible because of the outstanding work of the entire IPS staff. Because the work is excellent and our customers are satisfied, it is easy for me and others to tell our story, show the results and justify increases in funding. THANK YOU!

I look forward to discussing the budget process more during my upcoming statewide visits.