The Clarksburg Seven
Planning a strategy for the future
On February 3, The Clarksburg West Virginia City Council will hold a strategic planning session at the Stonewall Resort in Lewis County West Virginia. According to mayor Goings, “The session will be used to map out council’s agenda for 2018 and to begin determining which long-term projects the city will undertake in the coming years.” I will look forward to reading the published version of this plan. More importantly, I will look closely at how this plan will be implemented. Far too often, I have seen, and been part of strategic planning which produces a wonderful design, then only to see it placed on a shelf where it gathers dust or is poorly implemented.
As our city council prepares for this important session, let us briefly look at what is necessary for a successful city strategic plan. From the very beginning, there must be open communication lines among and between the city staff, managers, directors, and citizens. Yes, the citizens. All to often, the citizens are forgotten.
Every successful strategic plan shares certain commonalities. I will watch carefully how their plan unfolds: First, I will look to see if they have established a ‘Core Mission,’ something which is supposed to show what the plan will do for the city, community, and citizens. All in all, the core mission should be a mix of where we are and where we want to go.
Next, I will look to see if they have developed a ‘Vision Statement.’ This statement builds on the mission by stating what you hope to achieve in the future – where you start to get a little more specific. I will look for ideas for 2018, and ones 3 - 5 years (practical) and 10 - 20 years (daring) into the future. This can and should be, an exciting and fun step.
Once they have completed the vision statement, I will be extremely interested in their ‘Strategic Priorities’ – top priority goals or objectives such as (possibly): downtown beautification, culture and entertainment, attractive tax environment, community safety, positive business climate, social reform, and/or government transparency and efficiency …just to name a few.
How will the city council then ‘Communicate’ their plan? This is so critical for a plan’s success. Everyone, from mid-level staff members to the citizens need to understand the plan. If written and communicated effectively, when the mayor or a council member attends a civic meeting, a Public Works meeting, or even a PTA meeting, at least some (people) in attendance should be able to explain the plan back to the council member.
This may sound a bit ‘pollyanna,’ but it is true – Clear Language. Put it out there. Express where you want to go. What you want to do. How you are going to do it.…in words everyone can understand.
Finally, I will look for ‘Accountability.’ Any effective strategic plan will have a system in place to measure success – a scorecard if you like. If in one year, our mayor or a member of council says, “Our business climate has increased dramatically over the last eight months.” Or, we hear, “We are finally seeing a dramatic decrease in opioid use throughout the city!” They should immediately follow with, "And here are the statistics to back up progress made on this strategic priority.”
Prove to me we are making progress. If I can borrow and slightly alter a famous quote from the 1996 Tom Cruise movie, Jerry Maguire, “Show me the figures!”
This is what I will look for when my city council emerges from their retreat this weekend. A strategic plan with a mission and a vision, strategic priorities, a way to communicate the plan, and certainly accountability.
Before I leave, some additional thoughts:
• If you would like to review some of the ideas individual council members may bring to the table, go to my Blog Archives, “Projects & Initiatives 2018,” January 8. Six of the seven members provided some insight.
• I am curious as to why my council is holding a retreat in another county? If we do not have an adequate facility, perhaps that should be a ‘strategic priority.’ Plus, what is the cost for this out-of-county retreat for taxpayers?
• I do hope they schedule community meetings to review and answer questions regarding this strategic plan.
• It will be thought-provoking to see who is in attendance, beyond the Clarksburg Seven.
• Will they have an outside facilitator?
• I will be curious to see the actual projects and initiatives each council member presents and their motivations.
• Finally, I will closely follow the interest of the citizenship. Political apathy is (unfortunately) alive and well in my community.
And that my friends and followers, supporters and critics is it for this week. Waiting patiently is not one of my more attractive characteristics, but, wait I will. I will wait, then analyze, and react to how a council plans for my future.
Until next week, this is Michael saying,
“An effective government is an efficient government…that places its citizens first”