Doubletree Club Hotel / Doubletree Convention Center | May 20, 1997
The seven most important words" on human relations.
First, a little sage advice: Casey Stengel once said, "A true leader is one who keeps those who are undecided away from those who hate you."
The constituent world consists of four main groups:
The Negative 20% - They are against everything you do. They are always present -- and the media loves 'em.
The Positive 20% - They say they support you and like what you’re doing -- BUT they usually don’t vote.
The Middle 20% - They will lean mostly one way or the other, and they usually do vote.
The Don’t Care 40% -- They take your services, but they don’t get involved or contribute. Most don’t vote. They really do not care!
The Negative 20% needs to hear you say, No! Don't let them "drive" you; you're never going to win them over.
Mostly, we're affected by what I call "the McGovernrnment attitude of our people." Why do you go there? Fast service. Choices. Selections. (But it usually costs more than you'd think.)
There are new techniques to reach out. Use them. Be creative. Get the word out in the most effective ways you can -- even though they may be unconventional. Newsletters don't cut it!
There's a shift in public values about who you are. It's all rooted in several different value sets based generally on generational biases. Everyone's affected by the times in which they grew up. I break them out this way:
Those born 1935 and before. They're the "O.Fs." Those born 1936-47, the "Tweeners." The folks born 1947-53, the "Rejectionists," I call them. Those born 1953-67, the "HTs" (Hedinistic Traditionalists). And those born after 1967: I call them the "Boomerangers."
The "O.Fs" - They were born during or lived through the Great Depression. They experienced the big war, World War II. Their music was from the "Big Band Era." They tend to be formal in language and dress. The OFs value authority. They’re "fiscally conservative." (Some might call them "tight.") They’re loyal, and they change cautiously.
The "Tweeners" - They didn’t experience the Depression, "but, Boy, did they hear about it!" They are deeply affected by their parents’ experience with the Depression and the War. They tend to go "back and forth" between living their parents’ experience and rejecting their world. "We confuse folks!" Sometimes: "Anything can be done." Sometimes, a deep conservatism prevails. Their music was "Rock ‘n’ Roll. They "go both ways" between the OFs and the Rejectionists. They’re goal-directed; they value individual responsibility.
The "Rejectionists" - They were influenced by "the drug culture." They don’t respect authority. They’re authority resisters. They did what the "Tweeners" couldn’t get away with. Inhaled, did you? They grew up with Vietnam and a new kind of TV. They are cynical. Their penchant is to get a community consensus on nearly everything. Their music came from weird groups like the Grateful Dead. The Rejectionists value participation and involvement. They spend money -- for quality, of course! They quickly, easily ask, Why. They question tradition and authority. They are less formal. They are cynical; things must be "proven" to them.
The "Hedonistic Traditionalists" - They believe in their tasks. Work, work, work; then "party hearty!" They grew up in the 1950s but were influenced by the '60s: Vietnam, political assassination. Believe in Social Security? No. They believe only they will care for themselves. They’re I oriented. They are talk-oriented and self-sufficient. But they often link up with the OFs! The "HTs" work, work and play, play. And when they spend, they SPEND!
The "Boomerangers" - They don’t know what they’re about. But…they’re not in a hurry! "What’s the big hurry? What’s the big deal?" are their rallying calls.
These are different and distinct groups within your constituency. You must respond to them in different ways! But I think you must also avoid what I call "MBF:" Management By Fad. We sometimes get so "fad-dy" that we forget why we're here.
Get back to basics. Don't be controlled by what I characterize as "the agenda of the unimportant." So much of what consumes our time has no relevance to what's going on.
We practice "defensive government" today. We tend to function in an environment of near paralysis for the fear of being sued! Litigation -- or the fear of it -- dominates our decision making and actions. But there is a problem worthy of our concern: the growing clash between city/county and their employees. Public boards will get caught in the middle between public employees and the citizens.
Too often we think and act like losers rather than winners. We should think even beyond being winners. Let's think about being Champions! What's the difference between winners and champions? Let's look at that. But first, "losers" and "competitors." Losers are obvious. They believe they are losers! They have a negative attitude, no goals. Nothing gets done. Competitors are less obvious negative types. They're "OK," but they're short-term focused. They are "satisfied" with being or getting close in whatever the competition they're engaged in.
Winners also focus on the short term, but a longer "short term" -- like a season. They mobilize all the resources to win -- that year. "Winners tend to make incremental, easy decisions." (So often with our challenges as well, "incremental actions are taken when we should just "whack it off" decisively. A champion will do that! The challenge then usually has to be revisited -- and all the while the opposition is mounting for the next battle.) A "winner" declares victory, then celebrates, without re-focusing on the next challenge.
Champions "continually re-focus goals on the horizon." They think about "year-in and year-out winning!" "Champions have the courage to make tough decisions." "A true champion thinks strategically, versus a winner who has a "game plan."
Bill Walsh, former coach of the San Francisco Forty Niners believed in strategy. He surmised that there were some twelve possessions per team in each game. What were the most important series of downs? The first? No. He saw the first and second series as a "testing phase." He thought the fourth and fifth series of downs were the most important ones.
Look at strategy. Figure it out. Know when to bring forth your issues.
"A winner tends to claim success. A true champion markets success!" In government, we don’t do enough marketing -- and the media doesn’t help! A large portion of the population doesn’t know about government. We have too many hearings. Don’t have a "hearing" or an "open forum." Have a "summit" and each one invite four to five key friends and associates to participate in it. They’ll probably be honored to come and participate in a summit.
"A true champion is a winner who sustains it over time."
There are four ingredients in "championship:"
1. Teamwork. "Tony the Tiger" spelled it out for us. It's G-R-E-A-T!
Goals -- not just team therapy
Roles -- diversity is good…like in a symphony!
Execute -- build momentum with early successes! That’s important.
Attitude -- the attitude that "we’re in this together"
Trust -- supporting one another, learning from failure are keys. Understand this: "There’s a time to succeed again!"
4. Think Strategically. Have an effective visioning process. Target your plan; map it out, but continually re-focus your goals!
In closing, a couple of quotes for your consideration:
"When elephants fight, only the grass suffers." --African Proverb
"When you’re in a fight with a gorilla, you quit not when you’re tired but when the gorilla’s tired."
A couple of comments from Luncheon Speaker L.H. "Cotton" Ivy of Decaturville, Tennessee. Mr. Ivy, a popular humorist and motivational speaker, is known as "The Commissioner of the Country."
Mr. Ivy says he’d "written" a seven-chapter "book" on "the most important words" on human relations:
Chapter 2 -- 6 words: "I admit I made a mistake."
Chapter 3 -- 5 words: "You did a good job."
Chapter 4 -- 4 words: "What is your opinion?"
Chapter 5 -- 3 words: "If you please…" **
Chapter 6 -- 2 words: "Thank you!"
Chapter 7 -- 1 word; the most important word: "We"
** In "country talk," he says, "Much obliged" means "double Thank You!"