By Justin Breyer
Local government management professionals draw inspiration and seek continuing education through a variety of sources. Some may subscribe to websites, magazines, or e-newsletters; others may be members of a book club through their local library or a friend group; and still others may seek out impactful authors or speakers during conference presentations. The MME Early Career Outreach Committee has worked over the last few weeks to develop a short list of books and publications that have been impactful to their professional career in some way, and that may be useful, inspirational, or impactful to other managers, particularly to those in the early stages of their career. If you have a book or publication that has had a positive impact on your career or has inspired you, please share it with the committee.
Title: Four-Minute Essays for Leaders
Author: Doug Cartland
Recommended By: Justin Breyer, Dexter Interim City Manager and City Clerk
The book Four-Minute Essays for Leaders is a compilation of articles written by Doug Cartland. I had the opportunity to listen to a presentation by Doug Cartland during a municipal clerks’ conference regarding presentation and non-verbal communication skills. It was a fantastic presentation steeped with personal anecdotes, and challenges to the audience to step back and consider how we engage and communicate with other people. Following his presentation, I signed-up for his email newsletter; each e-newsletter containing a well-written short story with a direct tie to a leadership skill and some thought-provoking challenge to the reader to evaluate their own skill in that area (integrity, work ethic, professionalism, etc.). While the articles are short and require very little time commitment, taken together, the essays cover a variety of leadership skill areas in a unique and impactful way.
Title: 25 Hours a Day: Going One More to Get What You Want
Author: Nick Bare
Recommended By: Mike Greene, Saline Assistant City Manager and Community Development Director
Conventional wisdom says you should live as if you have fewer hours in a day. Therefore, you should cram as much into each hour as you possibly can so you maximize your output. That’s backwards. Instead of cramming, you should be prepared to work hard 25 hours a day if that’s what’s required. Specifically, you’ve got to over-commit to whatever you’re passionate about. The 25 Hours mindset is: 1) Embrace the suck, 2) Remember if it were easy…, 3) Survive the tough times, 4) Become a learning machine, 5) Deep six entitlement, 6) Go all-in or go home and sulk, 7) Win the day back, 8) Go one more.
25 Hours a Day. Total respect for the hard work put in. This book really speaks to the realities of starting and growing a business or growing oneself. Everyone loves the idea of being an overnight success, but in the real world, you generally have to put in 10 or more years of hard work to reach that point. A reality check.
Title: Planning and Urban Design Standards – Student Edition
Author(s): Frederick Steiner and Kent Butler
Recommended By: Susan Montenegro, Leslie City Manager
Adam Zettle recommended I get this book when I first started at the City of Owosso as an intern. Although I have not ‘read’ this book cover to cover I have used various sections repeatedly. This book has a multitude of information packed into it from planning to placemaking to analysis to implementation. For someone without a planning background or degree, this book has been an invaluable tool! I would highly recommend it, as Adam did to me, to anyone starting out…even those that are well seasoned!
Title: Greedy Bastards
Author: Sheryl Sculley
Recommended By: Warren Rothe, St. Clair City Superintendent
A book I enjoyed reading was Greedy Bastards by Sheryl Sculley, former City Manager of San Antonio. I enjoyed learning about her journey to become the chief executive of one of the country’s largest cities. She talks about how she was recruited, her initial challenges, and the long-term success and failures she encountered during her tenure, of which were very similar to the ones I have faced in my career so far (of course on a much smaller scale).
Title: ICLE Michigan Municipal Law AND ICLE Michigan Zoning, Planning, and Land Use
ICLE Michigan Municipal Law
Edited by: Gerald A. Fisher and Clyde J. Robinson
ICLE Michigan Zoning, Planning, and Land Use
Author(s): Gerald A. Fisher, Joseph F. Galvin, Alan M. Greene, Gregory K. Need, Carol A. Rosati, and Stephen R. Estey
Recommended By: Mike Womack, Cedar Rapids City Manager
Both take major municipal issues and make them easier to understand and put the issues into real life context. They’re probably pretty dry reading for most people, as the books are aimed at attorneys, but they serve as a good primer on each topic and help you understand the background reasoning behind why things are the way they are (or ought to be).
Title: Public Values and Public Interest: Counterbalancing Economic Individualism
Author: Barry Bozeman
Recommended By: Ken Marten, Bingham Farms Village Administrator
Should government be run more and more like a business? This book is meaningful for many reasons, one of which is the challenges Bozeman poses regarding public administration and the ongoing trend of seeking market-oriented solutions, namely privatization and contracting, for government services. While not a discourse advocating for greater central control, the book explores how local government can best serve the ever-evolving concepts of the common good, public interest, and publicness. Bozeman’s running exploration of public interest theory, market failure, public values failure is eye-opening. This book received the Herbert Simon Award of the American Political Science Association, “best book in public administration during period 2007-2012.”
Little Pink House: A True Story of Defiance and Courage
Author: Jeff Benedict
Recommended By: Brandon Skopek and Tom Tanghe, Auburn Hills
This book presents readers with a resident’s perspective of the multi-million-dollar development we are all working to attract to the community. He noted that early career managers should remain cognizant of the residents of the community when making policy recommendations to our elected officials. The book centers around the process of eminent domain and the relationship between corporate America, national and local politics, and residents of a community.
Justin Breyer
Chair, Early Career Outreach
Dexter Interim City Manager
Justin Breyer started his local government career in 2011 as an intern in the Troy City Manager’s Office. He has now served the City of Dexter for over six years, first as the Assistant to the City Manager, now as the Interim City Manager and City Clerk. He has continuing education certifications as an Elections Administrator, Professional Municipal Clerk (MiPMC), and Certified Assessing Officer (MCAO). He has also served on the MME’s Early Career Outreach Committee (formerly NextGen Committee) for four years, with two of those years as the Committee Chair. You may reach him at Jbreyer@dextermi.gov.