By Ken Marten
When I wonder, when I ponder, when I’m unsure of my next move, when I seek inspiration, I turn to my wisdom file. It’s really just a few sheets of paper with profound, handwritten quotes or utterances that guide me through most of life’s situations. Sometimes they’re attributed to famous folks, sometimes not. I keep it in my work bag, ready to be reread whenever the need strikes.
The file is an evolving work that at present includes 18 snippets of wisdom. Here are a handful.
“The world runs on timelines and deadlines.” – David Jesuit, Ph.D., Central Michigan University
Dr. Jesuit taught the most exciting MPA class I took, which included a United Nations simulation held at the University of Rome. He uttered this adage during a lecture about the UN’s global process for shaping policy and coordinating action. I jotted it in my notebook while preparing to assume the role of Malawi’s UN ambassador.
How true that statement is. From the UN to the smallest CVT, deadlines and timelines abound: Taxes, grant applications, notices of meetings and public hearings, court cases, contracts, permits, terms of office, licenses, trash collection, etc., etc. Deadlines are often set by powerful entities to enforce order for the public good. Timelines, which help folks adhere to deadlines, are essentially elements of efficient planning.
Missed deadlines are missed opportunities. Timelines help us not miss them. Here’s a simple example: As a matter of state law, my car registration expired on my birthday. I had a year to plan for its renewal, and the state even sent a reminder six weeks prior. If I’d missed the renewal date, I’d have risked penalties.
“Listen to the experts.” – numerous sources
Lots of folks have said it, and it’s important enough to be repeated again and again. Nobody knows everything, but those who toil in a profession certainly have a greater knowledge of it than those who don’t.
Municipal managers need to rely on—and listen to—their team of experts: Attorneys, civil engineers, planners, building officials, etc. Your engineer may not know everything about scour criticality and its impact on structural bridge integrity, but he/she knows more than you do, and he/she knows where to turn for more information about scour criticality.
I play the harmonica (really, I do). If you wanted to learn how to play the harmonica, would you prefer a lesson from a music fan, or a guitarist, or a trombonist, or me?
“Think ‘multi;’ there are usually several causes or reasons and several results.” – me
This is boiled down from years of being a history buff. In one of several Western Civ courses—junior high, high school, college, they’re all so long ago, who knows? —the instructor led us students in the traditional exercise of listing the numerous causes of World War I. In the decades since, I’ve read several terrific books about the Great War’s numerous results, many of which were unintended.
Whenever policy changes are suggested, I engage my “classroom” of residents, officials, and advisors in an examination of the various reasons or causes for the suggestion. Moreover, I engage the classroom in a discussion about possible results.
Often, when someone is arguing a position, they use phrases like “the only thing…,” “the most important thing…,” or “the single most important factor…” A calm conversation about multiple reasons and multiple results may help pry open a closed mind. It may also lower the volume, show your concern for the topic and respect for the advocate’s position, and lead to constructive solutions.
“Approach every situation with the outlook of ‘what can I learn?’ Alternatively, use the opportunity to review what you already know.” – me
In this instance, “situation” means meetings, conferences, workshops, seminars, and all those professional development and continuing education sessions we attend. We all sign up ostensibly because we want to expand our professional knowledge. And how often do we notice that other participant? He takes no notes. She texts or scrolls. He’s asleep. She leaves her seat several times to make calls and refill her cup. His nametag and info packet remain at the welcome table all day.
Don’t be that other participant. Apply yourself to the situation that you—or your community—paid for.
Of course, some workshops are better than others. Sometimes the material is dull. Sometimes we discover, during the workshop, that the material doesn’t apply to our professional circumstance. Sometimes we realize that we already know most of what’s being offered. And some presenters are more dynamic than others. If there’s absolutely nothing new for you, why not use the workshop as a chance to review your knowledge on the subject? Even the most skilled musicians still practice basic scales and exercises.
“Impossible is a word to be found only in the dictionary of fools.” – Napoleon
If we learn nothing else from the COVID-19 pandemic, we should all now know that nothing is impossible. Prior to its onset, how many of us would have included “pandemic” on a list of events that would halt trade, travel, and entertainment around the world for more than a year? War? Check. Nuclear accident, earthquake, or other natural disaster, act of terrorism, meteor, famine? Sure. Pandemic? That had to be at the bottom of most lists, if it made it at all.
Only a fool would think that it couldn’t happen again. Only a fool would fail to apply the lesson to other scenarios.
Ken Marten
Member, Early Career Outreach Committee
Bingham Farms Village Administrator
As Ken sees it, his public service career began in 1999 while he was a newsweekly reporter covering local government. Ken earned his MPA in 2014, started as an administrative assistant in Lathrup Village in 2015, and became Bingham Farms’ Village Administrator in 2018. He plays harmonica in DeSoto Drive, volunteers with Motor City Greyhound Rescue, and loves seafood.