AMAZING CITIES

Amazing Cities Newsletter

Volume Seven

November 2007

In This Issue

U.C.L.G. in South Korea

Amazing Councilman

Speaker, Trainer, Consultant

6 Ways to Create a Positive City

Will Youth Be Served?

Classic Video

U.C.L.G. WORLD CONGRESS

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Check out the video report of my trip to Jeju Island, South Korea. South Korea is an interesting country that is growing like most of Asia. The United Cities and Local Governments World Congress was a great meeting with leaders from throughout the world. I got to spend some time with a group of delegates from Iraq. When we think about our problems, they are dwarfed by the challenges of these brave municipal officials.

Another key topic at the conference was the issue of sustainability. As local government leaders, we use a lot of energy and impact much more. We need to be committed to saving our enviroment.

Quick Links

Amazing Cities

National League of Cities

AMAZING

COUNCILMAN

Dick Fregoe

This month's Amazing Councilman is Dick Fregoe of Grand Prairie, Texas. Dick is a great example of what one person can do to impact his community. Dick is "Mr. Unity" in Grand Prairie and leads by example. I had the opportunity to speak at the Grand Prairie Unity Coalition Dinner and it was one of the nicest event that I have ever visited. Read about the dinner in this article in the Dallas Morning News.

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Consultant, Speaker,

Trainer

Jim Hunt, the founder of Amazing Cities, works with cities and organizations who want to achieve excellence and obtain Amazing results. If you would like to discuss having Jim work with your city or organization, e-mail jim at:

jimhunt@amazingcities.org

FUTURE ISSUES

We have some great articles planned for the upcoming issues of the Amazing Cities Newsletter. If you have an idea or a question, please contact us.

The National League of Cities Congress of Cities was held in New Orleans, LA.

November 13-17, 2007

NLC made a commitment to the City of New Orleans and over 3000 delegates attended to assist in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina and learn about the latest trends in local government.

One of the nicest activities was building the KaBoom!!! Playground at the Joe Brown Park.

Check out the report of this Amazing activity.

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Dear James,

Greetings, I hope you are having a great month. The newsletter is coming to you a little later this month due to the National League of Cities Congress of Cities being held in New Orleans. The Big Easy is on its way back, but it has a long way to go.

Jim Hunt, Founder of Amazing Cities

6 WAYS TO CREATE A POSITIVE CITY!!!

Bad things sometime happen in spite of everything we do. Although we can't change the situation, we can change how we react to what happens. When the snow is falling and three of the six snow plows are broken, don't spend time crying. Make a plan and get busy. Get out front and don't let them see you sweat. Rearrange the schedules and communicate. You will find that a positive attitude can take the place of five or six snow plows.

Get organized. So many cities are like so many individuals. Junk stacks up and takes up more and more space and time. Do a "house cleaning". Get rid of old equipment and unneeded vehicles. Some cities have discovered that they can significantly reduce insurance costs by cleaning out unused or obsolete equipment.

Make meetings enjoyable. Sure there are serious issues facing your city, but treating everything as a crisis wears down even the most positive people. Lighten Up. You will find that even the most hardened citizen will soften if the mood is a little lighter. Be serious when it is warranted, but don't conduct your meetings as the Watergate hearings.

Surround your city with inspiration. On your website, in City Hall, at your parks, place positive messages that create a feeling that your city is a place that cherishes positive attitudes. Instead of a sign that says "Do Not Litter" consider one that states, "Our Citizens Love A Clean City". Doesn't the message still come across?

Write handwritten notes to citizens and employees. We send so many form letters that citizens feel disconnected from the governing process. You would be surprised how many positive comments I receive when I send a handwritten note to a citizen. Don't forget to acknowledge younger citizens for their accomplishments.

Practice Empathy. Try to understand what it is like to be in someone else's shoes. Reflect back to them how you think they are feeling, such as "It sounds like that was a difficult situation for you." Remember that empathy does not mean that you accept blame, only that you can relate to how someone feels. Let's face it, we can all relate to a basement full of raw sewage, even when the engineer says that it wasn't the city's fault.

WILL YOUTH BE SERVED?

I had the unique opportunity to share lunch with some young, elected leaders at the National League of Cities Conference in New Orleans. I was inspired by these unique individuals and their perspectives on public service. Pictured above is my good friend, Tzeitel Paras-Caracci who is a young leader from Duarte, CA who was just elected to the Board of Directors for the National League of Cities. (Read about her at Durate's web page)

I picked up a few tips that may help other young leaders and maybe some of us older folks, too!!! Remember, these came from the young elected members.

Don't put your picture on campaign material-Several said that this was a tough lesson, but the youthful pictures send a message that they are too young to serve. Many said they preferred to let the message speak for itself.
Be careful about dates on bio's-Putting that you graduated in 2007, sends a message that you have no experience. Several young delegates said that they did not identify dates of jobs, college, etc.
Watch out for trendy e-mail names-beerguzzler@bud.com might not be the address that you want to send to a constituent. What worked as a private citizen might need to be reevaluated.
Be confident-You were elected, act that way. The voters had confidence in you, make sure you convey that you believe in their good judgement.
Speak up when necessary-Several young leaders said that work conflicts often came up when meetings and other events divided their time commitments. Don't be afraid to ask fellow council members to work with you on conficts. Eventually everyone will need some leaway, not just the young members.

These are only a few that I jotted down from our lunch meeting. I am sure that our readers may have many more. Please e-mail any ideas on young elected leadership tips to jimhunt@amazingcities.org