FREE WHITEWATER

Good Ideas, Local Government

Local Gov’t Desperately Needs a Version of the ‘Tenth Man Rule’

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Update, 7.15.14: for a discussion of this rule as most fittingly applicable to full-time staff, see, Administration, Council, and the Tenth Man Rule.

In the science fiction novel World War Z, humanity fights a zombie war, and the book describes a look back after the war is over, with interviews of those who fought against the undead.  (The film with Brad Pitt is loosely based on the book, but does not take a retrospective approach.)

One of the interviews in the book describes a supposed Israeli ‘Tenth Man Rule’ for planning: if nine in authority agree on a course of action, it’s the duty of the tenth to adopt a contrary approach, considering an opposite course of action or risk that the nine others have dismissed.

(There’s even some talk that Israel has an actual version of this rule for some strategic planning, but it’s mostly sketchy and nebulous talk.)

Regardless, consider what a Tenth Man Rule means, at a minimum:

It means that an organization will work to overcome group-thinking through a deliberate, required commitment to the exposition of an alternative view. 

There’s nothing like this concept, so far as anyone can see, in any local government in our area.

Nothing.

There may be dissent from a conventional view, but no city or county in our area has a structure that by design requires a zealous and diligent exposition of an alternative view.

That alternative view may, of course, prove unfounded; it’s significant that no one locally even ponders alternatives as a formal and regular process of review. 

On the contrary, most local institutions begin with a rough majority, and that majority works to impose its will by cajoling and badgering others within the group into acquiescence. 

The failure to entertain alternatives initially  means that local governments and institutions risk committing early and fully to ill-considered projects, only to be surprised when a program goes bad, lacks true public support, or meets with public scorn. 

(In these situations, insular officials typically double and re-double their foolish initial positions, only exacerbating their distance from the communities they claim to serve.)

This failure also means that despite vast millions in funding, institutions that rush projects through an enforced consensus squander resources that might have helped them research alternatives more effectively than one person. 

They waste their resource advantage, and worse, their cajoled consensus leads them in the wrong direction and prevents them from changing course.

Looking at local planning, the need for a mandatory, internal process of review is glaring.

In the end, neither nine nor ninety lemmings can match even a single man or woman considering alternatives initially. 

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 6.30.14

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Good morning, Whitewater.

Our month ends on a partly sunny day, with a high in the mid eighties, and southwest winds at five to ten mph. There is a probability of strong thunderstorms this evening.

What happens if you need to land your Harrier jet on the deck of a ship, only to find that your plane’s landing gear has malfunctioned? If you’re assigned to the USS Bataan, then your ship has a plan for just such a situation:

On this day in 1962, a no-hitter from a pitcher who’ll throw still more of them:

On June 30, 1962, Sandy Koufax strikes out 13 batters and walks five to lead the Brooklyn Dodgers to victory over the New York Mets 5-0 with his first career no-hitter. Koufax went on to throw three more no-hitters, including a perfect game on September 9, 1965, in which he allowed no hits and no walks.

Puzzability starts a new series entitled, From C to Shining C:

This Week’s Game — June 30-July 4
From C to Shining C
Some words are declaring their independence this July Fourth week. For each day, we started with a word or phrase that contains two C’s and in which the letters between the C’s spell a word or phrase. The answer phrase, described by each day’s clue, is the longer two-C piece followed by the shorter word or phrase.
Example:
Romantic flower that lasts for a tiny fraction of time
Answer:
Microsecond rose
What to Submit:
Submit the phrase, with the longer piece first (as “Microsecond rose” in the example), for your answer.
Monday, June 30
Groove made in the ground by a walking aid

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 6.29.14

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Good morning, Whitewater.

Sunday will be partly cloudy, with a high of eighty-seven, and an even chance of rain tonight.

Here’s a recap of how the World Cup has progressed, through the initial, group rounds:

On this day in 1943, Pres. Roosevelt writes to J. Robert Oppenheimer, assuring him and his scientific colleagues of full support:

THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
June 29, 1943

SECRET

My dear Dr. Oppenheimer:

I have recently reviewed with Dr. Bush the highly important and secret program of research, development and manufacture with which you are familiar. I was very glad to hear of the excellent work which is being done in a number of places in this country under the immediate supervision of General L.R. Groves and the general direction of the Committee of which Dr. Bush is Chairman. The successful solution of the problem is of the utmost importance to the national safety, and I am confident that the work will be completed in as short a time as possible as the result of the wholehearted cooperation of all concerned.

I am writing to you as the leader of one group which is to play a vital role in the months ahead. I know that you and your colleagues are working on a hazardous matter under unusual circumstances. The fact that the outcome of your labors is of such great significance to the nation requires that this program be even more drastically guarded than other highly secret war development. I have therefore given directions that every precaution be taken to insure the security of your project and feel sure that those in charge will see that these orders are carried out. You are fully aware of the reasons why your endeavors and those of your associates must be circumscribed by very special restrictions. Nevertheless, I wish you would express to the scientists assembled with you my deep appreciation of their willingness to undertake the tasks which lie before them in spite of the dangers and the personal sacrifices. I am sure that we can rely on their continued wholehearted and unselfish labors. Whatever the enemy may be planning, American science will be equal to the challenge. With this thought in mind, I send this note of confidence and appreciation.

Though there are other important groups at work, I am writing only to you as the leader of one which is operating under very special conditions, and to General Groves. While this letter is secret, the contents of it may be disclosed to your associates under pledge of secrecy.

Very Sincerely Yours

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Dr. J. R. Oppenheimer
Post Office Box 1663
Santa Fe,
New Mexico

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 6.28.14

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Good morning, Whitewater.

Today we’ll have a four-in-ten chance of afternoon showers, and a high of eighty-four.

Astronaut Reid Wiseman recently took a photo of thunderstorms as he saw them from the International Space Station.

On this day in 1914, a pair of killings lead to far worse:

On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, one of a group of six assassins (five Serbs and one Bosnian Muslim) coordinated by Danilo Ili?. The political objective of the assassination was to break off Austria-Hungary’s south-Slav provinces so they could be combined into a Yugoslavia. The assassins’ motives were consistent with the movement that later became known as Young Bosnia. The assassination led directly to the First World War when Austria-Hungary subsequently issued an ultimatum against Serbia, which was partially rejected. Austria-Hungary then declared war, marking the outbreak of the war.

On this day in our own history, Gen. Atkinson advances:

1832 – Atkinson starts up Rock River in Black Hawk War

On this date General Henry Atkinson and the Second Army began its trip into the Wisconsin wilderness in a major effort against Black Hawk. The “Army of the Frontier” was formed of 400 U.S. Army Regulars and 2,100 volunteer militiamen in order to participate in the Black Hawk War. The troops were headed toward theLake Koshkonong area where the main camp of the British Band was rumored to be located. [Source: Along the Black Hawk Trail by William F. Stark, p. 93-94]

 

Poll

Friday Poll: Is There an Unjustified Bias in Favor of Inside Candidates?

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On our campus, Christine Clements is leaving her position as dean of the College of Business and Economics to take a job elsewhere. Lois Smith, associate dean of that same college, will serve as the interim dean until the selection of a permanent replacement.

(I’ll assume that both Ms. Clements and Ms. Smith are wonderful people who are kind to children and small animals, and recycle plastics whenever possible.)

The change prompted a sharp reader kindly to suggest a poll about the selection of replacement officials for those who take jobs elsewhere or retire: How likely is it that Whitewater (city government or university) would choose an inside candidate rather than an outside candidate for a given position?

After all, American has 318 million people, the planet over seven billion, but Whitewater only fifteen-thousand residents; shouldn’t those numbers suggest that most replacement officials would be outside candidates?

And yet, it doesn’t seem to go that way, does it? Time after time, it’s one inside candidate after another getting job after job, or committee post after committee post.

What do you think? I there an unjustified bias in favor of inside candidates?

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 6.27.14

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Good morning, Whitewater.

Friday brings us a partly sunny day, with a high of eighty-four, and a one-third chance of afternoon showers.

On this day in 1950, following a Communist invasion of the south, Pres. Truman orders U.S. forces to defend South Korea. The New York Times reported his decision:

Washington, June 27–President Truman announced today that he had ordered United States air and naval forces to fight with South Korea’s Army. He said this country took the action, as a member of the United Nations, to enforce the cease-fire order issued by the Security Council Sunday night.

Then acting independently of the United Nations, in a move to assure this country’s security, the Chief Executive ordered Vice Admiral Arthur D. Struble to form a protective cordon around Formosa to prevent its invasion by Communist Chinese forces.

Along with these fateful decisions, Mr. Truman also ordered an increase of our forces based in the Philippine Republic, as well as more speedy military assistance to that country and to the French and Vietnam forces that are fighting Communist armies in Indo-China.

Puzzability‘s Camp Out series ends with Friday’s game:

This Week’s Game — June 23-27
Camp Out
Hey, take a hike! For each day this first week of summer, we started with a phrase, removed the four letters in CAMP, and rearranged all the letters to get a new word or phrase. Both pieces are described in each day’s clue, with the longer one first.
Example:
Automobile that your employer lets you use; preschool writing implement
Answer:
Company car; crayon
What to Submit:
Submit both pieces, with the longer one first (as “Company car; crayon” in the example), for your answer.
Friday, June 27
Quintessentially British late afternoon refreshments; make something sound less important than it is

City, Development, Open Government

Show Your Work

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We’re in a new round of big-project proposals for Whitewater.

Here’s a suggestion, that this municipal administration would do well to follow, for any large-scale proposal:

(1) Release any feasibility study, analysis, or performance contract on the city’s website a month (thirty calendar days) before Council consideration.

(2) Hold a public hearing specifically and exclusively on any major proposal.

(3) For proposals with a long-term environmental impact upon current residents and the next generation of residents, submit a final proposal to a city-wide vote no earlier than two months’ time after the release publicly of all feasibility studies, analyses, and performance contracts, etc.

If municipal leaders believe in their proposals, they will submit them into the marketplace of ideas with ample time for public consideration.

That’s not what’s happened with the initial performance contract from Trane, for example: that company didn’t have its document ready for the respective meeting packet at which it was to be discussed.

No doubt, a hungry pooch foiled that vast corporation’s original plan. They would have provided their documents sooner, I suppose, if only those papers hadn’t found themselves in a canine’s tummy.

(On a smaller financial scale, Dave Mumma of Janesville Transit has done the same thing to Whitewater: he’s sometimes held back his shoddy work until the last minute, literally bringing documents to Council just before he was about to speak.)

It’s a convenient way for a big vendor, etc., to conceal its work from those who will foot the bill.

Watching this municipal administration, one sees a contrast with the last one. Our former municipal manager was his own cheerleader, boosting ill-considered projects as though civilization depended on them. (He collected a few of similar ilk along the way.)

Our current municipal manager is better educated and more affable than his predecessor, and more outwardly cautious, too. He holds back at meetings, allowing his department heads to do the cheering for him.

Cheer they do – watching some of them, one might be forgiven for thinking that those department leaders worked for the very vendors whose projects the city administration should be scrutinizing.

They are so very eager, and at least one so callow, that one wonders: do you not understand these matters, or do you hope that others won’t?

It’s worthwhile to approach these proposals methodically and dispassionately. Here’s my method for blogging on a topic: (1) read, (2) walk around, (3) write initially, (4) ask informally of government (if useful), (5) submit formal requests if necessary, and (6) consider action at law as a regrettable but necessary last recourse.

(See, for an elaboration of these steps, Steps for Blogging on a Policy or Proposal.)

Deliberate, disciplined, determined.

If these gentlemen believe in their ideas – and they very much want the city to believe they do, and to support them – then surely they have the confidence to show their proposals to others for consideration.

It’s a simple suggestion:

Show your work.