The first mayor who really stood out to me as a master of ICE - Information Community Effectiveness - who understands TQI, and performance management, and WWW effectiveness and other aspects of organizational and IT excellence, was Martin O'Malley, Mayor of Baltimore (other first choices, Beecham. Palo Alto, and Bloomberg, New York). I'll share more about them and their ICE in the future - for now, consider O'Malley's words below about their innovative program to involve businesses and volunteers in saving their schools:
Dear Business
Leader,
This evening, I’ll cap off my workday at the
50th Anniversary Celebration of the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) – an
opportunity to thank their leadership and membership for all they’ve done for
the people of our city.
Since my first Inauguration Day, I’ve often
called on the people of the GBC, and they’ve always come through. On a personal
note, I will be forever grateful to Walter Sondheim, John Morton, Frank Burch,
Don Hutchinson, and their army of volunteers for enabling us to make government
better – not working as a business, but in a more business-like
manner.
Even before we took office, the members of
the Greater Baltimore Committee agreed, with the President’s Roundtable, to
donate thousands of hours of time to review city government to make it more
effective and efficient. “Managing For Success,� their report that came out of
that effort, has not been gathering dust on a shelf somewhere. It has served as
one of our primary playbooks in changing the way Baltimore’s government does
business. And the GBC’s current leadership, Don Fry and Chris Poindexter, have
continued to be indispensable allies in leading an organization with a sustained
interest in the health and well being of our city and a tremendous understanding
of Baltimore’s significance to our region as a whole.
Milton Friedman once wrote: “Do corporate
executives, provided they stay within the law, have responsibilities in their
business activities other than to make as much money for their stockholders as
possible? And my answer to that is, no they do not.�
Basically, that’s true. None of Baltimore’s
business leaders have been under any obligation other than to run their
organization as effectively as possible. Yet, they have chosen to do more. They
have made immeasurable differences, not just as employers but also as leaders in
our community.
While some may argue that the GBC, or even
Baltimore's, greatest days are behind us, the majority of us know the contrary
is true. The GBC's leadership has been part of a small, but hearty band of
pioneers, who are fighting Baltimore’s culture of failure. During my
administration, they provided some of the very early seed capital, investing in
our plan to make Baltimore a much safer city. Proven by our latest Census
Report, they’ve succeeded in helping to slow Baltimore’s population decline and
bring residents and businesses back to our city. Time and time again, they’ve
lent their credible voice to make sure Annapolis makes the choices that enable
Baltimore’s progress to continue. They’ve pushed the legislature for increased
funding for drug treatment, public schools, the East Baltimore Biotech Park and
the West Side redevelopment. The people of our city have been beneficiaries of
the their leadership on regional transportation issues and support to increase
opportunities for minority and women owned business. And in one of their most
recent undertakings, they’ve formed advisory groups to assist the Baltimore
School System around Finances, Public Relations, and Operations, helping to
protect our city’s most vulnerable citizens, our children.
The GBC has never hesitated to roll up their
sleeves and get to work. Their membership exemplifies the willingness to
contribute, the optimism, and the unity of purpose that will enable us to
continue to turn Baltimore around. For 50 years, the people of our city have
been awed by the effort the GBC has shown by pitching in to clean our city, to
help educate our children, to make our government work better, and to make our
streets safer. Baltimore will someday be the safest city in America. It will
someday be the most prosperous, most educated city in America. With the Greater
Baltimore Committee on our side, we can only get better.
Congratulations and Happy 50th
Anniversary.
TCB Brief: Believe in Our
Schools Lasts All Year Long
As a lead partner in the Believe in Our
Schools campaign, Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse's (SBER's) generosity
has set a very high standard for corporate support and community service.
Monday of this week, the Baltimore Sun ran a story (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.struever03jan03,1,4239439.story)
noting the measurable improvements SBER has
been able to make to our schools’ physical conditions and how these improvements
are increasing morale among surrounding communities, teachers, students and
principals.
Please consider joining SBER, 119 other
corporate and community partners, and over 5,700 volunteers in transforming
Baltimore's schools into vibrant places, where teachers flock to teach and
children hasten to learn. To date, our Believe in Our Schools campaign
has completed improvement work, valued in excess of $5 million dollars, in 150
Baltimore City public schools. To become a part of our effort, visit: www.baltimorecity.gov and click on
Believe in Our Schools.
Quote of the
Week
"The man who has no imagination has no
wings." - Muhammad Ali
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