The Relentless Pursuit of Clarity

The clearer you can be about the results you are after, the easier it is for your customer to understand and support your efforts. Likewise, the clearer you can be about the results you seek, the easier it is for everyone - departments and individual employees alike - to align to those results.

We recently watched how this works in Gunnison County, Colorado. Each year, following specific criteria, County Manager Matthew Birnie develops and proposes a Capital Investment Plan (CIP) set of priorities and budget. In the Strategic Plan the Board of County Commissioners developed in 2008, they set forth very clear and specific infrastructure Strategic Results:

• By 2011 Gunnison County will complete construction of a new Public Works facility.
• By 2012, Gunnison County will begin construction of a new Detention Center, with funding not wholly derived from new taxes.

Then, in preparation for his 2009 CIP proposed priorities and budget, Birnie modified the criteria to provide additional scoring if a project aligned with the Board’s Strategic Plan. So among many CIP priorities, those aligned to the Board’s Strategic Plan receive the highest score and the highest priority. There is no ambiguity for Marlene Crosby and her Public Works Department – they know their priorities and the expectations are clear. It is a very successful example of how clarity around results produces better results for the community and an aligned organization.