Communicating For Results: Pinal County, AZ Juvenile Court

October 7, 2010 By

Looking for an example of effective communication about performance? Check out this report from the Intervention Services Division of the Juvenile Court in Pinal County, AZ.

This was prepared to be included in their newsletter, and it’s definitely worth a read — a great example of an organization that is not only willing and able to be transparent about its performance, but also to be clear about the context for that performance and how it is actively managing for results.
You can download it by clicking here. Got other examples like this one? Send them our way — we’d love to share them!
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Managing For Results: Success in Pinal County, AZ

August 5, 2010 By

Marv, our founder and CEO, sent this dispatch from Arizona –

 

At the annual meeting of the Arizona City/County Managers’ Association (ACMA) in Tucson in late July, I had the privilege of standing with Terry Doolittle, Pinal County Manager and Kent Taylor, Pinal’s MFR Coordinator to present “Managing for Results” to the conference attendees. Terry and Kent made a great presentation on Pinal County’s considerable progress in implementing Managing for Results. I shared an overview of MFR and how to implement MFR in tough times like these – and the value it can bring to help you master the challenges of government today.

Pinal County’s progress is really impressive. Take a look at the presentation (you can download it by clicking here), and I think you will agree! While much of the presentation focused on the changes and improvements in Pinal County’s core management systems, Terry and Kent shared many insights on change management and what has and has not worked to bring greater focus on results for customers.

 

Their presentation was very enlightening for conference attendees who have not yet begun their efforts to manage performance and very helpful to those who have. We are privileged to be Pinal’s MFR partner.

 

Weidner was a Platinum Sponsor of the Conference and looks forward to a long relationship with the ACMA. At our booth, Jeremy Stephens, Weidner’s Lead Software Representative, featured demonstrations of MFR Live and got a great response from city and county managers alike.

 

Also, check out Pinal County’s success with an inclusive approach to strategic planning by clicking here.
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Seats at the Table: Broad Participation in Strategic Planning

June 8, 2010 By
From Marv, our Founder and CEO –

 

Last year we posted an entry to this blog about our friends in Pinal County, AZ. The County Manager, Terry Doolittle, and the three Pinal County Commissioners had involved all of the County’s elected officials in the development of the County Strategic Plan.

 

At that time, Terry was the only County Manager we had worked with who had successfully involved all of the elected officials in developing the Plan. What we’ve seen most frequently over the years is that the County Commissioners and County Manager would develop the Strategic Plan; this has been a successful strategy in so many places. However, Terry did not want the Strategic Planning process to perpetuate a divide between the Commissioners, the agencies who report to them, and the other elected officials. We were very impressed that Pinal had pulled it off – successfully.

 

Well, now we can add another success story. Jesse Smith, the County Manager in Montrose County, Colorado, has done it as well. He involved not only the three County Commissioners but also the Sheriff, other elected officials AND his department heads in the development of the Strategic Plan. Recently in Montrose, William Aaron, our Chief of Consulting Services and Innovation, and I facilitated the largest group we’ve ever worked with – more than 25 participants – in developing the Montrose County Strategic Plan. The Plan is built on extensive public input gathered in every geographic area of this large western US County, as well as input from all the elected officials and department heads. The Plan includes Issues facing residents, Priorities and measurable Strategic Results.

 

Montrose is set to take the next steps to develop Department Strategic Business Plans aligned to the County Strategic Plan, a Performance-Based Budget, and align Employee Performance to operational and strategic plans.

 

Congratulations to both Montrose County, CO and Pinal County, AZ for successfully involving the public and all elected decision makers in developing their County-wide Strategic Plans. This just may make it on our list of criteria for best managed County governments!
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Sucessful Strategic Planning: Inclusion & Participation

June 5, 2009 By

County Manager Terry Doolittle of Pinal County, Arizona, is leading the County through Managing for Results, integrating Board strategic planning, department strategic business planning, performance budgeting and reporting – and a big commitment to cultural change.

Counties are statutory creations of states and hold in dynamic tension the elected Board and agencies that report to then through the County Manager side by side with a host of independent elected officials and the Criminal Justice System. The structure of counties provides real challenges any effort to move the entire county in one direction – together.

Doolittle has used two of the oldest strategies on the books – inclusion and participation – to build what Board Chair David Snider termed “a preponderance of similar philosophy” among all elected officials. The Board and all elected officials participated in the development of the County Strategic Plan. Board members share the belief that by building the Strategic Plan together with all elected officials they will be better able to move through the current budget crisis. According to Snider, “The Strategic Plan tells everyone what is important and where we want to go as a County and what we are doing to accomplish when we are faced with big challenges like we are right now.”

Further outstanding evidence that Doolittle’s strategy is working is best told by senior leadership of the Criminal Justice System. Check out the extraordinary message of participation in Managing for Results by Todd Zweig, Chief Probation Officer, in one of Pinal County’s internal newsletters (click here to download it).

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