MARCH 2023
THE SPINNAKER Sailing with the direction of the wind
FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION... OR IS IT? by Matt Mueller, Town Manager It has been a sad couple of weeks as I have missed the sweet, smoky smell of BBQ coming from down the street. While the loss of the opportunity to work myself into a meat-induced coma so close to my office has positively affected my wallet and waistline, it has definitely been disappointing.
IN THIS ISSUE
1-2
ARTICLE: FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION... OR IS IT?
3
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS EVENT CALENDAR/EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHTS
4
WELLNESS PROGRAM EVENTS & INFO
5 6-7
MILESTONES
8
THE COMPASS
9-12
1
WELCOME ABOARD
CHILI COOKOFF PICS
I say this jokingly, but the closure of this restaurant does sting a little bit. Small businesses come and go; in the grand scheme of things, it is one business out of the many we have in the community. However, since this was a key recruitment in The Lakefront™ District and there was a lot of excitement and fanfare about it coming to the area, the closure has drawn much attention and disappointment. In many ways, this business going away may feel like a failure. It is never fun when things don’t go according to plan, and no amount of past success can take away the sting when something fails (ask the 2007 New England Patriots who had a perfect season before losing in the Super Bowl). However, failure is an inevitable part of innovation and lofty goals. In a previous position, I worked with two assistant city managers who approached their strategic plans differently. One manager always played it safe—setting goals that they knew could be accomplished, therefore always completing the items in their strategic plans. The other manager set goals that were bold and often unattainable. The divisions under the first manager always accomplished what they said they would but never really pushed the boundaries and did anything groundbreaking. The divisions under the second manager often failed to check the “completed” box on many of their goals, but their service usually moved forward by leaps and bounds and was driven by innovation.