"Blaming allows us to languish in the comfort of bad habits."

Potpourri – odds and ends to end the week

There’s a major difference between “Board of Director” and “manager” responsibilities. Board members set policy to guide operations and they allocate resources to fuel operations. This is the City Council’s role.

Management hierarchy exists to reach goals

Managers control their allocated resources to achieve measurable goals. Costa Mesa’s CEO is responsible for overall City operations. 

Other managers, like Chief Gazsi, work for him using manpower, money, materials, relationships, and especially time, to accomplish their goals. They work through middle managers and supervisors who provide day-to-day operational control and leadership.

Workers are assigned projects

If workers focus on their hate they can make their workday miserable; that’s their choice. Haters can choose to talk endlessly about their hatreds and about how they feel about whoever they think is “dissing” them.

“The fact is bitterness breeds inertia. Blaming allows us to languish in the comfort of bad habits. It encourages us, in fact, to stay stuck smack dab in that lulling space of woe-is-me martyrdom . . .  we spend life in a stifling cul-de-sac.”

“An easygoing perspective can make living with others easier. Equanimity keeps emotional responses in check and critical focus on the present.”

Middle managers lead and guide

We wonder what the middle managers are doing about the “negative” climate the commenters are describing. Morale and Espirit are the results of good leadership by supervisors and middle managers. They have little to do with policy-level decisions. Imagine GE’s manufacturing engineers sulking or “feeling negative” because GE’s BOD decided to de-emphasize home appliances: absurd.

 

Or perhaps the mangers are good leaders and the “negative” atmosphere lies in the eye of the beholder. And, the beholder is one who blames all that’s wrong in her world on the “chairman of the board” – our Mayor. Then the beholder needs to change, not the Mayor.

Two-faced -- with a knife

Hurting your tribe – company, government office, team, or department – when you don’t get your way is not only childish, it is unethical. In our opinion it’s also immoral. This includes releasing sensitive information to show you're “with it” and gain favor with agitators. Even worse is reporting your own organization to a regulatory agency when your unit is handling the problem – but not giving you what you want. On the street people who do this are termed “rats.”

Police staffing levels and Fairview Park projects should be decided by honest, straightforward negotiation and informed decision-making, not by underhanded maneuvers and political pressuring.

Responsibilities of the elected

Elected officials serve the full populace, not just those who voted for them, or worse, those who are loudest. It follows that, what’s best for CM isn't necessarily what's will avoid boorish outbursts in Council or Commission meetings. Crude people just behave crudely; the Council and Commissions need to do their work, not pander to the crude.

Part of the problem by choice

Most of all, we wonder why folks devote their time and energy maligning well-informed, well-meaning Councilmen instead of working to improve the city.

It appears that the folks we identify as haters would rather rant than repair and restore. 

That's pitiful.