Chief Strategist: My Public Diary (May 2022)

Discovering God, Winning Big, Over Communicating, and Game of Thrones

It was dusk. Our legs dangled on off the edge of the trampoline, as carefree as the moment in which we found ourselves.

Me and my three -year old son, laying on our backs, eyes to the skies, our hands interlocked behind our heads as if were resting between sit-ups. The firepit crackled with new life as flames licked the dry air twenty yards from where we sat.

I asked him, “August, do you know who God is?”

It took him less than a second to respond. His answer was sitting right on the surface like a pent up emotion.

He exclaimed, “I am!”

I was taken aback by his certainty. Especially since he tends to reject anything he is called that is not his name.

I often call to him, “Hey son, come here.” He usually retorts at the top of his lungs, “My name is not son, my name is August!” Then, he takes it further saying, “I’m not your son, you’re my son!”

But on this day, he embraced his moniker of God without hesitation.

I would do well to do the same.

When you read my previous public diary entries you will find a pretty steady drumbeat of events and activities. But, the past few weeks have been more of a whirlwind.

Big rain weather days have overwhelmed drainage systems inasmuch as the perplexing murder of youths — eight Birmingham City Schools students in this school year — have overwhelmed us emotionally.

The city is bringing several major, transformative projects to a final point of closure. Any one of these efforts would be a beast on their own, but they are happening all at once, including: The World Games (~$55M), Business Rapid Transit (~$50M), A.G. Gaston Motel Historic Restoration (~$8M), among others like CityWalk led by the Alabama Department of Transportation in coordination with our teams. We even celebrated 185 graduates of the 5th class of Mayor Woodfin’s Academy of Civic Engagement (ACE) which has now seen 780 graduates!

The Mayor and his finance team recently proposed the largest budget in the city’s history ($517M) and launched an unprecedented recruitment and retention program for Birmingham Fire & Rescue. These efforts alone required daily, intensive discussions across the entire organization, especially the Mayor’s Office, Human Resources, Finance, and Birmingham Fire and Rescue.

Behind the scenes there are other things happening.

For instance, the World Games Unified Command (our internal structure for operational support of The World Games) is requiring significant time and energy from departmental leadership. This has created an unexpected opportunity for deputy directors and other senior departmental leaders to take more prominent roles in their organizations, serving as proxies where appropriate. I am encouraged by this development. After all, in the time of The Great Resignation, opportunities for up and coming leaders to practice their leadership and to gain visibility in the organization are critically important for both professional development and, consequently, employee retention.

As the Mayor and the City Council prepare to enter discussions around the proposed budget, I remain encouraged about the relationship between the Mayor and City Council. Here is the secret to the progressively positive relationship between the Mayor and Council since Mayor Woodfin was elected — communication. Or, as Mayor Woodfin would say, “over-communication.”

Leadership Note #1: Never walk into a meeting without doing pre-work. Know what your people are concerned about and, when possible, remedy issues before you are on an open platform — public or private. If people come to understand your approach, they will trust you to get things done for and with them. This way, you will know that people who spring bad news, new information and new challenges to you in public venues are doing so purposely. They don’t want to solve a problem, they want an audience. Pre-work solves problems and reveals resistance.

Mayor Woodfin speaks with the council president and/or president pro tempore every single day. And, it is not uncommon at all for the full council to receive an e-mail or text from the Mayor offering a heads up about an executive announcement or action (that does not require their approval) he may take. All of this is separate from a team of four Mayor’s office governmental affairs liaisons who ensure the city councilors, their staff, and our city departments are synchronized at all times.

The harmony perceived in the news is the result of real work and intention from all parties — Mayor, council leadership, and staff. I am proud of them all.

The first six (6) months of this new term was all about transition of staff, programs, city council, and, more than anything else: mindset. Our mindset as senior leaders as well as the people we serve. The manner of Woodfin’s decisive win shifted things in a way we could not have fully anticipated. Of course, we expected to win. But the resounding silence from political opposition, the tightened alignment from allies and so-called allies, and the time and space to address bigger and more challenging issues has been notable.

It turns out, we needed an extensive transition. Consider this: we’ve taken care of the low-hanging fruit. I like to remind our team that the work remaining for us is the really, really hard stuff. It’s going to take all of the political goodwill, earned experience, and creativity we can muster to achieve our most ambitious Vision 2025 goals.

Leadership Note #2: How you win matters. There is a difference between winning big and winning small. Whenever possible, go for a big win. It changes everything, especially you.

As we enter the second half of the first year of this term, my workload has shifted from transition to execution, especially related to strategic communications, strategic planning, and public-private partnerships. Here is a quick look at some efforts I have been sponsoring or stewarding on behalf of Mayor Woodfin.

Public-Private Partnerships: UAB hosted a large gathering of neighborhood revitalization and blight elimination partners, Mastercard began organizing a Buy Black campaign for small businesses in Birmingham (announcement coming soon), and our Embrace Mothers guaranteed income pilot distributed its first $123,000 to more than 100 single mothers across Birmingham.

Strategic Planning: The Mayor’s Transition Team held its debrief meeting, formally bringing the transition period to an end. My office will take their report, interviews with City department leaders, and final comments from the Mayor to publish a refined, simplified and final version of the Mayor’s Vision 2025 agenda. I am knee deep in one-on-one consultations with senior department leaders now.

Strategic Communications: The most significant activity in my personal workflow is the launch and re-launch of long-form communications efforts from the Mayor’s Office. They include some major improvements to the City’s YouTube Playlists, launch of a new Medium publication featuring Mayor’s speeches and position statements, a 12-week radio show on 94.9 WATV launching on June 4, and a city-curated cultural arts experience modeled after NPR’s Tiny Desk titled, Bring Your Own Vibe. There are a couple of other exciting communications projects in development that I will share in next month’s post.

Outside of city work, I published my poems in tribute to my mother and sister for National Poetry Month. I dove deeper into the music of Lucky Daye. And, I recently had my very first colonoscopy. I have been telling every man I know over the age of 45, hoping one more person might be motivated to take preventative measures for their health.

Most significantly, I watched all eight seasons of HBO’s award-winning show, Game of Thrones, in about 10 weeks. I’m nuts, right? Prior to watching the series I purposely never watched a full trailer or spoiler. I had the pleasure of being surprised at every turn.

The series was as good as everyone said it was and more. I thought it was going to be a story about medieval Europeans and their conniving ways. It was that and much more. The compelling characters, scenarios, pace, and cinematography were second to none. The show was savage, literally and metaphorically.

Read my previous public diary posts.

My Public Diary

• April 2022: Food Strategies, Public Surveys, Single Parents and Creflo Dollar
• March 2022: A sneak peek into my role, my calendar, and my projects

It’s true, April showers do bring May flowers and I am excited about the summer months ahead of us.

Valar Dohaeris,

Ed.

Ed Fields is an essayist, marketer and strategist. He currently serves as Senior Advisor and Chief Strategist for the City of Birmingham Mayor’s Office. Follow him on LinkedIn, Medium, or Instagram.