Are You Building an Army of Reformers?

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12th Anniversary of Mayor Tommy Osmena's Management Team, May 5th 2017
To be a member of Tommy Osmena’s “Mayor’s Management Team”, one has to have graduated at least cum laude. As MMT you go through training on service improvement, project management, and perhaps most important, handling intimidation. 

Reformers need to know how to manage intimidation because they’re sure to encounter it. Intimidation is anything that seeks to prevent her from doing what she intends to do. It could take many forms - withholding of favors, diversion/distraction, sabotage, even threats - plata o plomo and everything in between. To persist in her reform, the reformer needs to be aware when she is being intimidated, needs to know how to deal with it, and even (when appropriate) how to intimidate right back.

All MMTs start out implementing a service improvement project, then manage special projects. Some take on a regular appointments in the City Government, a few become Department Heads. Many leave City Hall for enterprise or private sector work. Fondly called “The Departed”, they find ways to help with Tommy’s administration.

Like other things in local governance, the MMT program is vulnerable to politics. Tommy’s successor and eventual rival killed the program. When he returned to City Hall, Tommy brought the program back. 


What could not be taken away from MMTs is their zeal for reform. Inside or out of City Hall, the MMT army continues to introduce reforms wherever they are. And now training a new batch to carry on to carry on the work, because there is always a better way.

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