Hot on the heals of the announcement, yesterday, that Ken Livinstone’s equivalent in Erie NY, was appointing a Director of Six Sigma, we hear the results of the improvement efforts of Mayor Graham Richard in the Fort Wayne (IN) Journal Gazette. He retires next week after eight years in office and did not stand again for election. It seems he will be a tough act to follow. Colleagues from both sides of the political scene have been complimenting him for his efforts, which range from the major (he negotiated a major improvement project for the sewage system and other utilities) to the minor (a planting programme in civic sites). His proudest achievement is restoring public confidence in the Mayor’s office, but it is perhaps the myriad of small scale initiatives that he will be remembered for – apart from the planting programme, he dramatically reduced the time it took for roads to be repaired, tangibly improved the delivery of public safety through the police, and virtually eliminated council worker accidents.
How did he achieve all this? You’ve guessed! When he took office in 2000 he launched a Six Sigma programme that has lasted throughout and has delivered all these improvements as well as saving tax payers $2M this year alone.
He turns 61 on January 1st and hands over the reins to his successor, but he won’t be retiring entirely from the scene as his first book “Performance Is the Best Politics: How to Create High-Performance Government Using Lean Six Sigma” will be appearing soon and he has a series of videos planned for public release via YouTube!
Back in London, perhaps Ken Livingstone will be ordering a copy of the best seller?
Best wishes
GRAHAM WILSON
London + Oxford – 07785 222380
Helping Organisations & People Achieve Things They Never Dreamt Were Possible
grahamwilson.org; inter-faith.net
