Bill Owens: Don’t take things personally
By Gov. Bill Owens
Since the election, Bill Ritter and I have spoken many times as part of ensuring a smooth transition of administrations, and I have shared with him some advice that I think might be useful to any new governor:
Don’t take things personally. You really can’t please all of the people all of the time. On occasion, people will be critical. My dad gave me this valuable advice: Be like a duck. Let the water – and the criticism – flow right past you; don’t absorb it.
Sometimes, you will learn from your critics, and their ideas will help you do a better job. But try to keep the criticism in perspective and be comfortable with the knowledge that you are trying to do the best job possible.
Have fun. Most of what you do each day will be serious. You will be making difficult decisions that have real consequences in people’s lives. So be on the lookout for opportunities to brighten the day. Throw out the first pitch in a ball game. Meet interesting people. Fly in an F-16 and drive an Abrams tank.
Learn from the game of baseball. Tommy Lasorda said that in baseball, and life, there are three kinds of players: “Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happens.” Always try to be in that first category.
Bob Uecker points out that it is “dangerous for an athlete” (insert the word “governor”) “to believe his own publicity, good or bad.” And, of course, you have to include advice from Yogi Berra, who stressed how important it is to have a plan: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind up somewhere else.”
Call on your predecessors whenever you need to. When the tragedy of Columbine happened 100 days into my administration, the first two people I called were former Govs. Roy Romer and Dick Lamm. Gov. Romer immediately got me in touch with President Clinton. And I remember vividly what Gov. Lamm told me. He said that in times of tragedy, the governor has “to be the father of Colorado.”
And, finally, here’s a thought from our 41st president, George H.W. Bush. It was advice for those residing in the Oval Office, but I think it applies to governors as well. “Count your blessings. Never forget the many people who helped you get there or those who worked in your administration. And as the years go by, give thanks to God for your family, your true friends and for the chance [to serve].”
The former president also had a suggestion for someone leaving office, and I will take it to heart. He said, “Get out of Dodge fast. You’re history on that cold January day. Smile a lot. Try not to wave to the inaugural crowd too much. They’re there to see the new guy in town. It’s important to see peaceful transitions. But after the show of unity, leave without passing ‘Go.”‘
So, to the new guy in town, my very best wishes. After high noon this Tuesday, you’ll have the reins, and you won’t see me around the Capitol very often.
But please know that you can always call.
Dick Lamm: Choosing staff is most important
By Richard D. Lamm
The hardest but most important task of a governor is to hire good people. Nothing is a bigger challenge to a new governor; nothing will so impact his destiny.
Life has been rushing chaotically at Bill Ritter these days: people to thank, staff and Cabinet to hire, some vacation time with the inevitably neglected family, the inauguration speech to write, followed immediately by a State of the State and a legislative package. He won’t have fully warmed his chair before he will have to prepare a state budget, a gargantuan task. That’s just the short list.
All of these tasks are important, but one above all is to control much of Gov. Ritter’s destiny for the next four years: choosing his Cabinet and staff.
A modern governor is a ringmaster in a circus with a wide variety of different acts. These acts are largely independent, but they must be coordinated and synchronized to make sense in the greater show. Our Department of Transportation is indirectly in the economic development business, and our Department of Natural Resources must coordinate with our Department of Local Affairs on energy development, and on and on. Cabinet heads have to have expertise in their areas but also be politicians and diplomats who are willing to work with other agencies of government.
Prima donnas, however talented, should not be considered. Bill Ritter needs a team of talented people who respect each other and work well together.
One key to hiring good government leaders is to learn to disappoint people. To be a successful governor, you have to say “no” to your friends. That includes campaign workers, ex-legislators who want to enrich their pensions, old friends from past offices and old partners from the law firm. A governor must be capable of “monumental ingratitude,” as someone has put it. The same people who formed his campaign team will not and should not (generally) be the same people he brings into government. A campaign volunteer coordinator, however talented, does not make a good staff member in the governor’s office except in the rarest of circumstances. Hire talent, not loyalty, then demand loyalty of the talented.
Choosing talent has its downsides. The talented inevitably get other offers, and like all ambitious people, they want to move upward. State government can’t pay people even close to what they can earn in the private sector, and much talent is lost to a governor as smart people face the realities of sending their kids to college and/or earning a higher standard of living.
But I left my years as governor in awe at how many successful, smart and talented people were willing to take giant pay cuts to work in the public sector, at least for a few years. Learn to accept turnover as the price of talent and always be on the lookout for more talent.
To a considerable degree, you are who you choose.
