Lean and Mean Oganizations Here to Stay?

I have been working on a paper on succession planning and a thought entered my head. So much has been said about a huge wave of public service professionals leaving the workforce and taking with them valuable knowledge and experience that cannot be replaced. The economic downturn appears to have slowed this down but it is still inevitable. But as I see progressive and well managed cities deal with their budgets I’m starting to wonder if there will be a need to fill position left vacant by baby boomers. Are we seeing how cities are management and with how many employees changing for the long run? Are we seeing new management systems being driven by the rise of technology, changing cultures, and out of the box thinking by a select few managers.

Do more with less seems to be becoming the norm. Local governments are having to evolve and adapt to changing conditions and all signs seem to show that this change will remain for many years if not decades to come. Local governments had to cut the fat out of their organization early on, and now are performing surgery to vital parts to ensure the organization can maintain levels of services and performance. When everything is all said and done I don’t see things returning to the beefed up organization many were accustomed to. Lean and mean may very well become the new norm.

Casa Grande was been successful in dealing with the down turn, better than many cities in Arizona, due to the fact that it didn’t fatten its organization during the good times. I’m not saying that we’re lean to the point that progress and efficiency are effects, but the reluctance of the city’s leaders to expand government has proven vital.