There's a very excellent probability you've never heard of Joseph Juran though where I live, Norwich, Connecticut, like so many other entities and organizations, great and small, is a beneficiary of his most enduring observation. Juran was the 'father' of quality management and extrapolated from an Italian economist,Vilfredo Pareto, was instrumental in developing the 80/20 Principle, that held 80% of all achievements are a result of the efforts of 20% of the population.
I could have just as easily told you Juran was the chairman of the Left Turn on Red Light Sub-Committee of the Norwich Parking Commission and you would have believed me-not because I'm as honest as the day is long, though I am (and thank goodness for Daylight Savings Time!) but because like most of our neighbors, you and I are in that 80% who enjoy the benefits of the work 'others', mostly unknown to us, accomplish on our behalf.
There are at least forty-one agencies, advisories, boards, commissions and committees in Norwich on which residents can serve (and technically, through city ordinance and/or state law, must serve). I say at least forty-one because when I checked the municipal website, there are two I know of that aren't listed.
This is not yet another hand wringing harangue about voter turnout last November for the City Council and Board of Education elections. We get the government we deserve and if you choose to not vote, you get to live with the choices I make for both of us, because I am always going to vote.
No, I'm not talking the Big Rooms, but what in Las Vegas might be regarded as the lounge acts, all those volunteers with every imaginable responsibility. The headlines are always about the City Council and the Board of Education but the fine print is with the volunteer groups where (at least) 80% of everything that gets done in Norwich (and conversely that doesn't get done), is proposed and disposed of--discussed, debated and implemented.
The discussion over appointments to the various boards et al and the process used to determine which volunteer is recommended for what position that surfaced at last month's City Council meeting, as so much does in these hectic times, comes back to who has 'free' time and what is that time worth, to themselves and to their community.
In a city of over 40,000 residents where among all voters, those who are unaffiliated outnumber both registered Democrats and Republicans, how, exactly, do vacancies get filled. Once an interested resident fills out an application, and sends it to either the City Manager's office or to the Office of the Mayor, what happens next? Perhaps the question we're currently trying to answer is why should there be any mystery to the appointment process at all?
Let's face it, we 80% need all the help we can get and if the best way to do that is to expand that 20% to a larger number so we all get the benefit of a greater range and scope of talents and abilities, I don't think any of us will feel badly-served by those friends and neighbors who generously share their time and talents for our greater good.
-bill kenny
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