The Courage to Ask Questions

Communities work better when they know what their consitituents are thinking

A few years ago, I had the chance to go through this training program on Lean Six Sigma. Our state’s former Governor, John Kasich, had a real soft spot for creating a lean government and he felt that these Lean Six Sigma principles could be put into action. I applied to be part of one of the first cohorts of the state’s Lean Ohio Program and was accepted to participate. At first, I couldn't quite figure out how principles designed for manufacturing would be relevant to my work in community development. I mean, how could these two worlds possibly come together?

During one of the initial lessons, our class learned about the SIPOC decision-making model. It was the basic framework for making decisions in Lean Six Sigma, kind of like what we learned about the scientific method back in grade school—experiment with ideas, control variables, measure data. I could see how this would be useful if you were making widgets, but it didn't seem immediately applicable in a local government context where we were helping people.

However, one part of the SIPOC model caught my attention—the concept of the "Voice of the Customer." It made me realize how important it is to integrate the feedback we receive from the people we serve. It was right there I had my “Aha” moment! Things were beginning to make sense.

In local government work, we often struggle with effectively capturing the "Voice of the Customer." Sure, we can look at account balances, year-to-date reports and work orders, but how do we know if we're really making a difference? How do we know if we're truly serving those we're committed to?

Sometimes, it all comes down to asking thoughtful questions about how residents feel about their community. And guess what? A simple survey is one of the most effective ways to do just that. It takes both humility and courage to dig deep and find out how residents truly feel about their community.

And that's where THIS survey comes in.

In the past, I used to release this survey quarterly, asking people to take the time to fill it out. Then I would analyze the results and share them. Now, with the launch of this newsletter, it only makes sense to bring these two projects together.

So today, I'm reaching out to you, our amazing and dependable readers, and asking you to take just four minutes to fill out this survey. Let us know what you think about the place you call home. In future editions of the Civic Capacity newsletter, I'll take the time to provide thoughtful and careful analysis of the answers we receive.

This isn't just an opportunity for your thoughts and feelings to be heard—although it definitely is that. It's also a chance to gain a better understanding of how your community is perceived by your friends and neighbors, and for you to have a say in that process.

We'll keep the survey open for two weeks, and afterward, I'll analyze the responses and report back with the results.

You can access the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PF6SPPN

Thanks for your time and your participation! It is greatly appreciated!