Killer Ideas, No Filler
The new Wednesday format, plus what we learned from the April 16 Office Hours
This week’s TL;dr is less about what I’m reading and more about where Good Government Files is headed.
Your Wednesday post will shift from a collection of curated articles to one killer idea: something focused, useful, and built to help you lead more effectively. Why the change? Because my energy is shifting from writing about good communication to helping others practice it.
In January, I had the chance to teach at the Certified Public Communicator (CPC) program at TCU. It reminded me just how much I enjoy sharing—especially in person—what I learned over nearly 24 years in local government. The CPC crowd is ambitious, values-driven, and quickly becoming the next generation of leaders in our profession. It was a blast.
Dr. Jacque Lambiase, who founded the program, told me something that stuck: local government communicators are looking for a framework, something to guide their work and push them toward excellence. That insight sparked The Five Elements of High Performance Communication, a new series that kicked off last Friday, and the basis for a workshop I’ll be rolling out in the coming weeks.
🔹 Don’t worry—Friday deep dives aren’t going anywhere.
But they are getting a bit tighter. I know a long email is a big ask, even for the most curious local gov executive or comms pro. The dives won’t be shallow, but they will be more focused. The goal is to keep it digestible but still meaningful. If you want to go deeper, join us at GGF Office Hours. We had a great discussion on April 16, and I’ve got a quick recap of that below.
This week’s Friday edition? It’s all about Element 1: Strategic Priorities. Hope you’ll check it out, and as always, I’d love to hear what you think.
—Will
Real Talk from the April 16 GGF Office Hours
Huge thanks to Frances La Rue from the City of Anna, Texas, and Abby King and Brian Ligon from the City of Mont Belvieu, Texas, for joining me for a great conversation on what it really takes to do next-level government communications.
We got into the weeds—in a good way—on:
Navigating internal buy-in
Dealing with social media pushback
Making space for creative, high-impact projects
Brian and Abby walked us through the thinking behind Love MBTX, and Frances shared how her team leaned into humor and heart with a Blippi-style video series promoting a Touch-A-Truck event. Both efforts are proof that when communicators are trusted and supported, they can create work that makes people feel something—and maybe even stop scrolling for a second to feel good about where they live.
Here’s how Frances summed it up:
I have to say this was one of my favorite ‘gov’ meet ups in awhile. It felt so honest and encouraging. I left energized and inspired by these people … Listening to Brian and Abby talk about the heart of their community and their passion reminded me of why I do what I do. Can’t wait to listen in on the next one!
This is exactly the kind of discussion GGF Office Hours is meant to spark. It’s where the real challenges—and real wins—get shared.
I’m locking in next month’s guests now, so stay tuned.
Onward and Upward.