Lighten Up, Francis
After a post tinged with anger over political malfeasance, we return to our regularly scheduled programming of government feel good
In the first installment of Good Government Files, I vowed to be the Ted Lasso of government-focused Substack. Last week's post on Politics Vs. Government — while generating lots of positive feedback — had a little more dark energy, Roy Kent vibe than sunny Ted Lasso.
While I reserve the right to go Roy Kent every now and again — some issues, frankly, deserve the kind of growling response that Roy delivers so well — today we revert back to the GGF norm with a smorgasbord of feel good1. No deep dives on the consequences of political cowardice this time. Instead, we share a few heaping helpings of gov goodness as sweet as one of Ted's biscuits to lift your spirits.
We start with a topic that, frankly, I initially planned to do an entire post on. I think it's the gold standard for local government social media content creation, feel good or otherwise. The folks at Facebook were so impressed by it I think they created an award for it so it could be properly honored at GSMCon. Longtime fans of the City of Round Rock, Texas, social media platforms know where this going. For the uninitiated, I lovingly share with you the Lost Teddy Alert.
(Note/Humblebrag: While it's a Round Rock project, I had literally nothing to do with the conceptualization, execution and delivery of this legendary series of posts. Although I will take full credit for hiring the folks who did.)
Let’s set the scene. It's a Tuesday in March 2016, and I'm at home pulling single dad duty, as one of my sons is sick. Unbeknownst to me, a child who attended our Music on Main concert left their teddy bear behind. Our department manager, Kristin Brown (great hire No. 1), found the teddy and brought it back to the office. When she shared the news with the staff, Brian Ligon (great hire No. 2) became really animated, saying something to effect of, "If my son had lost his teddy bear, that would be a major crisis at our house! We've got to do something to find the owner." At which point, everyone turns to Austin Ellington (great hire No. 3), the genius behind Round Rock's social media channels.
Truth be told, Austin wasn't excited about the idea. But Austin is nothing if not a gamer, so he takes the teddy down to Prete Plaza, which sits next to City Hall, where the concerts are held. Not only is Austin a great writer, he's a helluva photographer (he basically owns the Best Photography Award category at TAMIO, having won three of the last four). (Did I mention I hired him?)
Teddy bear and camera in hand, Austin goes to work. And gets inspired. And realizes he can not only draw attention to the lost teddy, he can promote the many shops, restaurants and other attractions in Downtown Round Rock.
What follows is not the entire series of posts, but enough to show what happens when preparation meets opportunity. In this case, the preparation is the staff's dedication to creating on-brand content. "Family-friendly" is at the top of the list of words and phrases for Downtown Round Rock's brand vocabulary. And, as you will see, it does not get more family-friend than this.
The first post reads, “LOST TEDDY ALERT: Are you missing a teddy? This little guy was left at Music on Main and misses his family. He is approximately 1 foot tall, tan and unBEARably cute. We've had fun checking out downtown, but it's time to go home! Direct message us if you recognize him. Please share this post to help us get teddy back to his owner!”
Here are some of the pictures that follow, along with the text that accompanied them.
The series of posts go viral. They generate tens of thousands of views and more positive comments about Round Rock than all the paid advertising in the world could ever hope to generate. Here’s a tiny but representative sample.
Sure enough, mom recognizes Teddy. Naturally, we pull out all the stops to celebrate the reunion of child and beloved toy. Here's the video the great Brian Ligon put together that tied the prettiest bow you ever did see on the best series of posts ever created by local government. (Did I mention I hired Brian?)
Beautiful.
Up next is a quote I picked up over the holidays. Technically, it's not from a government source, though Pope Francis is speaking to us, and the important role we play, in local government. It’s from his Christmas blessing in 2021.
“Sisters and brothers, what would our world be like without the patient dialogue of the many generous persons who keep families and communities together? In this time of pandemic, we have come to realize this more and more. Our capacity for social relationships is sorely tried; there is a growing tendency to withdraw, to do it all by ourselves, to stop making an effort to encounter others and do things together.”
Life’s always better when we work together.
Next up is a reminder that — my rant last week about our failures in government notwithstanding — that America is a truly amazing place. I came across the following in a Peggy Noonan column in the Wall Street Journal. She came across it on Twitter.
Amjad Masad wrote a series of tweets on the 10th anniversary of his arrival in America. He immigrated from Amman, Jordan, at 24. He had studied the history of the computer and became enamored of the U.S. and the tech industry. Five years ago he became co-founder and CEO of Replit, a company that offers tools to learn programming. It employs 40 people full-time and 10 contractors.
Masad, who became a citizen in 2019, was especially grateful for three things: a company, a family, a house. Here’s his Twitter thread in praise of his new home country.
I landed in the United States 10 years ago with nothing but credit card debt. After one startup exit, one big tech job, and one unicorn, I genuinely believe that it wouldn’t have been possible anywhere else in the world. Here are 10 things that I love about this country:
Work Ethic. First thing I noticed was that everyone regardless of occupation took pride in doing a bang-up job, even when no one looked. I asked people: ‘why do you pour everything into a job even when it is seemingly thankless?’ And it was like asking fish ‘what is water?’
Lack of corruption. In the 10 years in the US, I’ve never been asked for a bribe, and that’s surprising. When you know that you predictably get to keep a sizeable portion of the value you create and that no one will arbitrarily stop you, it makes it easier to be ambitious.
Win-win mindset. People don’t try to screw you on deals, they play the long game, and align incentives in such a way that everyone wins. This is especially apparent in Silicon Valley where you can’t underestimate anyone because one day you might be working for them.
Rewarding talent. From sports to engineering, America is obsessed with properly rewarding talent. If you’re good, you’ll get recognized. The market for talent is dynamic — if you don’t feel valued today, you can find a better place tomorrow.
Open to weirdos. Because you never know where the next tech, sports, or arts innovation will come from, America had to be open to weirdness. Weirdos thrive without being crushed. We employ people with the most interesting backgrounds — dropouts to artists — they’re awesome!
Forgiveness. Weird and innovative people have to put themselves out there, and as part of that, they’re going to make mistakes in public. The culture here values authenticity, and if you’re authentic and open about your failures, you’ll get a second and a third chance.
Basic infrastructure. Americans take care of their public spaces. Parks are clean, subways and busses run on time, and utilities & services just work. Because life can be livable for a time without income, it was possible for us to quit our jobs and bootstrap our business.
Optimism. When you step foot in the US there is a palpable sense of optimism. People believe that tomorrow will be better than today. They don’t know where progress will come from, but that’s why they’re open to differences. When we started up even unbelievers encouraged us.
Freedom. Clearly a cliche, but it’s totally true. None of the above works if you’re not free to explore & tinker, to build companies, and to move freely. I still find it amazing that if I respect the law and others, I can do whatever I want without being compelled/restricted.
Access to capital. It’s a lot harder to innovate & try to change the world without capital. If you have a good idea & track record, then someone will be willing to bet on you. The respect for entrepreneurship in this country is inspiring. And it makes the whole thing tick.
Sometimes it helps to see things through the eyes of an immigrant to be reminded we get a lot more right in this country than we get wrong.
Finally, to keep us grounded, some words of wisdom from retired U.S. Army Gen. James Mattis:
“Success in government is often measured less by the brilliant things one does than by the stupidities one prevents.”
Upward and onward.
Bonus points to readers who recognized the headline, and the immortal words spoken by Sgt. Hulka to an overzealous new Army recruit.
O my
I am awash in tears
from the sublime teddy bear video
(Way To Go hiring Brian!!!)
and onward throughout your post.
Thank you for giving us
such a powerful and wide ranging
dose of inspiration.
I will vote for Amjad Masad
when he runs for President.