In corporations and in cities, it is people that make the difference. This was the theme of a discussion with Marco Bucci, one-time corporate manager in Italy and the United States and now mayor of the city of Genoa.
A corporation is a large community of people that makes plans and has a vision for the future. The same goes for the city, whose citizens are stakeholders – and thus owners – and whose mayor is the CEO. The difference is that a corporation’s core objective is to turn a profit, while the city – which should be organized similarly – is dedicated to providing citizens with services.
Governing a community means listening to everyone and making decisions, even unpopular ones. If no one shoulders the responsibility to make the difficult decisions that keep a city running, problems arise that impede the potential economic development that research centers, industry, artisans and the civil society can generate. Consensus is born of credibility, which is the consequence of the results those decisions yield.
Any City Hall needs the benefit of great leadership and management. Leaders must have vision, while managers must point the way to achieving the desired results most efficiently and at the lowest possible cost, refusing to be bound by the temporal constrictions of the 5-year plan.
The role of mayor has lately been losing its appeal in Italy. The salary is lower than that offered in the private sector, and the risk of facing legal action is high and constant while, at the same time, liability is not well defined by law. Finally, someone who interrupts a managerial career in the private sector to undertake a role in local government will most likely find it difficult to reclaim that former position. Reviving the attraction of a post in city government calls for a revision of the selection process that foregrounds capacity and education upon entry, and facilitates merit-based replacement upon exit.
A mayor needs a wide range of skills. Scientific skills aid in the management of technical problems, e.g. a knowledge of chemistry when it comes to the topic of garbage. Indispensable in general are soft skills such as conflict management, project management and the ability to identify the right persons for the team. A leader must be able to pick the right second and third in line capable of taking his/her place – unfortunately, in Italy, it is often the wrong person who gets chosen.
Public Administration staff and managers are often more focused on procedures than on results. Yet, with the arrival of smart cities, data acquires pivotal importance. Thus, with “data lakes” growing in number and size – e.g. with the addition of real time local public transport data – data scientists and data managers will be more in demand than ever.
In light of the rise in inequality and poverty due to the economic crisis stemming from Covid-19, it should be recalled that cities have “a soul and a destiny of their own, and are not just random piles of stone,” as Giorgio La Pira opined. Local administrators therefore must be dedicated to creating and distributing wealth by encouraging those business networks that can have positive economic and employment fallout on the city.