Otis White

The skills and strategies of civic leadership

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What Smart Mayors Can Learn from the Turnaround of Central Park

December 12, 2018 By Otis White Leave a Comment

The rescue of one of America’s greatest urban parks holds important lessons for local government officials everywhere about working with nonprofit partners, patience, and trading power for results.

When Bad Things Happen to Good Governments

February 7, 2018 By Otis White Leave a Comment

Governments sometimes lose their way. But there’s a group you can always call on for help, if you know how to ask. It’s not an organized group, but its members do have a name. We call them “citizens.”

How Citizen Engagement Could Save State Politics

October 24, 2017 By Otis White 1 Comment

And why it ought to be done, year in and year out, by a political party. That’s right. A political party.

How to Deal with a Demagogue

January 24, 2017 By Otis White 1 Comment

At some point in a long civic career, you may face a skillful liar who is elected to an important local office. Here’s how to fight back in a way that doesn’t leave the city deeply divided.

How to Read a Flawed Book About Cities

April 1, 2015 By Otis White Leave a Comment

A professor left an Ivy League university to work in city government. What he learned in city hall was important, but what he missed was even more important.

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Recent Posts

  • What Smart Mayors Can Learn from the Turnaround of Central Park
  • How Communities Can Thrive in a Post-Newspaper World
  • Seven Habits of Highly Successful Civic Projects
  • When Bad Things Happen to Good Governments
  • How Citizen Engagement Could Save State Politics
  • How Odd Couples, Complementary Needs, and Chance Can Change Cities
  • A Better Way to Teach Civic Leadership
  • The Worst Management Idea of the 20th Century
  • How to Deal with a Demagogue
  • What Government Is Good At
  • Return to Sender
  • The Loneliness of the Courageous Leader
  • A Better Way of Judging Candidates
  • How to Build an Army of Supporters
  • A Beginner’s Guide to Facilitation
  • The Temperament of Great Leaders
  • Units of Civic Progress
  • Leadership as “a Kind of Genius”
  • How to Read a Flawed Book About Cities
  • A Mayor’s Test for Good Decisions
  • How to Manage a Crisis Before It Happens
  • Lesson Seven: Process and Results
  • Lesson Six: The Secret of Government Success
  • The Magicians of Main Street
  • Lesson Five: Vision and Demographics

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About Otis White

Otis White is president of Civic Strategies, Inc., a collaborative and strategic planning firm for local governments and civic organizations. He has written about cities and their leaders for more than 30 years. For more information about Otis and his work, please visit www.civic-strategies.com.

The Great Project

Otis White's multimedia book, "The Great Project," is available on Apple iTunes for reading on an iPad. The book is about how a single civic project changed a city and offers important lessons for civic leaders considering their own "great projects" . . . and for students in college planning and political science programs.

For more information about the book, please visit the iTunes Great Project page.

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You can find Otis White's urban issues updates by searching for @OtisWhite. And you can "like" us on Facebook.

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