Making Matrix Management Work

Cities and towns today are managed by a conglomeration of entities. The city, of course, but also the downtown marketing organization, any Authorities managing Improvement Districts, Chamber of Commerce, Visitor and Convention Bureau, BYPs* Network, Historical Preservation Society, Block Grant managers, and more, more, more. In the Dark Ages, it was called Matrix Management, meaning that nobody had control, but anybody could get in a lot of trouble when things didn't work out.We used to deal with it by going on retreats over a weekend at a secluded B&B.  Good food, lots of wine, interminable Pictionary games and major late night discussions. Our spouses must have wondered when we returned on Monday totally wrung out.

On the other hand, if every entity involved in a city just did their job, WOULDN'T it work out? If someone has studied the variables and created a vision, we all should be able to progress independently. Unless, of course, there aren't enough people or isn't enough money for any specific entity. And there's the rub in a city the size of Nashua. Seldom does the marketing arm of a small city grow beyond two people...it's just a matter of how much you can tax the stakeholders. Bigger cities have a bigger tax base. And there's only so much that two people can do.

Or unless the downtown is not a priority for some of the entities. Here in Nashua, the Greater Nashua Chamber includes all of Southern New Hampshire, and the President is a legislative lobbyist who works both New Hampshire AND Massachusetts, doing quite a job of it (see Advocate Archive). And he takes education seriously, but not for his business membership. Other Chambers have on-going marketing and financial programs for their members, powerful committees for government, ecology, networking, young professionals, events, peer to peers and more. Isn't that all about education and communication? Nashua has just one committee, Advocacy. Events are limited to a few social hours, awards meetings, and legislative updates, none of which are held downtown. So that leaves one big stack of work for the other entities to pick up if the whole downtown balance is to work.  It should be noted as well that the Chamber has great funding, just from memberships. With each of the 750 members paying at least $300, their base budget is at least a quarter of a million dollars. With the resources, knowledge and experience that the Nashua Chamber has, it could be a real player in downtown revitalization. Maybe they could add one more committee: Lesser Nashua.

Of course, different cities handle the process different ways. Some have enough money to do it all with City and downtown Marketing employees. Some excel at recruiting and managing volunteers. And some of the most successful seem to do it with "buy in". They paint the vision in such vivid technicolor that all involved can work quickly and neatly with a minimum of mixup. And if they have done their homework by getting a lot of input from merchants, residents, shoppers, and other downtown participants, they'll have lots of people keeping them on track. It will be time soon for Nashua to pick a model to proceed by;  I wonder if that B&B is still books retreats?
  * BYPs - Beautiful Young Professionals