Paul Gilbert, author of “High Performance Agencies: The Entrepreneurial Model for Public Parks, Recreation and Tourism Organizations,” is a many-faceted man. He is the executive director of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks, formerly known as NVRPA), a multijurisdictional park agency with an annual operating and capital budget of almost $30 million. He is an adjunct professor at George Mason University. He is also the author of “Lead Like a General,” an award-winning book exploring the qualities that make a superb leader. And in his spare time, Gilbert serves as a volunteer on the boards or in leadership roles of several organizations in his area of expertise.
As executive director of NOVA Parks, Gilbert implemented a number of entrepreneurial practices that grew his agency’s enterprise revenue more than 75 percent between 2005-2014. According to Gilbert, the steps to becoming an organizational entrepreneur and creating an entrepreneurial organization are not so difficult. Thinking entrepreneurially starts simply with the willingness to have an open mind, take risks, and manage and organize for the success of the agency.
NRPA CEO Barbara Tulipane, who wrote the foreword for “High Performance Agencies,” recently sat down with Gilbert to talk about his book and the experiences in his career that led him to write it.
Barbara Tulipane: You have been a strong proponent of park and recreation agencies becoming more entrepreneurial. What formed your thinking on this and why did you want to write this book?
Paul Gilbert: In my work experience — first in the private sector, then in the nonprofit world and most recently for NOVA Parks — I have learned that you have to constantly reinvent yourself, especially when you don’t have deep-pocket resources. When you don’t have the resources, you can’t just throw money at problems. You must be an innovator, and you have to engage customers where they are, rather than where you want them to be.
Tulipane: Who should read this book and why should they read it?
Gilbert: I think that this book appeals to two audiences — first, to professionals in the field who want to take their agency to the next level. I try to answer the question of how we can be more effective and do more, and not necessarily with less. But I also think this book works extremely well as a textbook for the administration and management of park and recreation agencies. This is a new kind of book for that audience. It’s filled with real-life examples of how others are doing cutting-edge innovation in their agencies. I think it works equally well for professionals in the field and for students who are entering the field.
Tulipane: In your book, you say that the critical first step to creating a high-performance agency is to begin by creating an entrepreneurial organization. Just what is an “entrepreneurial organization,” and how do park and recreation agencies go about reinventing themselves to be one?
Gilbert: I believe this starts with the individual and his or her enthusiasm and willingness to succeed. The organization must start with a shared vision for the future and then create a strategic plan on how to get there. This is the critical transformational step — it will guide your board, your staff and all employees toward reaching your goals. Everyone needs to work toward achieving a part of that plan. Among the elements that will help achieve this are creating a sustainable funding model, repositioning your agency to offer a more compelling value proposition to the public, and creating a performance-driven organization that motivates employees and brings value to the community.
Tulipane: I recently reviewed a 240-page strategic plan developed for a relatively small agency. It seems ridiculous to have a strategic plan that is that detailed.
Gilbert: I agree. Simpler is better — that is what a strategic plan should be. It needs to focus on the transformational steps an agency must take as an organization. You know if you don’t have a clear mission and vision, you might as well be a public works department. If you think that all you need to do is cut the grass, do the programs and keep things running, you really aren’t much different than a public works department.
Tulipane: What are some of the most important things that individuals can do to contribute to making a high-performance agency?
Gilbert: Energy. Passion. Enthusiasm. It comes down to optimism for me. You need to put forth an aspirational vision about what is unique and transformational about what you do. If we are serious about high performance, we must put out a positive message. And there is quite a bit of science that backs this up — if staff members are feeling downtrodden, beaten and lost, they will not reach high levels of performance. If you hope to achieve such high performance, you will never get there through gloom and doom.
Tulipane: What about taking risks? Why is it important we do so?
Gilbert: We should not shy away from risk. Nothing risked, nothing gained. We need to do a better job explaining why we should try out new things, and we especially need to do a better job explaining the risks of not taking action.
Tulipane: You don’t get a pass on risk. Everyone must take them and at the end of the day, you will be judged on how well you met the challenges you faced.
Gilbert: If you are willing to take risks to better your agency, you are well on the way to creating an entrepreneurial organization.
Tulipane: Do you think most park and recreation agencies follow an enterprise approach?
Gilbert: I don’t know that there is clear evidence to support that. The average agency gains about 30 percent of revenue from enterprise operations. This is good, but you can’t measure success on cost recovery. It may seem counterintuitive, but your measure is taken in how you react, change and reinvent yourself — you build public support, taxpayer support, by how you will achieve your mission. The organization must constantly change and adapt.
Barbara Tulipane, CAE, is NRPA’s President and CEO. Richard J. Dolesh is NRPA’s Vice President of Conservation and Parks.
High Performance Agencies: The Entrepreneurial Model for Public Parks, Recreation and Tourism Agencies, By Paul A. Gilbert
Paul Gilbert, executive director of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NOVA Parks), has written a book that speaks to the aspirations of professionals in the field of parks, recreation and tourism. In the opening pages of “High Performance Agencies: The Entrepreneurial Model for Public Parks, Recreation and Tourism Agencies,” he states, “The passive manager…no longer will be a model of success.” Gilbert goes on to lay out a thesis that park and recreation agencies will only remain successful and vibrant if they continually reinvent themselves according to an entrepreneurial organizational model.
The entrepreneurial organization is not solely about raising revenue, although that is a large part of the measure of success. It is as much about managing successfully in a time of profound change. Those agencies that are capable of creating a sustainable revenue model, adopting the best practices of business and industry, repositioning to continuously create value for the public, and advancing a mission and vision that is in tune with community needs, will all lead to high performance and providing top-quality service to the public .
“High Performance Agencies” examines the enterprise approach, delves into how to best manage human and financial resources, and ends with some very good content on positioning, leadership and creating a vision for the future. The book will appeal to experienced professionals in the field, and it will be especially valuable for those entering the field. It was also recently adopted as an official text of NRPA’s Revenue Development and Management School. There are a number of subsidiary resources interspersed in the text, and numerous real-life examples of how agencies are transforming into entrepreneurial organizations.
Gilbert’s latest text is a good read for managers, entry-level professionals and students alike. The examples are relevant to the challenges facing agencies today, and the prescriptions for managing in a time of change are valuable lessons grounded in reality.
“High Performance Agencies: The Entrepreneurial Model for Public Parks, Recreation and Tourism Agencies,” copyright Sagamore Publishing, 2014.
Richard J. Dolesh is NRPA’s Vice President of Conservation and Parks.