Dr. Frank Benest
Until
August 2008, Frank Benest served as the City Manager of Palo Alto,
California. He is a noted consultant and trainer on rightsizing public
organizations, entrepreneurial government, civic engagement, leadership
development and succession planning.
Prior to his
appointment in Palo Alto, Frank served as City Manager in Brea and
Colton, California. He has a doctorate in management from Brigham Young
University; a Masters in Public Administration from California State
University, Long Beach; and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale
University. Frank is a Credentialed ICMA Manager.
Frank
is Past President of the California City Managers Department and past
Vice President of the International City/County Management Association
(ICMA). Frank teaches at Stanford University and has been inducted into
the National Academy of Public Administration.
Frank currently serves as the ICMA Senior Advisor for Next Generation Initiatives and Co-Chair of the Cal-ICMA Coaching Program.
“Let Me Be Frank” – A Personal Mission Statement
“Who am I? What am I passionate about? Why do I do this stuff?
I’ve
been devoted to public service, especially local government, since I
started my government career as a junior recreation leader at age 14.
As a program supervisor, department head, city manager, teacher,
consultant and trainer, I have always been most fulfilled when helping
to improve the lives of community and organizational members and
enhance public-serving agencies.
My
passions include sharing my skills, energy and experiences with public
leaders so that they can better engage citizens and employees, foster
innovation, and encourage entrepreneurship and organizational
transformation. In recent years, mostly because of the impending crisis
we face in human resources, I have focused much of my energies in
developing the next generation of government leaders and helping senior
managers renew themselves.
My
favorite assignments come from committed organizations that help me
grow, stretch, learn, explore and challenge myself while helping to
make public-serving organizations and their communities better than
ever. I want to continue making a difference at many different levels.
How can I collaborate and partner with you?”
Click here for profile of Frank published by Joint Venture Silicon Valley.
Quotes That Guide My Practice
“Leaders don’t force people to follow – they invite them on a journey.”
Charles Lauer
“We want to create “leader-full organizations”…leaders at every level of our organizations.
Margaret Wheatley
“The ability to learn may be the only sustainable competitive advantage.”
Arie De Geus
“The future never just happens; it is created.”
Will and Ariel Durant
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
Mahatma Gandhi
“Our
souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth or power... Our souls
are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to
live so that our lives matter, so that the world will be at least a
little bit different for our having past through it.”
Rabbi Harold Kushner
“What
is crucial is to begin. Things happen and opportunities appear most
often when we’re moving, not when we are standing still.”
Michael Josephson
“The
ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort
and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and
controversy.”
Dr. Martin Luther King
“Knowing exactly how much of the future can be introduced into the present is the secret of great government”.
Victor Hugo
“What you can do, or dream you can, begins in boldness. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”
Wolfgang Von Goethe
“The ultimate freedom is the capacity to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.”
Viktor Frankl
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