Dr. Bruce Moeller has seen it all. As a 25+ year veteran of the fire service, he has led multiple fire departments in times of great political and financial strife. As a current city manager he knows too well the tough decisions that must be made, and the political environment in which you are expected to navigate.  In essence, the political world can be a scary place – and everyone is looking to you for answers.

The answers to today’s problems are not clear-cut.  In these times the world is no longer black or white – it is full of gray.

• How do you argue for the resources you need, or even keep what you have, when unemployment and foreclosures in your community are rising?
• What do you say to politicians that want to lower taxes while firefighters say they need more?

Technical competence is only part of a chief fire officer’s job, and it won’t help you answer all the tough policy questions citizens and politicians want to know. To be truly effective, you must know how to navigate this political “yellow brick road” and the people you will meet along the way: the lions (politicians), tigers (managers), and bears (citizen groups, employees, etc). Each person in this political environment must be dealt with from a different perspective and skill set.  Yet there are rules for how to identify the desires others may have and how to make your needs part of the negotiation process.

Hear from this former fire chief, and current city manager, in this humorous but highly practical presentation explaining how to understand political motives of others, develop an effective and mission-oriented team, and successfully achieve your goals within a political environment.

Chief Moeller is known for his highly engaging and extremely practical perspective on the challenges faced by fire chiefs.  This presentation will allow you to:

• Look at your world from a different perspective so you will develop an understanding of public policy & the key participants involved
• Identify the critical skills needed on your management staff so you can learn to create an effective team / coalition to develop and execute needed political strategies
• Understand the difference between management and leadership so you can identify future leaders in your organization and help them to develop and support your goals

Bruce Moeller, PhD. is City Manager in Sunrise, Florida, a community of over 90,000 with a workforce of 1,200 employees.  Prior to becoming city manager, Dr. Moeller previously served as fire chief for two different agencies during his fire service career.  Moeller is active in local, state and national fire service and city management organizations.

Dr. Moeller has also been an adjunct professor at Florida Atlantic University, a state institution, and taught undergraduate and graduate courses in public administration, management, labor relations, and organizational theory.

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