VIEW P OI N T
AMCTO Staff
Andy Koopmans, CPA, CMA, CMO
Executive Director
Craig Wellington
Director, Programs & Services
Rick Johal
Director, Member & Sector Relations
Roger Ramkissoon, CPA, CGA
Manager, Finance & Administration
Anubha Meta, Ph.D.
Manager, Education & PD
Program Development
Brenda Armstrong Johnston
Specialist, Membership Services
Michelle Sampson
Executive Assistant
Kathleen Barrett
Co-ordinator, Communications
& Marketing
Jeanne Moon
Co-ordinator, Programs & Services
Rosita Bourke
Co-ordinator, Programs & Services
Manjit Badh
Co-ordinator, Programs & Services
Eric Muller
Policy Advisor
Tawanda Chirenda
Co-ordinator, Accreditation
Jane Chevannes
Administrative Assistant,
Programs & Services
The Importance
of Precision
I
have to admit that I am probably
not the best person at ensuring that
the words I use when communicat-
ing with others are as precise as they
should be. In the interests of keeping
the conversation flowing or in get-
ting my point across, I often will use
the words that generally get my point
across with the assumption that the
other party will understand the general
intent. I would suspect that the same is
true with most of you.
However, while the above approach
is generally effective, there are times
when this lack of precision can get us
into trouble. As a prime example, think
about our sometimes interchangeable
use of the words “engagement” and
“consultation”.
According to the Oxford English
Dictionary’s guide to synonyms, upon
hearing the word “engagement” most
people will interpret this to mean “par-
ticipation”, “sharing” or “involvement”.
On the other hand, if we say “consulta-
tion”, it will be generally understood
as being synonymous with “discus-
sion”, “debate” or “negotiation”. This
difference in interpretation can, in my
opinion, get us into trouble.
I think that not being precise in this
instance can cause problems in manag-
ing the expectations of the individuals
with whom we are choosing to consult
or engage. If we are truly talking about
consulting with them, it implies that
we will enter into a two-way dialogue
or debate on the s ubject at hand which
could result in changes being made to
the original ideas that were put for-
ward. Through our consultation with
Andy Koopmans,
CPA, CMA, CMO,
Executive Director
them we arrive at a final negotiated
outcome that reflects the general con-
sensus of all parties involved.
On the other hand, although engag-
ing with a group of individuals may
lead to an outcome similar to what
was achieved through a consultation
process, it may not necessarily turn
out that way. Our commitment to this
group of individuals when we elect
to engage with them is, by definition,
really limited to sharing with them
and allowing them the opportunity to
participate or be involved. We do not
necessarily have to take their input and
recommendations into account when
making our final decision.
Given the above, I believe that it
is critically important for everyone,
including AMCTO, to be clear on what
we are hoping to accomplish when we
interact with others. If our objective is
to actively solicit input from a group
of people and commit to using that
input to craft a final course of action,
then we can be confident in using the
term “consultation”. However, if we
are reaching out to these individuals
primarily to make them aware of a pro-
posed course of action to gauge their
opinion, which may not necessarily
result in any changes to that proposed
course of action, then we more accu-
rately should refer to the process as
“engagement”.
As always, I welcome your com-
ments on what I’ve said. Just know
that your comments will not neces-
sarily change my opinions. I guess that
means I’m “engaging” and not “consult-
ing” with you.
Municipal Monitor
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