Siberian Mayor Forbids His Staff from Making Negative Comments—Insists They Offer Positive Solutions to Problems
"Before, it was so easy to say 'I don't know.' Now before reporting to the mayor we prepare several proposals on how one or another problem can be solved."
(Siberia)—Alexander Kuzmin, a former businessman and the current mayor of the town Megion, in Siberia, has made headlines for banning his staff from saying about 25 negative phrases—such as "I don't know", "I can't", "It's impossible", "It's not my job"—as a way to make his administration more efficient. Officials who disobey the ban while in the mayor's office will reportedly "near the moment of their departure." (Map: BBC News)
"It's a suggestion to the staff that they should think before saying something," said spokesperson, Oksana Shestakova.
Housing is reportedly a great problem in Megion. "Town authorities are there to make town residents' life comfortable and prosperous," said the 33-year-old Kuzmin, who studied business administration in Canada. "Town officials must work out mechanisms to solve and remove problems, not to avoid them."
According to the report in the Daily Mail, providing the mayor with wrong or incomplete information, or being late in reporting important information will be considered an attempt to undermine his work.
Anna Borovikova, the mayor's chief of staff, is quoted as saying the novel approach has improved discipline. "Before, it was so easy to say 'I don't know.' Now before reporting to the mayor we prepare several proposals on how one or another problem can be solved," she said, admitting that it was hard at first to remember not to use the banned expressions.
