And the Memory Lingers On (1992)

INTRODUCTION Neely Gardner and NTDS. For many, Neely was NTDS. And, what was special about NTDS was Neely Gardner. But, wait a minute, you say, I'm a 29 year old public administrator who has never heard of Neely Gardner. And now, you're pitching a strange acronym I've never heard of either. NTDS? Give me a break! Good point, so let me go back a few years and weave a bit of history into this tale. NTDS, the National Training and Development Service for State and Local Government, was conceived in the heat of intergovernmental passion during an era when pubic money flowed like wine. The December 15, 1971 newsletter of the International City Management Association (ICMA) featured two short news briefs on the front cover: Six(1) Meet with President Nixon and Domestic Council and Education Study Completed: Coloration Proposed. Ironically, neither Nixon nor the proposed Separate Corporation survived the seventies. That separate corporation was NTDS, although it was called the Continuing Education Service (CES) for a very short period of time after its creation. The main thrust of CES, according that 1971 ICMA newsletter, was to establish training and research as an integral part of the management process. NTDS did not spring full blown from the loins of the It was conceived in College Park, Maryland on May 22, 1970 and nurtured life by an eight-month study which culminated in Ford Foundation and federal funding (under the Intergovernmental Personnel Act) in early 1972. As the ICMA newsletter stated, Significantly, the IPA proposal has the unanimous support of the Big Six and has been identified as the number one project, both individually and as a group. Neely Gardner's influence on NTDS was evident from the start. The ICMA newsletter quote, defining the proposed organization's thrust as establishing action training and research as an integral part of the management process, was pure Gardner philosophy. I suspect that few of those midwifing the NTDS effort (except perhaps Frank Sherwood) understood what that statement really meant. I didn't understand it, in Neely's terms, although I may have written the news release for ICMA at the time. Meaning was only become clear as Neely worked his magic on the NTDS program in his subtle, quiet, unobtrusive ways. I have painted a brief history of NTDS as it was conceived for two reasons. First, many readers are unfamiliar with NTDS. Second, emphasize Neely's influence on the NTDS philosophy and program as a driving force from the very beginning. It is this influence I want dwell on because it helps define Neely Gardner and his larger contribution the theory and practice of organization behavior. THE CES POOL OF IDEAS As noted, NTDS was initially labeled the Continuing Education Service (CES). Nearly a year of effort went into defining CES and its program, with Neely playing a pivotal role. He wrote two short think pieces for consideration by those who were framing the essence of NTDS at that time. One was conceptual, A Continuing Education Service Program: A Statement of Philosophy; the other described in narrative format what he thought would happen in the organization's first two years-Operation of the Continuing Education Service for State and Local Governments, 1971-73. In this article I draw extensively from these statements as they define in Neely's own terms his interaction with the embryonic NTDS. His statement of philosophy was prefaced with an admonition: NTDS should be designed start modestly and act boldly (but with humility!) (a touch of Gardner paradox). Beyond his pithy preface came a set of assumptions be believed should guide initiation and development of NTDS. Before discussing these, I wish note that assumptions had not been much of a factor in organization behavior literature. The indexes of public administration books written before 1970, or for that matter 1980, include very few references assumptions. …