Not business as usual - People

South Florida CEO, April, 2003 by Johanna Marmon

First came pro-business city commissioner Johnny Winton, then pro-business Mayor Manny Diaz. Now the City of Miami has hired businessman Joe Arriola as city manager. What's happening to local politics?

Joe Arriola has only been on the job for a month or so, but Miami's new city manager already knows exactly what he expects from city employees. "We're going to get every single employee involved in the process of working as a team," he says. Before, "each department in city government ran as its own little corporation and wouldn't communicate with other departments. I think the whole philosophy is that we put them all at the same table."

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The new city manager, who replaced Carlos Gimenez, is also big on accountability: "I think it's important we try to change the way government does business in the city, and bring more accountability for actions that are taken. Every action has to have a result."

What Arriola won't tolerate are political fiefdoms. "You know, I think that people get hired in city government to build empires," he says. "You build your own strengths and political power, and the more important you become, the less you want to communicate with people."

Arriola is himself a retired businessman, having founded Miami-based publishing company Avanti, later sold to conglomerate St. Ives. When tapped to take over as chief administrator, he concedes the result was something of a personal compromise. "I had to resign from all boards and give up my golf game," he says. "That was difficult." What about navigating the world of politics after a lifetime in business? "It's like night and day," Arriola says. "But once you get over the shock of the political aspect of it, it's like running a company."