Have You Ever Had a Really Great Boss?

Well I have. And it’s one of the reasons it isn’t easy retiring this week. Meet Scott Neal, The “Friendly” City Manager of the City of Eden Prairie!

Neal.jpg

I was a captain with the police department when he started with the city about 5 or 6 years ago.
The signature box on his e-mails was:

Scott H. Neal
Your Friendly City Manager
City of Eden Prairie
8080 Mitchell Road
Eden Prairie, Minnesota USA
55344

Call me at: 952.949.8400
Email me at: sneal@edenprairie.org
See my blog at: http://edenprairieweblogs.org/scottneal/

I figured it was just some gimmick by the new guy to establish a unique identity. Well after all the years, the “Your Friendly City Manager” label is still there. And that’s because he really IS your friendly city manager. But he is much, much more than that. He is a good boss who really cares about his people. He listens, he cares, he gives, but he is not afraid to direct, lead and make hard decisions. He and I have not always agreed on specific courses of action (I know I say that about most people I deal with), but I have always had the utmost respect for his advice, recommendations, decisions and his leadership.

He truly is a good and friendly man. I will miss his counsel, his leadership and his regular presence in my life. Hopefully I won’t miss his friendship. Hopefully that will follow me into retirement. Here’s to you Big Kahuna!

neal new.jpg
He’s even Friendly when he’s pretending not to be.

Note: Be sure to check out his weblog linked above!