Written in an interview format, this case illustrates the dilemmas and opportunities faced by a mid-level county manager seeking to improve the performance of a community planning division. The case can be used effectively to explore: the use of the budget as a management tool; building credibility and winning support in a politically charged environment; and identifying and seizing opportunities for reform within an agency.

Hired to head a unit about which internal staff, external constituents, and elected officials have no clear sense of mission, the manager featured in the case must improve her unit's programmatic performance and secure its budgetary future. She effectively uses the county budgeting process as part of a larger organizational strategy to build a cohesive and effective staff team, to reform the way in which her unit carries out and communicates its mission, and to solidify the unit's importance in the eyes of internal and external constituencies. This case is told entirely from the perspective of a protagonist who successfully employs pragmatic strategies to bring about change in a complex bureaucratic environment.