This article summarizes the various career development strategies employed by Eastpointe, Michigan Retired City Manager S. Wesley McAllister, Jr., recipient of ICMA's 2000 Award for Career Development in Memory of L.P. Cookingham. ICMA's Award for Career Development is presented to a corporate member who has made a significant contribution to the development of new talent in professional local government management. The article discusses how, through his four-decade career in city management, Mr. McAllister has conveyed with strength and conviction a strong moral fiber, a clear sense of right and wrong, and selfless attention to the needs of his students. Mr. McAllister taught six valuable lessons to his proteges, which are outlined in the article.