Usually people come into the manager’s position after years of preparation. They have worked as city or county government employees for years, they have been assistants or senior managers, and they have been on the inside of events and party to much of the activity surrounding their local elected officials and their own manager at the time. This is a great help for any thoughtful observer—noting how people react to or deal with given situations or circumstances and thinking about how they would behave were they the manager.