The county magistrate is like a head steward, overseeing every aspect of daily life.

Clearly, this role focuses on “internal affairs rather than external ones”: setting the direction, overseeing implementation, and ensuring results.

As the head of a county, he keeps a close eye on industries, thoroughly understands policies, submits project proposals, and secures funding. He ensures effective communication between upper and lower levels, and coordinates internal and external efforts to break down barriers.

Indeed, they are both a commander and a combatant. They hear the “charge” and can fire the “starting pistol.”

What’s next? Just charge ahead with head down? Not quite—one must clear the path of obstacles before charging forward.

For a county to develop, industry comes first, and planning must be strategic. The more thorough the preliminary preparation, the more efficient the investment promotion will be later on.

It’s like a play: first comes the setup, then the development; only by building to a climax and capturing the audience’s attention will they want to keep watching.

Eagle-eyed focus on the direction

For a county to develop, it takes two or three years at the fastest, and two or three years at the slowest. When discussing development, strategy is essential.

Plan from a holistic perspective to achieve strategic goals. Simply put: what is the current state, what should the future look like, why should it be that way, and how can we make it happen.

As a county magistrate, one must possess an eagle’s eye and maintain constant “insight.” In practice, even if you grasp the essence of top-level policies, understand policy directions, and map out industrial frameworks, you may still fail to seize development opportunities.

Why? Industrial development evolves with the stages of economic growth.

The same applies to planning. When drafting a plan, you incorporate your ideas and concepts; but once it’s reviewed, studied, and approved, these plans may change due to policy or environmental factors.

There may be minor adjustments, or the plan may be completely scrapped—these are all normal occurrences. The key issue is this: if you don’t look up to see the path ahead but only keep your head down walking, you will eventually stumble.

In this regard, we must clearly identify the key priorities and what should be placed at the forefront, and we must maintain a comprehensive grasp of the county’s overall situation. Crucially, we must listen to the opinions of the relevant departments and personnel.

After all, they were born and raised here and are familiar with the region’s development situation. By incorporating their views, we can identify the key points and highlight the priorities.

In terms of industrial planning, focusing on the strategic vision of higher-level authorities is the right approach, but blindly copying existing planning models is a grave mistake. This is akin to a blind man feeling an elephant—seeing only what is immediately in front of you and focusing on isolated parts, leading to a wobbly path forward.

Many county towns have progressive thinking and a long-term vision. When setting industrial directions, they often speak of creating “new engines” and targeting emerging sectors. Of course, this does not mean that county towns cannot develop high-tech industries; rather, some regions lack the necessary industrial foundation, human resources, and, to a certain extent, investment appeal.

While these “high-end” industries occupy the top of the industrial chain, not all of them are suitable for a county’s primary development track. In terms of industrial planning, counties typically focus on “attracting” investment, relying too heavily on external industrial resources while neglecting internal industrial integration.

For county-level cities, planning for traditional industries does not necessarily equate to low-end industries. Every industry goes through a developmental process from small to large; if market competitiveness is lacking, it only slows down industrial transformation and upgrading.

Finding Projects at the Speed of a Leopard

The development of the county economy is inseparable from projects. The more projects there are, the faster the development; conversely, the fewer the projects, the slower the progress.

In the past, projects always played a supporting role—or even a bit part—in county-level administration, and their role in county economic development was often overlooked.

Now, however, projects are the “lifeline” of development, and capital is the “lever” that “pry” industries into action. The logic is simple: if you don’t run around, there’s no investment and no projects; if you run around, find funding, and secure projects, success follows.

"Talking and running, sweating and straining"—this phrase truly captures the hardships of investment promotion in county towns.

This is especially true for developing county towns that are neither located along a river nor on a border. With weak economic foundations and a scarcity of resources and information, securing funding and negotiating projects is far more difficult than one might imagine.

Funding is the core of any project. A county leader must keep a close eye on the ledger and constantly crunch the numbers. It’s like a soldier with a gun but no bullets—no matter how capable, he cannot win a battle.

For a county to develop, it needs money. But where does that money come from?

The answer is: capital operations.

In fact, since last year, fund-of-funds have collectively begun expanding into county-level cities. Although fund-of-funds may seem very “attractive,” securing funding from them is no easy task.

While the situation may seem promising at first glance, securing funds for small counties is a hot potato. The saying “nine bottles of water and one bottle of milk” reflects the reality that few viable sites exist, indicating the risks involved in such investments.

Initially, project sites were adorned with colorful banners, heavy machinery operated in an orderly fashion, and leaders delivered rousing speeches—the outlook seemed exceptionally promising. However, once the basic construction is completed and the project is preliminarily ready for production, issues may arise, causing it to stall.

For fund management firms, having received capital from the fund of funds, they are obligated to meet the corresponding reinvestment requirements. Due to the project’s stalled progress—after half a year of back-and-forth delays—the required reinvestments have not been fulfilled.

Meanwhile, the county had allocated funds to support the project. Now that higher authorities are auditing these expenditures, they’ve discovered the project hasn’t delivered the expected economic returns.

It must be said that the county’s investment momentum has been growing increasingly fierce. However, every industry has its cycles—right now, it’s renewable energy and semiconductors. As for where the next trend will emerge, that remains to be seen…

As the head of a county, one should possess an industrial mindset and a vision for urban management. When supporting sci-tech startups and fostering specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative enterprises, patience is essential—but the introduction of industries must also align with the local industrial development logic.

A Wolf-Like Spirit to Ensure Implementation

County magistrates hold meetings, listen to suggestions, and draw up plans, but the top priority is execution. So how can we ensure effective implementation?

Policies must shift from a broad-brush approach to a refined one.

Regardless of how policies are defined at the provincial level, they must be adapted at the county level to ensure they are actionable.

By "operational," we mean that the policies must be accessible to everyone, breaking away from the one-size-fits-all approach where "the ship has docked and the train has arrived at the station, but the sword is still sharp—yet the deadline has passed."

Since central and provincial policies cover a broad scope, are highly abstract, and contain more principles than practical guidelines, county-level authorities will formulate actionable plans based on the spirit, requirements, and objectives of higher-level policies, while integrating local realities.

Implementation: You don’t need a sledgehammer to ring a bell.

After assigning tasks, spot checks must be conducted to verify completion. These checks should not rely on written reports but on on-site inspections. The most effective method is to invite observers to “inspect” the work.

If officials claim tasks are well-executed, verify it on-site; if reported data looks flawless, conduct a field inspection—the truth will become immediately apparent. To prepare for “observations,” those without projects must find ways to create them; if no projects exist, they will “create something out of nothing.”

Management is not about making a splash; it’s about consistent, steady effort.

Selecting and utilizing capable leaders effectively—ensuring everyone’s talents are fully utilized and everyone is in the right place—is the only way to achieve long-term stability and prosperity.

“Pulling at one’s hair” hones a manager’s vision; “looking in the mirror” hones a manager’s magnanimity; “smelling the scent” hones a manager’s mental fortitude—these are the “three essential skills” of management.

A leadership team is like a crew on a single boat, and carrying out work is akin to rowing. By pulling together, sharing a common goal, uniting our minds, and directing our efforts toward a single purpose, we generate synergy—and the boat can then move swiftly toward its intended destination.

If everyone has their own agenda and rows in different directions, the boat will only spin in circles and fail to move forward even a single step.

Conclusion

A train stays on track when the locomotive is well-steered. In planning and development, a county magistrate must be both bold in pioneering new paths and meticulous in attention to detail.

The industrial planning and development of a county town is like a train; if one relies solely on the accelerator and brakes to accelerate and turn, the result can be summed up in two words: a bumpy ride.

Therefore, everything must proceed step by step; “progress through steady, measured steps” is the fundamental law of county development.