MAV: Future of Local Government

Change, strategy, innovation, frugality & decision-making

Kate Delaney28 May 2015

Do you want to get better?

The environment in which you work

“Fiscal restraint will last the professional lifetime of everyone in this room”

Speech to the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand

19 February 2015By Hon Bill English

Public expectations

today

future

… in general

static dynamic

simple complex

4 uncertainty extremes

• Uncertainty of a decision-making four extremes:– Static + Simple = Certain– Static + Complex = Bit Uncertain– Dynamic + Simple = Uncertain– Turbulent + Complex = Very Uncertain

The type of choices you make &conversations you have about the

long term

… influenced by uncertainty levels

Build understanding(What ‘is’ the problem?)

Shape choices(How do we address the problem?)

Better decisions(What choices should we make?)

Uncertainty and the environment you work in

• Static + Simple = Certain = more time on decision-making conversations

• Static + Complex = Bit Uncertain = more time on shaping choices conversations

• Dynamic + Simple = Uncertain = more time on both of building understanding & shaping choices conversations

• Turbulent + Complex = Very Uncertain = more time on building understanding conversations

Innovative organisations

Ah ha!

Two aspects of innovation, which require different skills & capabilities

ExploreExploit

3 habits of innovative organisations

• Habit 1: “creative abrasion”• Habit 2: “creative agility”• Habit 3: “creative resolution”

“Good” long-term decisions

(‘good’ is of course subject to interpretation)

4 characteristics of long-term decisions

• Cultivate capacity to ‘see around corners’

• Look for decisive aspects of the situation

• Concentrate your effort• Consider what is actionable

Uh Oh!

Where can things go wrong?… a few of many reasons

People have an action bias

• An action bias • That lead us to jump into developing

solutions before we fully understand a problem. – It’s easy to misread the environment

Looking at too few options? Looking at too many options?

Automatic behaviour

• People tend to act the same in similar situations – Like the informal rule that you sit in the

same chair at periodical meetings

Functional units cause barriers• Functional units build barriers to

innovation possibly because they don’t ‘get it’

Managers fear failure

• Managers hesitate to put resources on the line for new ideas

Investing too little? Acting without sufficient resources? Investing too much? Allowing resources to remain idle?

Employees fear failure

• Employees fear failure rather than table ideas

Wanted: An overall approach based on a diagnosis of challenges

So what?

• Starting questions:– How much extra work results from incentive

and evaluation systems that pressure staff to look busy and outperform one another?

– Which information flows can you omit? Information that doesn’t improve decisions is a wasteful distraction.

– Which decisions and judgments can you standardise rather than make in costly meetings and communications?

– How can you work with others to simplify their processes so that you can simplify yours?

Sources of ideas for the presentation:

Think tanks/consultancy firms:• Deloitte• McKinsey• Boston Consulting

Group• Monitor Institute• Leaders Against Routine

Academics/commentators:• Eric Berlow• Francesca Gino• Seth Godin• Linda Hill• Daniel Kahneman• Richard Rumelt• Bradley Staats• Roselinde TorresAnd, • My experience

Do you want to get better?

Questions?

Kate Delaney

• The ‘pinball effect’ – (i.e. linking ideas together to create desirable

futures)

• Worked for Canadian Government for 17 years

• Working for my self since 1998 (in Australia)

• M: 0407 292 679