Quote of the week
“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”
— Alan Kay
Editor’s Corner
Well, there is little doubt that on the public sector front it has been an action-packed year. At the federal level, it was the completion of the year-long Blueprint 2020 exercise and the report, Destination 2020, that set the stage for further reforms in how the feds do business.
The issue for this year – and going into the next – is whether government institutions can transform themselves to meet the pressures put on them.
And there is no doubt that the pressures have been significant and will not go away.
Technology is perhaps the most disruptive one. While many see it as an enabler, few in government are in a position to realize its potential as truly transformative. We all talk and read about big data and data analytics, but do we have the mindset, the tools and the capacities to use it well to find new, innovative solutions?
We hear about the speed of change, but what about the increasing speed of business? What about the Minister’s office zooming straight into the bowels of the department, demanding an answer within the next few minutes to some issue raised in a Tweet?
And what about the significant demographic changes that the public service is facing, and its implications on talent management, leadership, corporate memory and how we do business?
This is not about despair. This is about a resilient public sector that knows the issues and, I know, will continue to respond to them well.
Every public service leader at all three levels of government has been grappling to some degree or another with these issues. You are all to be congratulated for your commitment and perseverance.
This space will return on January 7. Enjoy the holidays…you have earned them.
