Canadian Government Executive - Volume 22 - Issue 10

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Our mission is to contribute to excellence in public service management
Editorial
Editor-in-Chief: Patrice Dutil
Associate Editor:Marcello Sukhdeo
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Vic Pakalnis, Mirarco, Laurentian University; Denise Amyot,
CEO, ACCC; Guy Gordon, Manitoba; Peter Jones, OCADU;
Murray Kronick, BDO-Interis Consulting; Michael Eastman,
Government Internal Auditors Council of Canada
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4 / Canadian Government Executive // December 2016
Books to Work By
Every month, CGE features a review by Harvey Schachter on a book that has caught
his attention. It starts with an email from Harvey to me, at least two months before you
read it. He gives me a run-down of what is on his list, and usually proposes one book
in particular. Now and then, I’ll make a suggestion. What matters is that the book has
something important to say about modern management — and that it be relevant to the
public service. The focus here is not on public policy, but on insightful books that public
sector executives in Canada are likely to find helpful.
As the year ends, I offer my take on what the sage Schachter reviewed in 2016.
Meeting for Results, by Richard Lent
Meetings can be total wastes of time, yet public servants spend much of their day in
them. Lent offered readers a menu of twelve basic structural choices that need to be
made in holding a meeting, and coined a memorable acronym— FATT — to measure the
need and effectiveness of meetings: focused, actionable, timely, and timed. Bring it with
you next time you’re stuck in a meeting.
Peak: Secrets fromthe NewScience of Expertise, by Anders Ericsson andRobert Pool
Anders Ericsson (not Malcolm Gladwell!) came up with the notion that one needs
about 10,000 hours to master a skill or subject. In this book he is joined by Robert Pool
and examines what it takes to peak, and keep peaking: deliberate practice. Read up
when you feel really low.
Negotiating So Everyone Wins, by David Dingwall
There is no shortage of books on negotiating, but this one is especially relevant for
leaders in the public service. Most of Dingwall’s examples are Canadian—many are in
the public sector itself, or people who work with the public sector. It’s good down-home
advice. Look it up before you enter the ring next time.
The Productivity Project, by Chris Bailey
Chris Bailey is an Ottawa-based productivity consultant who is, well, productive. It’s not
clear he has ever worked for the government, but he does have great strategies for people
who feel they are less productive than they should be. He argues that you need to build
some personal time into your schedule. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it seems to work.
Focusing on yourself for a while compresses the time you allocate for other tasks. It forces
you to be more efficient. Look it up when you feel unproductive and unloved.
Illuminate, by Nancy Duarte and Patti Sanchez
This is a book about leadership, really. It highlights the fact that leaders are the ones
who hold the torch, who point to the way ahead. Light holders are also teachers. It’s
how they lead. As Harvey put it, “If you want to initiate change, your role is to be a
torchbearer.” Read this book if you feel you’re in the dark about what your team is up to.
Leadership BS, by Jeffrey Pfeffer
Feel like you’re drowning in it? This book will shower it off, if only by demonstrating
that you are not alone in thinking that what comes down the pike sometime is just
more BS. Pfeffer is actually an expert on leadership, but has no patience for what comes
out of a lot of leadership mouths. He argues for approaches that cut to the chase, that
get teams focused with real, active words. Once you’re holding up that illuminate torch,
and avoided a meeting, read this one.
The 27 Challenges Managers Face, by Bruce Tulgan
What can be more relevant to your life today? Tulgan has the feeling that most manag-
ers haven’t got a clue about what they are doing; most in fact are wasting their time.
Most management, he feels, is about putting out fires. Not much management in that,
he contends. If you’re the one constantly holding the firehose, get this book.
Simple Sabotage, by Robert Galford, Bob Frisch and Cary Greene
How often, per day, do you feel you are being undone in your own backyard? These guys
have a book for you. They give you an idea of what to look for every time you feel like
you’ve been stabbed in the back, again. Better, they give you tools to fight fools who fol-
low procedures to the letter (usually the wrong ones), who speak out of turn, who refer
things to committees, who bullshit, and who keep going back over issues. Keep it at your
elbow when you feel like uprooting habits (and people, frankly) that are in the way.
Best wishes for the holiday season to all our readers. May 2017 be full of excellent
new habits.
editor’s note Patrice Dutil
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