1. MAV: Future of Local Government
Change, strategy, innovation, frugality & decision-making
Kate Delaney
28 May 2015

2. Do you want to get better?
There are countless ways to listen, to engage with users, to learn and to improve, but before you or your organisation waste time on any of them, first the question must be answered, ‘do we want to get better?’

3. The environment in which you work

4. Speech to the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand
“Fiscal restraint will last the professional lifetime of everyone in this room”
Speech to the Institute of Public Administration New Zealand
19 February 2015
By Hon Bill English

5. future
today
Public expectations

6. … in general

7. static dynamic How often does a factor change over a certain period?
How often do you take new and different factors into consideration during the same period?
If more than 50% of the factors hardly change at all, you’re in a stable situation
If more than 50% of the factors hardly change at all, but you have to consider new and other factors each time you’re making this decision, the situation is slightly dynamic
If more than 50% of the factors change very often: dynamic
If more than 50% of the factors change very often, AND you have to consider new and other factors each time you’re making this decision, the situation is turbulent

8. How many factors influence the specific decision you need to take?
To how many environmental components do the factors of answer 3 belong? (customer, competitor, rules and regulations, technology, macro economy)
Few factors in few categories: simple situation
Lot of factors in few categories: homogene situation
Few factors in a lot of categories: heterogene situation
A lot of factors in many categories: complex situation
simple
complex

9. 4 uncertainty extremes Uncertainty of a decision-making four extremes:
Static + Simple = Certain
Static + Complex = Bit Uncertain
Dynamic + Simple = Uncertain
Turbulent + Complex = Very Uncertain

10. … influenced by uncertainty levels
The type of choices you make &conversations you have about the long term
… influenced by uncertainty levels

11. Build understanding (What ‘is’ the problem?)

12. Shape choices (How do we address the problem?)

13. Better decisions (What choices should we make?)

14. 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

15. Innovative organisations
Ah ha!

16. Two aspects of innovation, which require different skills & capabilities
Explore
Exploit
Explore:
Focus on the new
Identify new transformative approaches and desirable futures,
including those which address “wicked” problems or intractable situations.
Exploit:
Focus on the now
Put a priority on continuous improvement
Arms organisations with capabilities to improve existing products, services and processes.

17. 3 habits of innovative organisations
Habit 1: “creative abrasion”
Habit 2: “creative agility”
Habit 3: “creative resolution”

18. “Good” long-term decisions
(‘good’ is of course subject to interpretation)

19. 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

20. Where can things go wrong? … a few of many reasons
Uh Oh!
Where can things go wrong?
… a few of many reasons

21. People have an action bias
That lead us to jump into developing solutions before we fully understand a problem.
It’s easy to misread the environment
One study conducted found that people feel more productive when they are executing tasks rather than when they are planning them.
Especially when under time pressure, they perceived planning as a waste of time — even if it actually leads to better performance than jumping into the task head-first.
People have an aversion to idleness. We have friends who will, by choice, drive miles out of their way to avoid waiting for a few minutes at traffic lights, even if the detour means their journey takes more time.
Research suggests that the same applies to work, where many of the things we choose to do are merely justifications to keep ourselves busy.
We have a bias toward action. When faced with uncertainty or a problem, particularly an ambiguous one, we prefer to do something, even if it’s counterproductive and doing nothing is the best course of action.
Looking at too few options? Looking at too many options?

22. 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
Most of the time, that automatic behaviour saves time and delivers results. But sometimes, it can lead to bad outcomes.

23. Functional units cause barriers
Functional units build barriers to innovation possibly because they don’t ‘get it’

24. Managers fear failure
Managers hesitate to put resources on the line for new ideas
It’s a bit like sport.  You can’t win all the time, but it doesn’t mean that you change the whole team if you lose one game.  Equally, embracing failure is going too far.
Of course there are caveats; quite often everybody does most things right in the right way and the right decisions are taken at the right time, but the innovation doesn’t work for reasons outside the company’s control.  I call this “competent failure”.  If on the other hand, the same mistakes are made repeatedly, it’s time to change the team to avoid further instances of incompetent failure.
See more at:
As innovator you can fight this risk adverse culture, as a kind of modern Don Quixote fighting windmills. Or you can accept it. Only when you accepted it, you can deal with it. Managing innovation has everything to do with managing expectations and reducing risks. I can give you five tips that might get you more support for innovative ideas.
1. Dogs bark at what they don't know. So beware of this. Make clear in advance what kind of innovations they can expect (evolutionary improvements or revolutionary new to the world ideas).
2. Make clear "what's in it for us". So present your innovative ideas with a concrete case for new business showing estimates of sales and profit potential.
3. Make the feasibility clear. Can we make it? What will it cost?
4. Make clear there's a market out there. Lead users and co-creation business-to-business partners are perfect advocates to prove there's a potential market.
5.Invite top managers on your innovation journey. In this way they can get new insights themselves. You can invite them on a structured innovation expedition called FORTH. Download the map.
It all starts with accepting that it is normal that your top managers fear innovation. So think outside the box and present inside the box. Be innovative and act conservative.
Investing too little? Acting without sufficient resources? Investing too much? Allowing resources to remain idle?

25. Employees fear failure
Employees fear failure rather than table ideas
A few organisations are experimenting with switching the focus from success to failure, rewarding employees who dare to stick their neck out
HBR, Don’t Offer Employees Big Rewards for Innovation

26. Wanted: An overall approach based on a diagnosis of challenges

27. 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?

28. 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 Torres
And,
My experience

29. Do you want to get better?
Questions?

30. 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: