Expectations for Public Sector Boards

19 October 2016

“Within the context of the growth plan and transformational

change.…”

“Talk about the Government of Saskatchewan’s expectations for

public sector boards.”

–Gary Hamel Michele Zanini, October 2014

“Today’s organizations were simply never designed to change proactively or deeply.”

–Hamel and Zanini, McKinsey Commentary, October 2014

“They were built for discipline and efficiency, enforced through hierarchy and

routinization.”

The phrase change management…

Implies change can be managed.

If change is truly transformational…if it breaks new ground….

It can’t be predetermined.

It can rarely be accurately predicted.

What does Ian know about board

governance ?

Actual board governance is rare.

“Effective governance by a board of trustees is a relatively rare and unnatural act…trustees are often little more than high-powered, well intentioned people

engaged in low level activities.”–Chait, Holland, and Taylor, 1996, pg. 1

–Drucker, 1974, pg. 628 as quoted in “Carver’s Policy Governance Model in Nonprofit organizations”. Available at

http://www.carvergovernance.com/pg-np.htm

“There is one thing boards have in common; they do not

function.”

Boards deliver accountability

Boards are the conduit between the customer

and the owner.

Now more than ever, we need the front-line wisdom of boards.

Build a platform for change..

do not embark on a change process.

–Seattle Times, November 17, 2002

“The usual, political way to handle a projected deficit is to

take last year’s budget and cut…”

“That’s like taking last year’s family car and reducing its weight

with a blowtorch and shears.”

–As quoted in Chapter 1 of David Osborne’s “The Price of Government”

“But cutting $2 billion from this vehicle does not make it a

compact, it makes it a wreck.”

Government needs the deep knowledge of

boards…

…to turn the budgeting process on its head.

Start with the results we demand…

Set the price we are willing to pay.

Turn our fiscal challenges into an opportunity to get increased value out of public institutions.

A budget that• Buys programs that deliver results;• produces government at its most effective size;• prompts strategic reviews, consolidation.

• Use technology to empower customers;• make everyone accountable for results.

In the context of transformational change…

• success is higher levels of satisfaction;• success is lower cost to the taxpayer.

Yahoo began in 1994• Market value of $128 billion in 2000;• Could have bought Google for $1 million;• Could have bought Facebook for $1 billion;• 2008: $45 billion offer from Microsoft.• Sold to Version, July 25th, $4.8 billion

Defeat had many fathers….

Board articulate values• What we do and do not want;• What we will do, what we will never do;• Clarity in articulation of values;• Clarity in measurement;• Clarity in assignment of accountability.

One Possible Tool for Boards

“Design thinking starts with empathy, establishing a deep understanding of those

we are designing for.”

Designing For Growth

“Business executives, more often than not, value order and control above all else.

Design, in contrast, favours trying over extensive planning and is overwhelmingly

experimental in its approach.

Designers expect to iterate their way to increasingly better answers—creating prototypes with paper, foam or video.”