Six degrees of separation (and breakfast)

Posted by Shane Carmichael in Life on February 12, 2010

Bizarre.

In the course of finishing my previous post in which I commented on the recent furore surrounding the resignation and re-instatement of Joanne Cash as the Conservative Party’s candidate for Westminster North, I realised I have, in the past shared a breakfast table with her husband, Octavius Black.

Joanne Cash and Octavius Black

Joanne Cash with her husband – and friend of David Cameron – Octavius Black. Photograph: Alan Davidson

As founder of The Mind Gym, Octavius was kind enough to treat me and the one and only Rob Gibbs to a breakfast meeting as we discussed doing some business with the Mind Gym on a (to remain unnamed) Government account on which we were working.

A very nice man, charismatic in the extreme, intellectually engaging and founder of a very interesting and entrepreneurial company. And the breakfast was good too.

Small world indeed.

 

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What it meant…

Posted by Shane Carmichael in Government, Leadership on February 11, 2010

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Someone actually asked me for an opinion the other day. Its been a while since I actually had to think so it took me a little by surprise but nonetheless it was flattering.

What did I make of David Cameron’s rather unexpected and I have to say, slightly uncharacteristic, attack on Gordon Brown the man/politician than Gordon Brown the leader of the Labour Party, calling him a “secretive, power-hoarding, controlling” character.
I think it simply meant two things.

First, the ideological dividing lines in this election are so fine to be almost entirely non-existent. When some of the bigger bones of contention include how many years we should take to cut the national deficit (and even then itsa debate separated by 2 years!) and the recognition of marriage within the tax system, we can say for certain that there’s been a whole lot of political cross dressing going on down in Whitehall and some-one’s going to get injured in the trample for centre ground.

Twenty years on from “there is no such thing as Society”, the party of Margaret Thatcher are positioning themselves as the party of social inclusion, ready to pull out the band aids and mend our ‘Broken Britain’ while Red Gordon skirts around the edges of financial reform, hankering still, one suspects, for the maintenance of a loosely regulated free market economy (and not just in the City) but across Government service provision. Stange times indeed.

In short, if Labour lose this election it won’t be on the basis of policy or ideology, it will be because voters will simply have grown tired of the personalities implementing these policies. Same game, new faces. Anyone watching Nick Robinson on his recent travelling ballot box series will recognise what I mean….not once have I heard anyone identify an issue of policy which distinguishes Conservative from Labour. But I do hear a lot of…well, “Labour have had their chance, it’s time for a change”. (As an aside – worryingly for Labour that’s a harder tide to turn than one based on a consiered and informed policy debate ironically).

I don’t think this homogenisation of politics is necessarily a bad thing however. The fate of an entire nation or nations(s) and their people shouldn’t be a hostage to a political system of two extremes for the sake of maintaining tradition.  A considered, centralist approach to our problems is a good thing – whether that be in hues of Red or Blue. But it is making for a dull pre-election campaign and so Cameron went personal. He said very little really, but it spoke volumes for our politics today.

Secondly, it told me that in the week he launched such a personal attack on Gordon Brown he probably needed to more be careful about interfering in local Conservative Party business to re-establish the CCHQ status quo i.e. this week’s rather shabby Conservative Party Westminster North candidate row where “DC” intervened quite clearly to ensure that his favored candidate Joanne Cash got what she felt she needed to run (at some cost to others long standing in the party BC (if you’ll indulge me) it is alleged) as the Party’s elected candidate for that seat. 

For if he wants to stand in front of some very bored (and I have to say – incongruously petitioned it seemed) students railing against Gordon Brown’s dark and stifling instinct for control, secrecy and omnipotence and have us believe that his leadership style – allegedly democratic, open, devolved – will in fact be that and as such, represent one of the few distinctions between his party and that of Her Majesty’s Government he will have to do better, for it smacked just a little too much of those characteristics he had just finished railing against – “secretive, power-hoarding, controlling”. Careful David, that was naughty naughty naughty.

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Forget the wet fish – just bring me a blunt instrument

Posted by Shane Carmichael in Leadership, Life on February 11, 2010

My favorite international statesman Sepp Blatter has once again covered himself and the Footballing world in glory by suggesting that far from being vilified, John Terry would have ben “applauded” in Latin America (and many other parts of the world apparently) for his recent (alledged) off-field escapades.

It’s all an overreation, an anti John Terry conspiracy you see – driven by our quaint ‘anglo-saxon’ media apparatus apparently.

The man is beyond cringe-worthy. He’s just offensive and not fit for high office.

How can the man who is supposed to represent the world’s favorite sport get it so badly wrong so often? I don’t care what he personally gets up to and nor do I claim to be any sort of saint but in his role as head of Soccer’s World Governing body how can he suggest that sleeping with your close friend and team-mates ex-wife (mother to their child) while married yourself, then pay for her to abort your love child (all allegedly of course) before (allegedly) paying her not to sell her story to be a cause for applause anywhere at any time?

Leaving aside that the whole thing is a moral cesspit in any walk of life, at a time when soccer is pushing it’s Respect and Fair Play campaigns here in the UK surely the irony of the lack of respect, loyalty, team-ethic and fair play cannot be lost on him.

He’s an insult to those so badly hurt by this tawdry affair, the game itself, his profession and not least to the Latin American people.

Forget the wet fish I asked for in my last Sepp Batter inspired entry. Just bring me a blunt instument and let the real applause rain down.

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My 6 minutes 21 seconds of fame

Posted by Shane Carmichael in Leadership, Life on February 11, 2010

Funny, if a little embarraing, watching this back.

http://www.youtube.com/wiprogram#p/u/0/ijwZeAFY0ds

Still, a proud moment and I feel very privileged to have been asked to represent so many fine – and more worthy – fellow Alumni at our 15th Anniversary at Dublin Castle in October 2009.

But I do wish I was taller and had prepared more. However at least now I realise when Mr Ryan entered stage left…you can tell I sensed something had changed vis a vis the seating during my speech by my confusion when I turned to sit back down. Almost ended up straddling his good self, Frank Kennedy and President MacAleese….now that would have been a way to close!

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Beautiful Evidence

Posted by Shane Carmichael in Government on February 4, 2010

I had to google for a little to try and find some sort of UK equivalent to the US Government IT Project Spend/Progress Dashboards in my last post.

I’m probably done in at this hour but couldn’t find anything remotely related.

On a happier note though, in the course of my search, I did rediscover these – one of my favorite images of 2009 and one of my favorite web-resources. They will have to suffice for now. Enjoy what what the great Edward Tufte might well have described as “beautiful evidence”…

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2009/sep/16/public-spending-departments-money-cuts

http://www.wheredoesmymoneygo.org/

 

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Opening the IT Project Kimono

Posted by Shane Carmichael in Government on February 4, 2010

Interesting linked stories showing the impact US Government CIO (Vivek Kundra) and his approach to transparency and accountability across the US Government IT sector appears to be having.

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100203_6336.php

http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/06/radical-transparency-federal-it-dashboard.html

Is there anything like this across UK Gov? I’m sure many UK Departments would make a deeply voilet shade of interesting reading on any dashboard here.

 

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(un)Easy Councils

Posted by Shane Carmichael in Change, Government on February 4, 2010

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A few months ago there was much media interest in a proposal by Mike Freer, then leader of Barnet Council, to change the relationship between local councils and the citizens it serves with the focus being on finding and delivering efficiencies.

I read an interestng article with Mr Freer in today’s Guardian which promptd me to scrawl these thoughts…

In summary the three pronged approach proposed is thus:

  1. Offer a basic set of services with additional or prioritised services subject to supplementary payments (where allowed within law). This element of the strategy led to the media labelling the proposal as creating “easyCouncils” after EasyJet and its no frills approach to business - somewhat disprportionately give it was only one part of the “Future Shape” strategy
  2. The consolidation (in the name of efficiency) and streamlining of back office public sector functions in an area (aka shared services) and the creation of (our old favorite) a central shared citizen database to enable easier access to citizen needs across multiple service areas reducing duplication of contact and service
  3. Targeted intervention strategies for those families who are “high cost” cases including a dedicated liaison officer per family.

In principle I think all this is good though none of it was enormously groundbreaking. It makes sense and as long as basic services are clearly demarcated and are not such that those who cannot afford to pay supplements for an “upgrade” are not unduly penalised or mis-treated then there is little truly complain about.

Except, having been around a significant number of Public Sector ”back office streamlining and consolidation” or “single database” or “revised channel/service strategy” projects it’s not so much “easyCouncils” as (un)easyCouncils.  None of these things are insurmountable to deliver but they are not insignificant areas of change (people, process and technology) particularly when trying to maintain business operations as usual.  These things require significant and sometimes extended up front and ongoing investment – financial and operational. New systems and new ways of working – across councils and departments while changing front line working practices (a change not easy to facilitate overnight). And who will foot that bill and for how long before savings are realised? And let’s not mention the legal wrangles that are sure to come or how this will impact any attempt at cross Council Service Provision comparison?

I’m not saying it shouldn’t be done – it should, bsolutely. Re-empowering local Council is fundamental on so many different levels. But it definately isn’t “easy”.

I am counting down the days until we start to hear the language of the last era of Public Sector austerity – the early 2000’s – and in particular that favorite phrase of the day: “Spend to Save”. It rolls off the tongue quite nicely doesn’t it. I can hear many Consultants across the land whispering it manta-like on their way to work…”Spend to Save”…”Spend to Save”…that’s right, repeat after me….

 

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Will the real Gordon Brown and David Cameron please stand up?

Posted by Shane Carmichael in Government, Leadership on February 3, 2010

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The last few weeks have left me still puzzled by both the leader of the Government and the leader of the opposition.

Yesterday I watched a large portion of the Prime Minister’s latest meeting with the Parliamentary liaison Committee. It was fascinating not just in the range of subject matters but also because it demonstrated the undeniable grasp Gordon Brown has on all aspects of Government. His performance was assured, informed and in parts both deferential and humorous.  He seemed more at ease then I’ve seen him for some time. It was a reassuring performance.  I wonder does he sense the tide turning with latest polls suggesting a rather meagre 7% gap between the parties?

He seems, if anything, to hve been emboldened by the abortive, potentially divisive and certainly irresponsible (speaking as a Labour voter) ‘leadership challenge’ of Hoon and Hewitt.

And yet still, so often, in Public he fails to project the same reassuring persona/political force as he did in front of fellow parliamentarians yesterday. And the Clare Short testimony has raised more questions about who Gordon Brown really is – the sulking, whispering, marginalised coffee drinker or a conscientious war objector whose Political loyalties took precedence over his personal instincts? The general sense coming out of the Chicott enquiry will be tat he left the Dept Defense vulnerable as a result of major cost cuttin in the months aftr the Iraq war. But is should be made clear that all those testifying – including John Reid – agreed that the actual needs of war in Iraq were met, the overall impact on the Armed Services was significant.  This is a subtle but to his opponents unimportant difference and at today’s PMQ David Cameron was back on top as he dished out a good od fashioned battering of the PM on this basis.

Meanwhile across the house, apart from todays PMQs,  it has not been a great few weeks for Mr Cameron or the Conservatives. Flip flopping first on recognising/rewarding marriage within the tax system (something I vehemently disagree with on a number of grounds – not just scientifically) and then on the extent of cuts in the first year of any Conservative Parliament…”not swingeing”?! And yest the Shadow Chancellor continues to sound slightly more bullish on the extent of savings that must be made immediately. I wonder how they felt in Davos when almost every other country in attendance was in the Brown/Darling camp of “its too early to stop spending and risk falling back into recession”.  Of course – the rest of the world – including the US could be wrong and Cameron and Osborne could be right…. I wonder.  The pressure continues to come for his party to reveal more specific details of their economic plan and the word “inconsistency” seems to be appearing more and more in headlines associated with the Conservatives. If the Labour Party is smart there is ground to be made up with that line if it is played well.

And then, with my Northern Irish hat on, his Political naivity in the role he played in the infamous “Hatfield House” Unionist Unity talks. Did he take a moment to think how these might appear to the Nationalist community in Northern Ireland? How on earth can he expect to play the role of independent peacekeeper and arbiter for NI politics in the ext Parliament is he was now to be elected?

The embarassment of the Lord Stern announcement and subsequent retraction might seem like small beans but it was embarassing and is just another suggestion of the naivity of a party who want the General Public to elect them to manage one of the most challenging periods of social and economic upheaval many of us have known.

Some of his sheen and confidence has clearly been knocked. The Prime Minister has been in the main resurgent at recent PMQs (today excepted) and it feels like, if not seismic, there has been a slight shift in the fortunes of these two leaders.

As Sir Alex Ferguson likes to say, this is now the business end of the football and Political seasons, what he likes to call “squeaky bum” time.  An interesting battle of style, personality and political nous is playing out between these two men who would be king.  I wonder who’s bum is squeaking most right now?

 

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Digital Revolution or Digital Evolution?

Posted by Shane Carmichael in Change, Government, Social Media, Technology on February 2, 2010

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Very much enjoyed last night’s first installment of the BBC’s “Digital Revolution” series

 www.bbc.co.uk/virtualrevolution

As well as providing some interesting (and often personal) insights on the history of the “web” and some of its current uses for individual and greater good, what was most interesting to me was the recognition that the Internet, far from redefining human nature, is ultimately a very pure reflection of it.

As one commentator remarked in the course of the programme:

“The Internet, like all technologies, is not a cure for human nature, it is simply an amplification of human nature”

 I think that’s a beautiful phrase – “an amplification of  human nature”. For on and in our uses of the Internet we do see the very best and very worst of ourselves as individuals and collectives.  Some amplifications are more surprising than others of course – I mean who would have though that sleepy sophisticated Harrogate would be the leading lights in accessing “adult material” on the Internet!

This notion of “amplification” rather than “redefinition” of human nature echoes what the brilliant Clay Shirky suggested in his book “Here Comes Everybody” – that the Internet does not necessarily create new motivations, it simply allows existing or latent motivation to be realised more efficiently (and immediately). As do the words of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg when asked by an audience of Global leaders recently: “How do we create a community (Facebook) like yours?”. Zuckerberg’s answer: “You can’t”. And he is right. Communities are not a creation of the web or anything else. They are a simple reflection of latent/existing human motivations/needs.

We use these tools to enable us to do the things we aready desire or feel to be important. Hence the success of community tools like Facebook, LinkedIn or MeetUp – man has, for millenia, sought out connection and community, both out of personal need for connection with others and an evolutionary instinct that ’the collective’ offer us advantages as individuals and a society in the provision of services and allocation of resources.

I mention this only because of my interest in evolutionary psychology, the non technical aspects of change management and a growing interest – and some cases misunderstanding – of the web’s transformative power among business, particularly in relation to the creation of “communities of practice”.

There is a lesson here for both society and business in considering our relationship with the web and the social technologies it has spawned. These technologies and how they are used will reflect the culture of our society, communities and business operations. They won’t transform it’s core tenets, only how we share, collaborate and co-operate….and if we currently don’t share, collaborate and co-operate then a simple implementation of Twitter, Ning, Sharepoint or any other social media technology won’t change that. In a business context the lesson is this: social technologies will work best in an environment when people are aready motivated and able (skilled, have the opportunity etc)  to harness them to meet their existing motivations (to share, to learn, to drive business results).  Where communities of purpose, not practice, already exist and just need a more efficient means to practice as a collective.

This applies just as much – if not more so for Government aspirations for Gov 2.0. There is a danger that if we don’t find ways to engage and enable those in society with whom Government conducts most of its interactions (and whom are least likely to be connected to the Internet) then Gov 2.0 will fail as it will simply amplify the dislocation between of Government and the people who need it most (as I mentoned before, almost 80% of Government transactions are conducted with 20% of the UK population base and based on socio-economic esearch that 20% represent those sections of society least likely to be ‘web-enabled’).

So – hear ye. Without a better understanding of how our current business and social communities work and an investment in fostering a culture conducive to sharing and collaborating, the web and its manifold technologies will simply amplify the corporate or community status quo. Think more of the same only a little sexier, faster and more acute. And that would be a real shame.

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Life through a lens – a strange social media strategy in Brixton

Posted by Shane Carmichael in Social Media on February 1, 2010

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I was in my local coffee shop the other day and inadvertently found myself in the middle of an image rights issue.

A gentleman who is filming life/operations in a range of local businesses in Brixton wanted to know if he could have my written permission to use footage he had taken in the coffee shop for a posting about the business on Yell.com.

Having gained the necessary assurance that he captured my best side, I acquiesced.

Yet while he was worrying about me agreeing to Yell using his footage, I was more worried about why Yell had him there at all.

I’m assuming that Yell have employed people like this all over the country to film video snippets of businesses listed so that people can view the footage while browsing. While its great to add some richness to Yell’s typically static directory listings that cannot be an inexpensive exercise. It must also take some time to manage the logistics associated with such a national effort.

It seemed to me a much more cost effective and efficient – as well as engaging way to do this would be for Yell to invite Business owners listed with them to film some footage (guidance could be provided I’m sure on do’s and don’ts) of their business using anything from their own camcorders to a very simple – yet effective – phone app like Qik. These could then be submitted to Yell to edit and post.

Sure, they might lose a little in quality but they will probably make up for it in authenticity and insight…if I’m a business owner going to post some video about my business on Yell I’m going to make it personal, engaging and stylish. I’m vested in that. And as a user of Yell that’s also what I’d rather see – something informative sure but something from the heart. In few instances would I chose something cool and polished over something engaging/personal with a few rough edges.

And the cost saving are significant for Yell.

Maybe I’m missing something but it just seems like a better way…did Yell try this and it didn’t work? Are there unforeseen legal or technical issues? I’d love to know…it just didn’t seem to stack up.

Still, the coffee was good and he did get me on my best side.

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