As I write, Dominic Cummings is telling a Select Committee about the utter disaster that has been the UK’s response to COVID. And everything he is saying sounds so so so familiar. Every failure in government has the same four root causes, the only difference with COVID is one of degree. Cause One: Ownership NobodyContinue reading “Mr Caution”
Category Archives: Provocations
Figaro-Pravda
While some people watched Eurovision or walked the dog or had the first quiet pint in months Dominic Cummings spent the weekend writing a very, very long Twitter thread on the pandemic. Yes, it’s full of ludicrous wannabe techbro nonsense, if you are reduced to approvingly quoting Paul Graham then you really need to takeContinue reading “Figaro-Pravda”
Silence. Logic. Security. Prudence.
Gales, hail, and torrential rain. Spring is definitely here and so a young person’s thoughts inevitably turn to digital government. This week has brought the launch of the new GDS three year strategy, wise thoughts on service design, and a range of questions on Twitter about where we have got to some 10 years onContinue reading “Silence. Logic. Security. Prudence.”
On the Skids
It is only Tuesday and already this week has seen the appointment and belated departure of someone from the centre of government whose only claims to fame seemed to be abhorrent views and membership of something called The Albert Tatlock Superguessers Club? Good riddance. But he made me think about the various ways humanity triesContinue reading “On the Skids”
Transformation as Euphemism
When we talk about transformation, especially digital transformation, then most organisations do not actually mean transformation, they mean “change” and familiar change at that. Transformation will be announced with speeches and posters, there will be cascades and all staffs. The seriousness of the transformation will be marked by the appointment of someone from outside toContinue reading “Transformation as Euphemism”
Slight Return
No sooner had I pressed [Submit] on the last blog post than this happens… My immediate response to this blog post was a sense of recognition. And not just in the sense that it reads a lot like a Hacker News comment. Stripped of the rhetoric, hyperbole, and political bias much of what is inContinue reading “Slight Return”
Woefully Unprepared
The Guardian has a piece today under the headline “Civil service told it is ‘woefully unprepared’ for Cummings’ reforms“ It is based on a report in The Daily Telegraph but as there is not enough money in the world to make me read the Telegraph we will have to settle for The Guardian’s coverage. TheContinue reading “Woefully Unprepared”
Elections (Accuracy and Good Order) Bill
Contents Controls on Social Media During Elections A BILL to Ensure that disinformation and deliberate attempts to subvert the democratic process at election time are not further enabled by social media networks. BE IT ENACTED by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons,Continue reading “Elections (Accuracy and Good Order) Bill”
Things Fall Apart
Today a Civil Servant resigned. That happens. It’s not unusual. I myself quit 2 years ago to save my sanity in the face of unsustainable cognitive dissonance. But it is unusual when a Civil Servant resigns stating, “I am also at a stage in life where I would prefer to do something more rewarding withContinue reading “Things Fall Apart”
Impermanent Secretary
The Labour Party have decided that the biggest barrier to the successful delivery of their political agenda are the Permanent Secretaries who run government departments. This is sometimes known as the “Grand Vizier” theory of organisational inertia. I worked for many different Perm Secs in my time and they were as mixed a bag asContinue reading “Impermanent Secretary”
Mark O'Neill 