Readers of the late great Stephen Potter’s works on Lifemanship and Gamesmanship may wonder if the same techniques can be applied in government. The answer is “Of course!” Here are a couple of examples of Policymanship in action. “Cutting grant fraud” Ministers are very keen to launch a big new business grants programme which willContinue reading “Policymanship”
Category Archives: Provocations
What is Twitter?
The ongoing destruction of Twitter by the idiot Musk has occasioned vast amounts of noise as people flee to Mastodon or even renounce social media entirely. As carts of apples are knocked over and small children separated from their mothers in the rush it’s becoming clear that everyone has a different idea what Twitter is…Continue reading “What is Twitter?”
Efficiency
In my last blog post I said that whilst greater efficiency may reduce the number of staff needed it does not work if you try to do it the other way round, that is cutting staff numbers and expecting greater efficiency. But assertions are not evidence so let’s show the consequences of cutting staff withoutContinue reading “Efficiency”
A Word A Month
For 2022 I have decided to publish a poem or piece of short fiction every month at the end of the month. Ursine paws must be kept in practice least we turn them to darker deeds… January 22 – This House is not Our House (poem) February 22 – Another short adventure of Roffa (fiction)
Mr Caution
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”
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”
Mark O'Neill 