New Year, New Hope for developing nations
New Year, New Hope for developing nations.
One of them is this ambitious and tangible step forward in the right direction to measure and improve the efficiency and quality of government services. Just imagine moving a huge monolith! The current buzzword is change, change, change!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_Transformation_Programme_(Malaysia)
Quite positive and inspirational comments by Senator Idris Jala in a recent article - http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/1/1/business/7583879...
"Effective transformation, whether for a corporation or a country, has a similar DNA - 10 imperatives:-
1. Be focused on the priorities
"... taking calculated risks."
- Proper research and groundwork were done and implementation needs to follow through. As the English say, "the devil is in the details". Fingers and toes crossed!
2. Be radical in the search for solutions
"Big results call for dramatic shifts in the way things are done."
3. Be collaborative
"In any transformation, stakeholders must take ownership to ensure that implementation is effective and feasible..."
- Stakeholders meaning everybody, from the ordinary man in the street to the top guns.
4. Set goals that are used as anchors in decision-making between trade-offs
5. Go public with the roadmap
"... made public via a clear roadmap for transparency and accountability."
6. Build sustainable performance
"Results tend to flow when your back is against the wall. However, the “stick” must be accompanied by the “carrot” for sustainable performance to occur, over and over."
- Ok. Quite often, some people forget the carrot... :0( like recognition.
7. It has to be a programme, not a plan
"Be long on programmes and short on plans. A plan looks at the issues from a bird's eye view at 30,000 feet."
- ROFL! I thought this statement was cute!
"A programme, on the other hand, zooms into the problems and goals at three feet with clearly prescribed action items, owners, targets and timelines. To transform, it is not enough to spell out the intent and strategic direction. A granular approach is critical to build a roadmap from start to end so that all involved stakeholders will know exactly what needs to be done, when, why and how."
8. Make it catalytic
"The result of an action must deliver benefits beyond its own parameters. This way, it will spark a chain reaction, create multiplier effects and be the agent for change. In the process, the action can then cause systemic changes to take place, hence transforming the process and paradigm."
9. Set a governance structure
"Nothing will happen until you put everyone's feet into the fire. Without the discipline of action, even the best laid programmes will fail..."
10. Change the being by doing
"Changing the way things are done is the best way to deliver big results fast. This reverse yin-yang approach is inspired by Chinese metaphysics, where the moving energy influences the static energy."
Be proactive, be positive and put da best foot forward! Where there is a will, there is always a way!
Forgot to mention that it's a Constitutional Monarchy in Malaysia, following the UK's system ie. similarly, there is a Sovereign as head. The Govt is the Executive arm, implementing decisions. It's very difficult to govern a few million people, it appears to be worse in the UK, but then again, UK is so much larger.
Aren't other countries progressing as well, moving forward to build bridges rather than walls across borders? This is very good and augurs well for future generations.