Bruton must take a leaf out of business

Why are our political and permanent governmental systems grossly ineffective in responding in real time to real time crisis? 

Last week, ISME lambasted the Government’s latest announcement of a small business loan guarantee scheme, calling for more action and less waffle. 

“Less waffle” reflects private sector anger and frustration at Governmental lassitude and inability to deliver. 

Should we expect better of what is a centralised machine bureaucracy? The design of bureaucratic organisational systems creates a culture of obedience, deference to authority, silo behaviours and inward looking political managerial systems that organise around task-driven dimensions. 

Frequently rewarding tenure and rigid adherence to rules and procedures, such systems are incapable of change or innovation. Skilled at incompetence, their managers zealously defend the status quo when threatened with change. When it does happen, change is far too slow to matter. Such systems appear to exist in a parallel universe where time moves far more slowly.

We have one of the most centralised of public sector machine bureaucracies. Designed to ensure that all power rests with executive government, its enabling self-perpetuating, self-governing, permanent civil service administration is incapable of innovation and change. Promoting change means rocking the boat. And as innovators know their careers will be shortened if they stick their heads up over the parapet, no one kicks up the dust. Instead they knuckle down or leave.

Politics itself is a transformation show-stopper. Transformational leadership competencies are not part of the successful politician’s CV as they hinder the attainment and retention of power. Politicians deliver compromises that are almost always mere shadows of what should be delivered. 

Recent history is littered with politician’s appeasement, compromise and disastrous policy decisions influenced by permanent public administrators who have never worked in the real world. In the real world time is a precious commodity. In business anything that wastes time is a value destroyer. 

A prime example of value destruction wrought by the political and public administration’s parallel universe is seen in the recent announcement of a “Temporary Partial Loan Guarantee” scheme for small business. 

It’s been 39 months since the full blown collapse of the banking system during which thousands of viable small businesses have needlessly failed with tens of thousands of jobs lost. In this time, two elected political administrations and the permanent administration system have done absolutely nothing to respond. Despite tens of millions spent on staffing job creation organisations little of any relevance has been achieved. Previous enterprise minister, Mary Coughlan said she was “looking into it”. Her successor Batt O’Keefe announced “detailed planning” was in train 14 months ago for a loan guarantee scheme.

No matter how well intentioned people are , no matter how intellectually committed to creating jobs, they will be stifled, inhibited and de-motivated by the very system they work in. The culture, values and “how things are done around here” along with managerial behaviours frustrate initiatives, sucking the energy from those who would lead and implement initiatives in real time. 

While serious about facilitating job creation, Richard Bruton may founder in achieving stretching jobs goals using the organisational systems he has at his disposal. Instead of leaving it to administrators, he should consider taking a leaf from the world of business where good things get done in real time. 

In the private sector, business leaders realise that frequently new initiatives are best build on green field sites. They create the space allowing innovators to develop and launch new businesses. To prevent existing business systems and cultures contaminating innovation, they physically locate their innovators in a separate location. They bring together the brightest and best, equip them with resources and then get out of their way. Riding shotgun, business leaders prevent their line managers from interfering with progress.

The public service is different – because it can never go out of business if it fails to deliver, it can never deliver fast enough when faced with real world challenges. 

Instead of leaving new initiatives to slowly grind through the cogs of a machine bureaucracy, Minister Bruton could take a leaf from business and set up an enterprise innovation system –staffed with and led by the very best people from both the private and public sector. It should have the money, resources and power to cut through red tape, force the pace of change, build innovative solutions and ensure they are implemented. It should have the capacity to cut across silo behaviours and the skilled incompetence of the machine bureaucracy.  

It’s disappointing that things that could have and should have been done in the first 100 days of this Government have not been done. A loan guarantee scheme is but one of the many immediate deliverables that will take far too long to get over the line. 

A version of this article appeared in the Irish Examiner, Business Section, Monday 28th November 2011