Between You and Government

How do we citizens relate to our Government? How does the Government relate to us? And how do we and Government servants relate to each other?

Sure, these are worth exploring. However, these questions would almost certainly fetch diverse answers, reflecting the diversity of our perceptions, experiences and expectations.

Hence, for the moment, let us reflect on the following alternate set of questions:

How should we citizens relate to our Government? How should the Government relate to us? And how should we and Government servants relate to each other?

Why Ask These Questions

The purpose behind asking these questions is to explore, understand and thereafter define and possibly redefine the relationship between Government and the citizen. The idea is to understand the fundamental nature of the ideal relationship between Government and the citizen, so that this core could serve as a guidepost to all public servants and citizens in their interactions with each other.

A Metaphor?

Our aim is to capture the essence of the relationship in simple, brief terms. A metaphor seems to be an appropriate tool to capture this essence!

So, let us reduce and distill the set of three questions into one question:

What metaphor best describes the IDEAL relationship between the Government & the people in a democracy?

(Suggestive options: Parent-child, Friend-Friend, etc.; – for the best answer, I wait to hear from you.) (You would note that we have added democracy as the context.)

Your Answer?

What metaphor best describes the IDEAL relationship between the Government & the people in a democracy?

God-ManMahout-ElephantParent-ChildTeacher-StudentServant-MasterFriend-FriendAdult-AdultOther:

VoteView ResultsPolldaddy.com

Request you to kindly provide your valuable answer (in the poll above) that would help us better understand the meaning of public service. And thereby aspire to serve our people better, and to engage with our Government better. For a better, richer and more vibrant democracy.

Thank You.

The Joy of being a Teacher

The teaching profession is uniquely unique. A good teacher enjoys a distinct nobility, commands universal respect, imbues ardent love.

Every profession offers its share of joys. That makes it worth our time. And our life. On the occasion of India's observance of Teachers' Day, I invite you to join me in reflecting on the joys of being a teacher. 

1. A teacher shares. With everyone. Particularly, with i) his students & ii) his field/discipline. All the time. Unconditionally. Selflessly. What she is called to do is thus, most fundamentally human. Sharing Information, Knowledge, Experiences and Wisdom. Essentially oneself! 
2. A teacher learns. Lifelong. On Life. In particular, on i) what she teaches - her objects of love; and on i) her students. From everyone. Especially from her students. A function that is intrinsic to human nature. A good teacher keeps learning, she believes that no one ever graduates from the University of Life.
3. A teacher creates. Creation is the natural byproduct of sharing. A teacher shapes her students as well as her discipline, by paving the way for new thoughts, ideas and attitudes. She thus adds to the storehouse of life. And experiences the supreme joy of being a creator. 
4. A teacher travels. With her students. With her chosen field of inquiry. She keeps moving, exploring, never static. Through this process, she becomes an integral part of the journey of life. For her students and her subject. 
5. A teacher builds. A unique gift of being a teacher. The opportunity to lay the foundation. For the future. For tomorrow's leaders. For tomorrow's thoughts. She does through her example. Her words and action. In small steps. Innocent steps.

Every #GreatTeacher is a great student. He finds new #UnexpectedTeachers everyday. ~ @TheDeepServant :) #TeachersDay pic.twitter.com/21aoKZmsun

— Dheep (@TheDeepServant) September 5, 2015

Come to think of it, are these functions really unique to the teaching profession? No, most professions have these elements. But these are at the core of being a teacher. Which is what makes it unique. And also makes all of us love our teachers. Not only are our teachers a part of our selves. We are all teachers too, in whatever we do, in our daily lives.

I am immensely grateful for having had great teachers who have shaped me. I am also deeply grateful for having been in academia, as a faculty of management. And also for having been a teacher of sorts, while being a student.

Let me take the liberty to share a small message to all teachers. Love your subject. Love your students. This is the mantra for being an exceptionally gifted teacher. 

Let us salute our teachers. And the teaching profession. And aspire to be better teachers ourselves. Happy Teachers' Day!                         - Dheep Joy Mampilly.

The mediocre #teacher tells. Good - explains. Superior - demonstrates. Great - inspires. - W. A. Ward #TeachersDay pic.twitter.com/wWnVsfAR0N

— Dheep (@TheDeepServant) September 5, 2015

Published originally on LinkedIn

Come, Explore & Shape India's Energy Future

A robust economic growth is a must for India, not only to fulfill the basic needs of its billion plus population, but also to meet the rising aspirations of its huge youth population. A critical pillar in sustaining the momentum and inclusivity of this growth process is the energy security of the nation. In recognition of this fundamental development imperative, the Government of India has been taking many steps to secure India's energy future. The launch of Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana by the Honourable Prime Minister in Patna is one of the recent initiatives in this direction.

"Powering a Billion Dreams" - Hon'ble PM Shri @narendramodi on Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana for 24X7 Power https://t.co/pi5QSNHipC

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) July 31, 2015

In the journey towards realizing this vision of 24/7 power for all and self-sufficiency in energy - all without placing an undue burden on the earth we live in - a holistic energy planning and visionary policy choices are a must. What should be the size and composition of India's energy demand from the transport sector? What must be done to improve energy efficiency of our buildings? What should be the regulatory environment for energy usage in industry? How do we power our farmers in the future? What is our future energy mix going to be? On which energy sources should we focus most? What new systems and processes do we have to set in place to ensure the above?

These are just a few of the high-level questions that India needs to address. But that is not enough; they must be translated into wise energy policies and effective implementation. This in turn requires a deep awareness, sensitivity and foresight of the various choices to be made and outcomes to be faced. Not only among policy makers, but also among the large and diverse number of stakeholders belonging to industry, academia, investors, domestic and international institutions and indeed civil society in general, and you and me in particular. Such a widespread and multifaceted awareness and understanding of underlying issues can be the fuel for an informed, enlightened and comprehensive policy discourse, leading to broad levels of consensus on both our energy goals and pathways.

NITI Aayog has come up with a very innovative tool to facilitate and enable such an engaged and informed energy discourse.

Check out #IESSv2 http://t.co/inTqMrVlPt, an interactive energy platform by @NITIAayog http://t.co/Rq40f21oxD pic.twitter.com/rKKSldczWB

— PIB India (@PIB_India) August 28, 2015

The India Energy Security Scenarios 2047, the 2nd version of which was launched on 27th August, 2015, is an interactive energy platform that enables the user to explore a range of potential future energy scenarios for India. Each scenario is a combination of a host of identified energy supply sources and energy demand drivers. Most of these supply/demand variables are 'effort variables', for which the user can choose one of four levels - least effort, determined effort, aggressive effort and heroic effort. The remaining variables have different options, where one option is not necessarily more aggressive than the others.

Having chosen the values for these variables, we construct a scenario; the model then tells us the story of how our energy future would evolve - from today till 2047 (the completion of 100 years of Indian independence). We get to know whether we would have an energy surplus or deficit, what our import dependence would be, the sector-wise composition of our energy supply as well as demand and also a comparison between our recent energy past (in year 2012) and our energy future (in 2047). Interestingly, the model provides for a total of 1.04 ×10²⁸ scenarios and thus, as many different stories of our energy future!

This scenario planning tool thus calls us to have a better understanding of the world of facts, in the hope that this would encourage us to reshape the world of our perceptions. Which in turn can lead to renewed priorities, better decisions and a better future for us and our children. Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, said once that the best way to predict the future is to create it. This is what we need to ask ourselves today: how do we want India's energy future to be like? Let us hope that we answer wisely and well!

How will India's energy future look like? https://t.co/EKEtsUYP3M @NITIAayog @iess2047 #EnergySecurity — PIB India (@PIB_India) August 28, 2015

Author: Dheep Joy Mampilly

Assistant Director, Press Information Bureau

(Published originally on PIB's blog: here)

How many Greeks know fully well what they are voting for/against?

Greece is in crisis. And a referendum has just concluded, giving Greek citizens the option to either approve or disapprove the terms of a proposed international bailout.

Here is the question being put to voters - it is not be as simple as whether they want to stay in the euro or not. Instead it asks Greeks to approve or reject the specific terms laid out by Greece's creditors:

Should the agreement plan submitted by the European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund to the June 25 eurogroup and consisting of two parts, which form their single proposal, be accepted?

The first document is titled 'Reforms for the completion of the Current Program and Beyond' and the second 'Preliminary Debt Sustainability Analysis'. "Not approved/NO "Approved/YES" - Reproduced from BBC News

The BBC News article goes on to add that we are not alone, if it does not make any sense to us.

This makes me wonder: Could deliberative polling have been used in this situation? Or was it not a feasible alternative?

What do you think?

For further reading:

1. http://participedia.net/en/methods/deliberative-polling
2. http://cdd.stanford.edu/what-is-deliberative-polling/

Let Ideas flow

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these." - Jesus Christ (Gospel of St. Luke, 18:16).

In the same vein, leaders of all organizations need to say to their employees: Let your ideas come to us, and do not hinder them, for our future hinges on you and your ideas.

But alas! In many organizations, all too often, ideas don't flow freely, due to a variety of reasons. And the organization pays a huge cost for this.

An Idea Management System

One pathway for a smoother flow of ideas is an idea management system. 

An idea management system (IMS) is a systematic, formal mechanism for soliciting, generating, developing, evaluating, selecting, implementing, spreading and learning from large numbers of ideas from anyone and everyone in the organization. 

Idea Management System: A schematic representation

The below table identifies how an IMS can assist at each stage of the innovation process.

Innovation Phase	How an IMS assists
Idea generation – finding, adapting or creating the ideas	An IMS can encourage employees to put forward ideas. An IMS can help in the process of refining and iterating those ideas by allowing others to share their perspectives and inputs.
Idea selection – picking which ideas to use	By letting others be aware of suggested approaches, ideas can be tested early through sharing of experiences, limitations and impacting factors, and possible improvements to the idea.
Idea implementation – putting the ideas into practice	An IMS can assist implementation if it records lessons learnt, identifies options that have and have not worked, and codifies what made the implementation successful.
Sustaining ideas – keeping the ideas going	An IMS can assist the embedding of ideas by outlining the need for an idea and providing a reminder of the problems faced before it came about.
Idea diffusion – spreading the ideas and the insights about them	By recording the ideas and the resulting action other areas facing a similar or parallel issue may be better able to see potential solutions.

(Table Excerpted from the Public Sector Innovation Toolkit, of the Government of Australia)

Many organizations from diverse industries, across the globe, belonging to the for-profit, non-profit as well as government sectors have been using idea management systems very effectively, in order to manage their innovation activities and improve themselves continuously.

In a later post, we shall explore different processes and tools which can be employed in order to implement and operationalize an idea management system.

Inspiration: 

1. Ideas are Free – Alan Robinson, Dean M. Schroeder http://idea-driven.com
2. The Idea Driven Organization - Alan Robinson, Dean M. Schroeder http://idea-driven.com

Does your organization have a Why?

"Isn't that clear? Is it too difficult a thing to do?"

I was being pulled up. By the erstwhile CEO of an organization I have worked with. For some mistakes which she believed I committed.

She was right. It was not at all a difficult thing to do. But only IF one knew exactly what had to be done. I, for one, did not.

She was wrong too. It was not clear to me! Not until then, when she just said it.

Yes, she did say - while admonishing me, and before posing the above rhetorical questions - that "we are .... and we have to do ....".

It was a Eureka moment for me. I had spent around eight months in the organization, and was still searching for the answers to the following fundamental questions:

1. Who are we?
2. What it is that we do?

I had just received an answer - from the horse's mouth. The answer, though not completely convincing (since I did not get to ask clarifying questions), did bring some badly needed clarity. 

Isn't it unfortunate? And tragically comical? We seem to be very well aware of the purpose of mundane things like pencil, switch, tooth brush, car, etc., but often unaware of the core purpose of our work. Not only that, we are often not even conscious of our ignorance of the same.

I firmly believe that every organization needs to have a clear, well-articulated mission. That defines and guides everyone. Besides, the leadership should ensure that everyone is i) well aware of it, ii) understands it well, iii) identifies with it and is iv) inspired and guided by it in the discharge of their duties and responsibilities. For which the mission should be communicated frequently.

As the late leadership expert Warren Bennis said, the first task of a leader is to define the mission.

So, have your leadership defined it for your organization? If not, can you help him/her do it? 

Please do share your thoughts. Thank you for your attention.

(In a later post, we shall explore why an organization needs a mission).

Postscript:

1. To be fair to my CEO, she is a thorough professional, well-respected. And by me too. :) 
2. To be fair to myself, the CEO discovered during the conversation that the mistakes in question were committed by someone else (who happened to be senior to me). But yes, given my ignorance of the organizational mission, I too could have very well committed them. It was just not my day! :)
3. Last time I checked, I still worked for the same organization!

The Power of What We Don't Have

"The grass is always greener on the other side".

Because it is human nature to undervalue and overlook what we have. Something that holds back not only individuals, but many families, organizations and entire societies as well.

An equally serious problem is the failure to realize and tap the power of what we don't have. To count the blessings we don't have (yet). Let us reflect on how fatal this can be, in an organizational context.

Complacency

An organization which is not aware of what it lacks is easily misled into believing that it has everything that it needs to perform. This complacency is often contagious, and can be a very powerful force in defending the status quo. And in further closing one's eyes to what the organization does not have. Thus feeding on each other.

The social pressure and tendency to conform can make this blindness particularly entrenched. Leading to a situation where everyone tells everyone else: All is well. A sure-shot prescription for obsolescence.

Low Aims

The inability to appreciate what we lack is often responsible for (very) low aims and aspirations. Forget the stars or even low-hanging fruits, organizations might end up aiming at the roots. 

This is aggravated due to a planning handicap. I have seen this happening in project after project, in an organization I am familiar with. The leaders at the very top articulate high aspirations and give sufficient autonomy to the next leadership level to meet them. However, the leaders at this level, who have to execute the project, end up being highly conservative, laying down very low aims. Aims which sometimes don't even better the past.

Why do they do so? One reason I have observed is this. They take the resources they have (at present) as the starting point. The aims flow from - and hence are determined by - this. This approach not only limits what the organization can achieve, but also confines the ambition and imagination of everyone. 

The leadership should instead have taken the (lofty) aims as their starting point. And then figured out what resources (and processes) were needed to attain them. As Gary Hamel and the late C. K. Prahalad say, "Competitiveness is born in the gap between a company's resources and its managers' goals". By fitting their goals to current resources, the managers above fail to bolster the competitiveness of their organizations.

Thereby killing innovation systematically, though (perhaps) unwittingly. 

What can be done

Some humble pointers.

1. Make an inventory of the resources the organization has, and how they align with its processes and priorities. Understanding what we have is perhaps the best first step in understanding what we don't.
2. Keep looking outward as well. Analyze not only competitor organizations, but competitor industries and processes as well. And well, potential partners/collaborators too. 
3. Apply the Johari Window to the organization.

4. Keep asking: 

   Questions #innovators love: What are we (really) doing? What (all) are we not doing (today)? #Innovation #ChangeLeadership
   — Dheep (@TheDeepServant) March 10, 2015

5. Aim high. Stretch resources, processes, systems, people. And of course oneself.
6. Based on the above audit and the stretch goals, make an inventory of the resources the organization needs, but does not have.
7. Figure out how to make use of these resources to meet organizational goals.

Does this make sense? Please share your thoughts. Thank you.

'Perfect' Design for an Imperfect World: A Recipe for Failure

"The entire system is so bad and hopeless, no one can change it".

"How dare you blame me? This is what the system teaches me to do".

"This is what our system is. इधर  सब चलता है (everything is acceptable here)".

"It is a good system, designed with good intentions. But what to do? People have ruined it".

Most of us would be familiar with these gloomy statements. Let us explore what, if anything, we can do to lessen this gloom. 

Systems Everywhere 

Indeed, systems pervade modern societal life. As the volume, variety and complexity of human interactions increase, we would need more and more systems. They help organize, structure and lend predictability and reliability to the business of our lives. Thereby making our lives more efficient, effective, productive and fruitful. They are a huge force for good. 

Oh wait! I just forgot the opening lines. That is what "good" systems do. "Bad" systems do just the opposite. While good systems can nurture and build lives, bad systems can kill dreams as well as lives. And make our lives miserable.

What is it that makes a system good or bad? 

A crucial and fundamental aspect of a system is its design. How it is designed. 

Now, every system will have to be designed based on some facts and some assumptions. 

There are multiple failure points here, such as factual errors, ignorance of facts and wrong assumptions. We look at the last one, and how a particular wrong assumption is often nothing less than fatal for many systems.

Assumptions about Human Behaviour

One class of assumptions has to do with how the people involved will act, once the system is deployed. An assumption that designers seemingly make often is:

The people will act in line with the goals of the system.

An example: Departmental Performance Appraisal 

Something I have observed firsthand. 

A system has been put in place in a large organization, whereby each Department puts in writing, their goals for the coming year. The goals are broken down into objectives, along with quantifiable metrics/standards against which the attainment of those objectives can be objectively measured. So, a (crude) example is:

Construct toilets: 500 (poor), 1000 (fair), 2000 (good), >3000 (excellent). 

What I have observed in some cases is this. 

1. The Department chooses objectives which are superficial and do not really do justice to their mandate. 
2. On top of this, the Department officials set ultra-conservative, very low targets for these sub-optimal objectives

So that both the kind and the degree of under-performance are condoned, and are passed off as excellent!

Designed for a Perfect World 

This is nothing but (moral) corruption. It appears that the designers of this system assumed that the top officials entrusted with this goal-setting exercise would behave as we think they should. Setting targets which marry ambition with reality. Which flow from their commitment to professional excellence, imperative for public service and sense of responsibility as leaders.

The idealism of the designers, flowing from their honest intentions, seems to have led them to assume that everyone else would act with the same intentions. In the larger organizational and societal good.

However, they did not anticipate that many people might find it convenient to rather protect their own personal turf. With minimum effort.

Need for a Different Design Approach

So, what do we do? Here are a few humble suggestions:

1. Design the system in-situ, appreciative of existing realities. Not in a vacuum, in an ideal world.
2. Actively explore the assumptions we are making, and test them out, to the extent feasible. 
3. Adopt co-creation in design and operation of systems.
4. Make the system itself flexible, and self-learning. 

The above call for using insights from behavioural economics, design thinking and systems thinking in making of systems and policies. Please do share, and spread the message, if you find this worthwhile. Thank you. 

You may like to read: Public Policy Design and Assumptions about Human Behaviour

Government's Innovation Imperative

To innovate is a fundamental and universal organizational imperative; for continuous improvement, learning and rapid adaptation; in an external environment that is changing at lightning speed; in an age of ever-increasing uncertainty.

Here we explore why innovation ought to be a top priority for a public sector organization.

1. Innovate or Die: Just as in the private sector, failure to innovate continually and adapt to fast-changing realities would lead to a gradual obsolescence, irrelevance or eventual death of an organization. The death may perhaps arrive slower than it would in a market system, but arrive it will! This therefore makes the failure to innovate that much more dangerous; as the decay will persist longer before it is set right, and the death may happen more abruptly when it does happen.
2. Part of a bigger whole: Even more importantly, one Government organization's failure to innovate could affect the credibility of the Government, with possible ripple effects on citizens’ trust in other Government institutions as well. Further, it could also call into question the ability of the state to be an efficient and effective service provider. Indeed, exactly the opposite, and salutary, outcomes would occur if the organization performs very well. 
3. Actions with huge potential impact: The state is often called upon to expand and strengthen its role as an enabler, as distinct from its role as a service provider to the citizen. In this enabling role, the state is responsible for nurturing and building ecosystems, networks and systems of systems. The actions of even one public sector organization thus may have the potential to make a huge impact in the lives of millions of people. An innovation deficit would thus have a very big social cost, and for a long time to come. This cost is compounded many-fold if the service provided by the particular organization is either an exclusive preserve of the state and/or if the state is best equipped institutionally to provide that service. The negative externalities due to inadequate delivery of public services can thus be monumental. Well, so can be the positive impact of the work of a high-performing innovative organization.

I might have missed some other imperatives for innovation in Government. Please do fill the gap. Thank you.

Let Citizens Power the Future: by Gifting it!

The Government of India is giving a huge thrust to Renewable Energy. Minister for Power, Coal and New and Renewable Energy, Shri Piyush Goyal has declared the Government's aspiration to make India the renewable energy capital of the world.

#renewableenergy is now a part of the mainstream initiatives of the Government: @PiyushGoyal #REInvest2015
— PIB India (@PIB_India) February 17, 2015

One of the many initiatives taken in this direction is the following one for promotion of LED bulbs, launched by the PM on January 5.

Hon’ble PM, Shri @narendramodi ji launched National Programme for LED Street Lighting & LED Home Lighting in Delhi pic.twitter.com/3WZpjUn6eY
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) January 5, 2015

"Suggesting innovative ways to generate awareness and spread the message of energy efficiency, the Prime Minister said gifts such as diaries and calendars on New Year should be replaced by gifts of LEDs."

That is a very innovative and noble call to action from the Honourable PM. Here's an idea, and a humble proposal to facilitate this citizen action.

.@PiyushGoyal Sir: Can't we have a web-based #eGifts platform, to gift #LEDBulbs, as exhorted by PM @narendramodi? @PMOIndia
— Dheep (@TheDeepServant) February 15, 2015

Proposed Models

Indeed, these models can be refined and there can be alternative models. But hope you get the idea.

Tweeted the above in the hope that Power Minister or PM would perhaps notice it and consider it. Going to now try to get an appointment with the Power Minister and present this to him. Indeed, if you can do so, you are free to do the same. Thank you.

Grateful to my colleague Mahima who has been a religious votary of saving the planet, in her own right. It is she who brought my attention to this initiative of the Government, and particularly of the PM's call to gift LED bulbs. And thankful to my senior Malhotra Sir for suggesting that I tweet to the Power Minister about this idea.