Envisioning the next chapter in public service

What’s happening in the Eurozone and what it means for public sector?

An interview with John Dew in Cardiff today:

“For those keeping an eye on European and Global Economies, the continued fragility of the Eurozone and the “contagion threat” it poses to our own UK recovery, is ever-present. European stock and bond markets have taken a further hit as the spectre of Eurozone default raised its head once again. Both Italy and Spain, the Eurozone’s third and fourth largest economies saw stock values tumble amidst increasing fears that these countries are now locked into an uncontrollable spiral of unserviceable debt and recession. The borrowing costs of both countries has increased - with the debt yield now close to the level seen by many as being both unserviceable and unsustainable. 

In Greece, with industrial action affecting infrastructure and public services, the Prime Minister is likely to call snap elections within days. These economies are on “life support machines” and it is by no means certain that they will recover to euro health. Our view is that there will be radical surgical intervention in the Eurozone in the coming months and that will inevitably affect our own recovery.

What does all this mean for the public sector? We need to be doing much, much, more than we currently are to reshape and redesign our public services. We need to be preparing for the worst now (in a planned and structured way) while we still have the chance. We need to be: thinking about the “big picture”; addressing the “big ticket issues”; and we need to be making contingency plans.
 
We need to access fresh-thinking and find 21st Century solutions to the challenges ahead. We need to significantly increase our transformation effort and gain momentum!
 
The World has changed – there has been a “seismic shift” in our fate and it will be those that are able to adapt to that shift in economic fortune with real agility and deftness that will emerge ahead of the others. The challenge for our Public Service Leaders is not how can we reduce our expenditure (that is relatively easy to do), it is: How can we transform ourselves from 20th Century Political Machines into 21st Century Living Organisms able to keep pace with the fast-moving, fiscally challenging, digital globalised landscape emerging before us!

Dew Cadre’s book launch event in Cardiff and the start of a journey

Thank you to everyone who attended the launch event at City Hall Cardiff yesterday. The evening was attended by an eclectic group of public servants, business representatives, graduates and consultants.
 

John described the publication of this, the first of two books to be published this year, as “crossing the starting line of a journey of exploration” a journey aimed at stimulating fresh ideas, innovation and a greater sense of urgency for public sector transformation.
 
His presentation outlined the major challenges and uncertainties that lie ahead for the public sector and considered the response to date. He told those present that:

”….. the challenges the public sector faces are immense and that the pressure for greater and faster transformation would be ramped-up over coming months. The pace of change is accelerating to warp factor speed and despite the significant efforts being made by our excellent public servants we are not moving quickly enough. Old ways of thinking and over-reliance on old constructs need to be replaced with new ways of thinking – generating fresh ideas! We need a shift in “paradigm” and time I’m afraid is not on our side.
 
We need to find a way of tackling the “big ticket” issues (like the continued affordability and relevance of our current local government infrastructure) and do so in such a way that brings the public service and the entire Nation along with the change journey. It won’t be easy, but this Country has handled worse predicaments in the past.
 
The keys to successfully unlocking the seemingly impenetrable challenges we face are to have:

• A convincing and compelling change imperative (We definitely have one!);
• National Unity;
• A Sense of Purpose and Direction;
• Visionary and Bold Transformational Leadership; and
• Immediate Action now!

We can no longer defer these big decisions – and it is the public service that must be at the vanguard leading the recovery.
 
The next chapter of public service demands: The urgent renewal and regeneration of our precious public services. Transformation that will see them become highly agile, adept, adaptive and affordable 21st Century Digital Era “Living Organisms” rather than, the now unaffordable and far too ridged “Political Machines” of the 20th Century Industrial Era. Service organisms, that are intrinsically capable of serving and supporting the Nation’s future prosperity in what is becoming an increasingly complex, connected and fast-moving Global Digital Age environment”.

If you are interested in being part of this journey:

• Purchase the Book
• Watch videos produced by Dew Cadre on their ethos and ideas
• Request a presentation for your organisation
• Join the debate through our Linkedin group

Meet John Dew OBE next week in Cardiff where he will be discussing his new book – “Envisioning the next chapter in Public Service”

If you’re a public servant or someone who works in associated supporting sectors you will know the crisis that our precious public services are facing due to the current economic climate and a range of other factors.

Join John as he embarks on a journey to create new ideas and remove the barriers that stand in the way of delivering outstanding 21st century service to our nation. This journey will begin with the launch of his book on the 28th of March.

The book will explore the major challenges facing the public sector currently and you will have the opportunity to listen to him speak in person at the event and ask him questions.
 
Watch this short video to get a feel for the themes that the book considers and will be discussed at the launch event:

Grab one of the last few seats remaining!
The event has been very well received and we strongly recommend that if you want to attend the event to book now soon. Simply click here to reserve your place.

St David’s Day inaugural lecture by Dew Cadre at Newport University

Dew Cadre (Change Associates) Ltd gave the inaugural St David’s Day lecture at Newport University’s exciting City Campus in the heart of Newport. The title of the lecture was:

“Our Changing World: The 21st Century workplace”

On a brilliantly sunny spring-like day, the lecture was attended by an eclectic group of MBA students, Local Business and Public Sector. Amongst other things the lecture considered the emotional impact of change and the need for the public sector to be the vanguard of recovery through modernisation driven by a sense of urgency, innovation, collaboration and underpinned by the principles of equity, fairness and service.

John Dew (Managing Director) said:

“It was a huge privilege to be invited to talk about the changing World we all live and work in. The presentation considered the impact of the economy and the digital age upon the workplace.
The QWEST project is a fantastic initiative that provides essential help to the increasing number of people who find themselves out of work. They provide help with skills, voluntary work experience, and confidence building”.

More on QWEST:http://www.newport.ac.uk/news/newsstories/Pages/NewskillsboostforBlaenauGwentTorfaenandCaerphilly.aspx

For those that missed the presentation John gave you can view it here: