Using ideas as weapons for mass improvement

Using ideas as weapons for mass improvement

Graeme Macmillan, Jakarta

Using ideas as weapons is as old as democracy itself. Ideas
are far more effective and lasting than bullets because they
change people's minds, which leads to changing their behavior,
and this can result in better living. This article provides some
ideas for improving Indonesian government and governance.
Actually they are not my ideas, but mostly other people's ideas,
but that is what consultants are about -- selling other peoples
ideas as their own.

Howard Gardner in his brilliant new book Changing Minds; the
Art and Science of Changing Your Own Mind and Other People's
Minds -- shows us that changing minds is seldom an epiphany or
blinding revelation. It is a gradual process that is in part
determined by growing up, but also how we respond to the levers
of change -- reason, research, resonance, redescription, real
World events, rewards and resistance. When people start changing
their minds collectively, we arrive at a "tipping point" of
reform. This can happen for countries, within organizations and
most importantly to ourselves when we change our own mind.

Indonesia is at the tipping point. Most public sector managers
we have been speaking to want to change. They do not like
corruption, they do not want unworkable systems and regulation
and they do not like being dependent on other people's thinking,
relying on aid money or being regarded as a basket-case country.
These managers are perfectly capable of running good governments,
and in some cases are showing outstanding leadership qualities.
What everybody needs now is consistent direction from political
leaders in finding a better way.

To get the public sector to deliver better performance
requires a whole of government management improvement program.
This does not necessarily involve great cost, but it does involve
changing many minds, and being strategic.

Obtaining support for and implementing changes on a whole of
government basis is never easy. Eisenhower complained that when
he was commander in chief of the Allied Forces during World War
II there was instant compliance with his orders, yet as President
of the United States he kept pulling the levers of power and
nothing happened. Such is the frustration and challenge of good
governance -- how to get large teams of people working together
in a common cause.

For Indonesia, which now has one of the biggest, diverse and
most widespread systems of government in the world, there are
many special challenges to be overcome and hurdles to be jumped,
but none are impossible.

For example, many Indonesian regulations are totally
meaningless in terms of improving performance and helping protect
people's rights. This is even before deciding whether those laws
are duplicated, conflicting or indeed necessary. Part of the
public sector reform process should be about reviewing all
legislation to see whether it contains requirements that prevent
improvement instead of assisting it. Australia undertook a
similar exercise for their National Competition Policy
implementation, and now has one of the world's best performed
economies.

A whole of government public sector management improvement
program would help all governments do a better job. Central
agencies need to develop and communicate good policy and
guidelines, and not try to keep their hands on everyone else's
operations as they are presently trying to do. Regional
governments need to accept responsibility and be accountable for
delivering results or outcomes; not just seeking bigger and
bigger Budget allocations.

Public sector organizations and managers need to be
responsible and accountable for their own performance and that of
their teams. Reporting of finances and performance needs to be
transparent and comprehensive. Evaluation of performance should
be about learning and self-improvement, not just form-filling
like so many present central government requirements.

The process by which good governments achieve better
performance includes getting managers to apply strategic thinking
and planning to their activities, not just blindly following out-
of-date rules and regulations, or by requiring other people to do
their thinking for them.

Answering the question of who is responsible for what and
when, and whether a process, institution or regulation is helpful
in acquitting this responsibility, is the basis of performance
review. Where a process, institution or regulation is not
helpful; get rid of it.

Indonesia is at an important stage of development. The
election of a new President and new governments is an appropriate
time to address change and reform strategically.

The President has already signaled a business-like approach by
having his Ministers complete performance agreements. The next
step will be those ministers obtaining similar agreements and
commitments from their agencies and managers, and so on.

The outcomes of good government and good governance for
Indonesia will be a high performing economy, a sustainable
environment and a fairer Society. The path towards these goals is
through developing good public sector managers. The success of
this strategy will depend on changing minds, because this is
where all real reform starts.

The writer is Director of the Public Management International
Institute -- an international management training organization
involved in public sector reform in Indonesia and other Asian and
Pacific countries. He can be reached at Graeme.macmillan@ciptanet.com.