Near, far and the cookie jar
#Weeknotes: May 30, 2020
I could write in a variety of directions today. The sky is heavy and the birds are spirited. I’m not sure what will surface from my tangled neurons, but the view and sounds beyond my window lead me to unfold some sentiments around perspective.
In particular, I’m inspecting some perspectives on the “emerging economy” and how the public service can show up to respond to what emerges.
I think this is my natural course of reflection when there are big ideas and changes afoot. In particular, the future of the workforce I belong to, and the economy and environments I participate in, are shifting. They are shifting beyond the control of any person (despite what the news seems to convey). These macro systems are under contemplation for influence and adjustment by a variety of people.
We have some important choices to make about how we play nice around the proverbial cookie jar. There will be impacts in the near term and far into the future.
The Emerging Economy Task Force Report
We were given a unique mandate to examine the current state of B.C.’s economy and provide analysis and advice on trends that will change the nature of business and society over the next 10 to 25 years and propose recommendations to ensure B.C. stays at the forefront of emerging economic developments.
As a systems nerd, I daydream about the big and the small. The near and far. I’ll sit in my garden and consider the specific things an earth worm is eating to be productive. Then, I’ll gaze across the lawn to wonder about the interactions of the flora that are thriving or declining, and how the population of worms plays a part.
Likewise, I wonder about the individual actions and interactions each of us will benefit from in the coming weeks and decades. I wonder about the larger thresholds, patterns, and pressures that will play into our future collective.
I took a moment to learn about the perspectives of the Emerging Economy Task force, who released a report of their findings and recommendations in March 2020 for the Province of British Columbia, Canada.
It considers:
The macro trends impacting B.C.’s economy include technology and innovation, environmental degradation and climate change, social and demographic shifts and economic inequality.
The timing of this report is fortunate and unfortunate. It contemplates the ways we might advance a resilient society in BC considering a variety of factors and trends. It doesn’t reflect the additional constraints we’re learning we have now with a pandemic.
Notionally, all of these trends are still relevant, perhaps with some amplification or new twists here and there. I’d say economic inequality and technology and innovation are significantly amplified by the pandemic.
The report offers five strategic priorities:
The last one is most prominently on my radar as of late. I believe it is an amplifier. If the public service is appropriately equipped, cultured and deployed, it will have the ability to enable an adaptable workforce that can embrace the innovation and opportunities that will come with a green economy and technology, both locally and on the global stage.
#OneTeamGov
I’m grateful to be working with some of the active thinkers and doers who are building this capacity locally. Globally, wow. The network is lit up and it’s very exciting to see even more collaboration than before.
I think this quote from the report sums up the vision we are working towards nicely in BC, and I wonder how it resonates with my #OneTeamGov friends elsewhere:
“Finally, the British Columbia Government and public sector agencies are nimble. They collaborate with business and all groups in society to provide efficient, high-quality services, building on the province’s strong and vibrant democratic institutions and are role models for innovation and sustainability.”
Back to my roots
I’m glad to see a common global framework for human well being referenced and guiding the elements of the report. It might be my indoctrination as a Geography major who almost minored in Environmental Studies…but I really feel we can’t go wrong with the sustainable development goals.
The Cookie Jar
Those colourful sustainable development goals seem simple enough. Like “bake enough really delicious cookies,” where cookies are the benefits of our public service work that people experience.
There is a constant struggle to decide what specific actions to take towards those goals. In this struggle, I see people inclined towards familiar, comfortable ways of working (often in a hierarchy, with high degrees of cumbersome structure, and fabricated certainty).
Meanwhile, an appropriate response is to explore and sense what moves us in the right direction, learn from that, and adjust as needed.
For example, it’s usually chocolate chip in my house. Raisins have failed a few times. I’m still learning the balance between soft, chewy and crunchy.
Ultimately, we want the actions we take to get results. We need good situational awareness for this, including a sense of the resources available. While resources include funding and people, I like to include permission, network, learned experience, and alignment — internal alignment and alignment to user needs — in the equation as well.
I’m reflecting on what I have learned lately from exploring new challenge spaces, and guiding clients and colleagues towards applying themselves and their resources towards meeting goals expediently.
Who likes cookies?
“User centered design” is a standard trope in the service design world, which I hope is gaining good traction outside the bubble I’m in.
How many cookies are there? How many people have access? How many don’t? Raisin or chocolate chip? Are we convinced people want to eat cookies? Are people only willing to eat cookies if they come in fancy packaging? Do they trust our cookie jar?
The cookie jar analogy might apply given that sometimes we make our offerings and resources opaque. This degrades the trust people have in what we are up to. I mean, I look sideways into a dark cookie jar and tentatively reach my hand in… that might be a raisin instead of a chocolate chip… especially if I’ve experienced raisin before.
Also, while there might be cookies in the jar now, who knows how long they will last, or if they will be replenished. Or maybe, it’s time to switch to muffins.
So, my mind turns to wondering how to make the jar more transparent and the bakers more honest and collaborative to get the best outcomes.
To stretch the analogy, if we’re going to show up to a potluck we might:
- Commit to serve cookies to a diverse set of unknown tastes and dietary needs;
- Experiment with bake times and cookie shapes to optimize the wow factor (you’ll need taste testers for this);
- Pay attention to how many people actually ate or recommended the cookies;
- Welcome more hands in the kitchen so the next potluck bake session has experienced bakers to help; and
- Share the recipes and our successes and failures in getting results.
Ultimately, I’m interested in reducing frictions (like the cookie jar or the need for more bakers) so we can more readily realize the benefits of embracing cookie tastes… er…emerging economic and social development opportunities.
For the public service it sometimes means we need to let go our competitive grandma’s secret recipes. We’re not competing for a prize. And we need to be responsive to modern tastes and we are all exploring those together as they change.
I’m happy to see more and more of us showing up to the potluck with open plates.
H
