A much needed addition to the management guidebook literature
5 stars
Management books are a dime a dozen, but most all of them are from managers in the private sectors (or, worse, consultants), and generally from the tech industry. This makes a lot of the advice offered there practically nonsensical for people in the public service. This is not because the public service is somehow lesser than the private sector -- in many ways, it is because it is so much more. It is also not because you can't fire people in the public sector (if your main management tool is the sword of firing someone, you're probably a crappy manager). The public sector does not work towards one, simple bottom line. Its purposes are diverse and often not very well defined, by their very nature. It is often reliant on partnerships rather than managerial authority to deliver even core services. And it is democratically accountable through highly visible and potentially …
Management books are a dime a dozen, but most all of them are from managers in the private sectors (or, worse, consultants), and generally from the tech industry. This makes a lot of the advice offered there practically nonsensical for people in the public service. This is not because the public service is somehow lesser than the private sector -- in many ways, it is because it is so much more. It is also not because you can't fire people in the public sector (if your main management tool is the sword of firing someone, you're probably a crappy manager). The public sector does not work towards one, simple bottom line. Its purposes are diverse and often not very well defined, by their very nature. It is often reliant on partnerships rather than managerial authority to deliver even core services. And it is democratically accountable through highly visible and potentially vulnerable politicians. These mean a lot of the management advice ("have just three goals!" "do 1-on-1s weekly!" and "embrace failure!", to name a few) is just not relevant for the public sector. This book tries to address these differences head on, and for that alone deserves five stars and a place on the shelf of any public sector manager. It does have a few weaknesses, nevertheless: with few exceptions, it's focused on the British experience, which means some cultural translation might be necessary on some of the finer details. It also focuses on the very highest echelons of managers. Here, I feel, it is inferior to many of the private sector management books that are deliberately geared towards new managers -- those who are, after all, more likely to seek out and need this kind of advice. If I already made it to the position of deputy minister or chief of police, I probably don't need this kind of advice, and if I do, it's probably too late for me. Seeking out advice that would help lower- and mid-level public sector management would've made this book even more useful. Nevertheless, a keen young manager can still glean a lot of helpful nuggets from this fairly easy and enjoyable read.