BRYAN'S BLOG

Implementing at the speed of light

Lightspeed is fast. Really fast. If you followed The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series from the late 1970s and early 80s you would know how fast “really fast” is. A bit faster than when you travel in hyperspace.

Because of my full appreciation of the speed of light I was immensely pleased to read an article by Pat Barrett AO, Distinguished Honorary Professor in the Australian National University and Former Auditor-General of Australia, where he uses Einstein’s equation, E=MC², where C is the speed of light, to critique the implementation of the PGPA Act of June 2013. For those not familiar with the act, it is a reform act to improve the performance and the accountability of the Australian public sector. I won’t go into Barrett’s critique here, for all I want to do is praise his use of E=MC² to explain what ensures the effectiveness of the implementation of a strategy. Here is how he puts it:

“I am adapting a well-known equation – E=MC² – to suggest that implementation effectiveness will largely be about management and commitment – with a particular emphasis on the latter.”

There you have it. It is bleedingly obvious, but it is so elegantly put. If you don’t have buy-in for your strategy, it will be ineffective.