Tag Archives: Marcia Blenko

153 – Decision making: Some challenges for local government.

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Posted by Lancing Farrell                                                                              580 words

face butt towel

This is the third post in a series.  Sometimes making decisions is difficult and a guide is helpful. Local government has some particular types of decision making that frequently present challenge. These decisions need to involve the right people at the right level in the organisation. Often they cut across functional areas.

Two of the key challenges for local government in becoming a decision-driven organisation are whether or not to centralise decision making and how to ensure cross-functional cooperation in decision making. I will start with centralisation. Continue reading →

149 – Decision making: Making good decisions quickly in local government.

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Posted by Lancing Farrell                                                                              650 words

RAPID decision image

This is the second post in a series. Have you ever felt that there were too many opinions being aired and not enough decisions being made?  Making good decisions quickly is the hallmark of a high performing organisation. This includes major strategic decisions and operating decisions. It is important to know which decisions are really matter and then ensure that they don’t stall because decision making roles and responsibilities are not clear. This is the first challenge for local government.

Good decision makers think through who should recommend a particular direction, who needs to agree, who should have input, who has ultimate responsibility for making the decision, and who is accountable for follow through, and then they set a process up to make decisions.

Good decision processes then become routine and are known to everyone, which provides better coordination and faster response times. Continue reading →

148 – Decision making in local government. A series.

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Posted by Lancing Farrell                                                                              400 words

HBR january 2006 cover

This series of posts explores decision making in local government and the connection to planning and strategy. I have postulated for some time that the inability of council’s to make difficult decisions leads to failure to decide on strategy which prevents prioritisation of action. See what you think.

Decision making processes in local government can be episodic, slow, disempowering, inconsistent and frequently disconnected from either strategy or operational needs. Continue reading →