On Transformation…
The day ended at the Gala for the 25th Anniversary of the partnership between the Rideau Centre, Ottawa Congress Centre and Westin Hotel. It was great to see OCC Chair Jim Durrell receive accolades for the Congress Centre renovation project.
MPP Yasir Naqvi and Minister John Baird were also there to celebrate, along with Rideau Viking President Michael Herman and everyone who has helped to make the past 25 years a success. The food was excellent and the Gala was a great way to end the day. Congrats to all!!
The AG’s report was released yesterday. The response I heard from middle management and senior management was quite different. Middle management and the working level staff in City Hall were quite happy, and in some cases relieved, at some of the AG’s recommendations.
Senior management, although accepting, were still a little defensive in their responses. From my experience this is normal when the communications in an organization is not working well. Bad news and problems need to be conveyed from the operating managers to the executive and senior staff must carefully listen to the concerns. Communications and the focus on execution need to continue to improve, but I believe we are headed in the right direction on both.
On continual improvement, next Tuesday, June 17 at the Mayor’s Breakfast Series Rob Collins will be releasing the E-Government Report. Yesterday I sat with City Manager Kent Kirkpatrick and Executive Director of Business Transformation Services Steve Finnamore to review the results and recommendations. Again, no surprise that in parts of the report there will be a reluctance to accept the results but that is always the case when a change of culture requires the entire conversation to alter in order for progress to be made. Change is mandatory and progress is optional. I vote for improvement and progress…so did you in the last election.
Today my office is releasing the mandate and composition of what will be the key task force remaining— The Mayors Taskforce on Governance!! The way an organization makes decisions and how we respond to change is a key measure of how good the organization is. This task force will be charged with recommending changes to how your Council does business. I look forward to posting more on this later today.