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Visiting Japan with Nathaniel
Last fall, our eleven year old son Nathaniel approached me with a proposition. He had been saving his allowance and gifts for several years and was willing to put all the money towards a visit to Asia. I chose Japan because I liked it when I had first visited several decades ago, because there would…
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Questions I would have Asked Richard Suzman
Recently I saw a lengthy obituary in The New York Times for Richard Suzman. I remembered meeting him four decades ago when he was a teaching fellow in Harvard’s undergraduate social studies program and I was a sophomore. His specialty was Freud, the thinker with whom the students were least familiar. He generously offered an…
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Review of The Persistence of Innovation in Government
Here is a link to a scholarly review of The Persistence of Innovation in Government that was published in the most recent issue of the academic journal Public Administration Review: Blanco review of Persistence of Innovation in Government
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Public Management and/or Political Messaging
Two weeks ago I received an envelope from the Canada Revenue Agency that, surprisingly, was full of good news. First, it contained a letter from the Tax Centre that handles our returns listing the names and birthdates of our two children under the age of 18 on whose behalf my wife will be receiving the…
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Sherlock Holmes or Robert Langdon?
I purchased Dan Brown’s latest book, Inferno, for an airplane flight and got around to reading it a few weeks later. The Wall Street Journal’s reviewer, featured on the back cover, called Brown “the master of the intellectual cliffhanger.” Excuse me, I always thought that accolade was reserved for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of…
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Alan Hockin’s Grace under Adversity
Alan Hockin had a distinguished career as a senior public servant in the Department of Finance and then as executive vice-president at Toronto-Dominion Bank. His third career as Dean of the Faculty of Administrative Studies (now Schulich School of Business) at York University was likely his most challenging. When Alan became Dean in 1985, the…
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The Investing Wisdom of George Luste
As we mourn George Luste, former University of Toronto physics professor and transformational president of the University of Toronto Faculty Association, who passed away on March 21, I want to discuss his wisdom and legacy as an investor. I came to understand George’s investment philosophy on the basis of several discussions, some in the company…
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Julian Fantino: A Liability in Veterans Affairs but an Asset in Vaughan?
When Julian Fantino had his first major confrontation with his department’s constituency, I predicted in my post of Feb. 13, 2014 that it wouldn’t end well for him: “Perhaps in a few months Harper will have a done-like discussion with Fantino, telling him not to expect to remain in cabinet if the Conservatives are re-elected.…
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Meistersigner’s Hans Sachs as Leader
I watched the Met’s wonderful production of Meistersinger yesterday. In addition to the program I was aided by my Berkeley colleague Michael O’Hare’s teaching note on the opera’s lessons about leadership and innovation. I look forward to Michael posting his thoughtful and original ideas about Meistersinger on his blog. The character who most impressed me…
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Practitioner Perspectives on Encouraging Public Sector Innovation
Last Friday I spoke at a public sector innovation conference in Minneapolis sponsored by the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. The conference attracted a large and enthusiastic crowd of 200 participants from state, county, and local governments. I will report on an executive seminar that I led for a group…
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More Student Stories: Seneca’s “Because it Matters” Campaign
While recently riding the subway, I saw Seneca College’s ads. Like York University’s, which I wrote about a month ago, these too are based on students’ stories. The first line of the ad I saw was “Drove,” the second “Bus to Survive” and the third “Herself to Succeed.” In those seven words was a very…
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Recognizing the Independence of Independent Review Committees: A Budget Proposal to the Minister of Finance
Following from by recent blog post making the case that independent corporate overseers are not employers, members of two independent review committees have written to Finance Minister Oliver urging him to include in the forthcoming federal budget a regulatory change that would ensure that members of independent review committees are recognized by the Canada Revenue…
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Deconstructing York University’s “My Time” Campaign
Given my interest in narrative, I’m always on the lookout for effective or ineffective instances in the media. I look particularly at advertising because of its explicit mission of persuasion. York University’s “this is my time” campaign – which I’ve now seen in print, on television, and on public transit – has definitely caught my…
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When I Crossed Thorong La
I’ve been reading accounts of the freak blizzard and avalanche at the Thorong La (Pass) on the Annapurna Circuit a few days ago and feeling deep sadness for those who perished sotragically. It also reminded me of my own crossing of Thorong La on October 17, 1984, exactly thirty years ago. Looking at my photo…
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Independent Corporate Overseers Are Not Employees
There are thousands of Canadians engaged in the important work of corporate oversight. The best known group are corporate directors. A second, less well known, corporate oversight role in Canada is independent review committees (IRCs) for financial institutions. IRCs for mutual fund families have the role of reviewing transactions involving potential conflicts of interest, such…