Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/139409
T Transformation Q Is it a challenge to get all the stovepipes to measure the same things? We have 23 initiatives and each initiative will have a set of metrics. These metrics are separate from the corporate level program activity architecture metrics that are being put in place from a departmental performance perspective. These are the metrics aligned to infrastructure or training or IM/IT. We are looking at best practices based on what McKinsey has seen, lessons learned elsewhere, and we have operational research folks working with us on what is measurable and what some of the key performance indicators might look like. And we have a small team within the DRT focused on metrics. Q Do the business processes you are considering ultimately affect the structure of the Canadian Forces, along the lines that created the Joint Operations Command (CJOC)? CJOC was certainly the first step in trimming a headquarters piece. And it speaks to the continual war that management should wage on overhead. I'd say that's an open question. Everything I've read and heard would say that structure should be the last thing to change. You change the culture, you change the processes and, falling out of that, you may have a requirement to restructure. Restructuring is the easy piece. You could redraw the boxes tomorrow but that might be akin to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Let's have a look at the culture and the processes and the inefficiencies associated with those, and get those right, and then let's have an objective look at whether we are structurally well positioned to do the business. Q It's been 35 years since you last undertook this type of exercise. Do you have to deal with some very entrenched positions? We are an institution that is fiercely proud of its heritage. And the environments are the custodians of history and heritage, as is Chief of Military Personnel. So you could see how some of those places might get entrenched. But I wouldn't want to take that away. You would want to make sure that the good parts of that tradition are celebrated. At the same time, that doesn't mean we shouldn't look at how the business of defence is conducted. It's openness and transparency and going from the requirement of some having to own everything to perhaps influencing everything – you don't necessarily have to own something in order to get the result. So breaking down those natural barriers and saying, we're going to have an institutional view and it's going to be one based on stewardship, not tribalism. Q The downfall of many change management initiatives is often poor communication. How are you addressing that? The communication piece is all about changing the culture. Kevin Lindsey, the Chief Financial Officer, and I have done 10 or 11 town hall sessions on the renewal message. It's not meant to be just a headquarters exercise; it's meant to be pan-defence, military and civilian. We could do all we want in Ottawa but until 28 JUNE/JULY 2013 www.vanguardcanada.com you engage the folks in the regions you are not really going to do much. The town halls were a first step. We've recently stood up a website where people can read about defence renewal and provide feedback. There is an acknowledged requirement to go back and engage the regions once we get into the implementation stage to follow up on any commitments we've made. And there will be a communication strategy associated with the launch of the charter, probably in late June or July. Communication is key, both to the success of this and also to changing the culture. Q This is being driven both top-down and bottom-up. Are people in these town halls pinpointing processes that can be improved? In almost every town hall we have had a young junior member – a corporal, a master corporal, in one instance a private – ask us a really pertinent question, which is music to my ears because it shows this is getting down to the lowest levels of the organization. In Winnipeg, a master corporal stood up in front of 300 people and said, sir, if we're trying to be so efficient, why are we still running Windows XP?" I thought, bingo! It may be a small piece, but it illustrates that people get it. Give people the opportunity to contribute and you shouldn't be surprised that people who know our business are willing to pipe up and say, I think there is a better way of doing this." We have no shortage of ideas coming up from the bottom. Q You also need executive level buy-in. But when the CDS announces that this is his centre of gravity for the next three years, does that increase the pressure? The DRT was stood up by Deputy Minister Robert Fonberg and General Natynczyk; General Lawson and Richard Fadden (the current DM) have both embraced this. I don't think there is any extraordinary pressure; it's nice to have it at the top of their priority list. Without top level buy-in it doesn't go anywhere and they have been sleeves rolled up and hands on to drive it forward. I welcome the focus. Q Do you anticipate other aspects of change management that might be a challenge for such a large and dispersed organization? I would not underestimate the challenge associated with metrics development. We could stand up and tell everybody that we are great at doing our business and many Canadians would agree with us. Can we actually objectively and quantitatively prove that? I'm not so sure. Developing the metrics and getting our arms around that is a big piece. We pride ourselves on being a learning organization. We're meant to be change oriented, we're meant to be folding lessons learned back in. Lesson don't only apply to the tactical arena, they also apply to the strategic arena and the business of defence. We're not here to turn military folks into business leaders. But this is about making sure we are doing business as well as we can and that's a bit of cultural shift. R F s a g p D