Effec%ve  Narra%ve  Strategies  in  Poli%cs  and  Government  

Sandford  Borins,  Professor  Rotman  School  of  Management,  

Research  Fellow,  Harvard  Kennedy  School  

Outline  

•  Essen+als  of  public  management  stories  •  Four  archetypal  public  management  fables  •  Narra+ves  in  the  2011  federal  elec+on  campaign  

•  Narra+ve  for  public  servants  

Essen+als  of  Public  Management  Stories  

•  Stories  have  one  or  more  protagonists  •  Stories  also  concern  ins+tu+ons  •  Stuff  happens:  things  get  beCer  or  worse  •  A  story  has  a  narrator      -­‐-­‐  omniscient  (19th  Century  novels)      -­‐-­‐  first  person:  Holmes  or  Watson?        -­‐-­‐  unreliable  narrator      -­‐-­‐  mul+ple  narrators  

Four  Archetypal  Fables  

Growth  for  protagonist  

Decline  for  protagonist  

Organiza+onal  renewal  

Heroic   Sacrificial    Retribu+ve  

Organiza+onal  decline  

Ironic      

Tragic    Sa+rical  

Examples       Growth  for  

Protagonist  Decline  for  Protagonist  

Organiza+onal  Renewal   The  King’s  Speech  (heroic)  

War  stories,  e.g.  Saving  Pte.  Ryan  (sacrificial)    All  the  President’s  Men  (retribu+ve)  

Organiza+onal  Decline   Inside  Job  (ironic)    

The  Fog  of  War,  re.  Robert  McNamara  (tragic)    Doctor  Strangelove  (sa+rical)  

Audience  Sen+ments  Growth  for  Protagonist   Decline  for  Protagonist  

Organiza+onal  Renewal   Heroic:  inspired  to  emulate  hero  

Sacrificial:  (re)dedica+on  to  the  cause    Retribu+ve:  sober  sa+sfac+on  

Organiza+onal  Decline   Ironic:  Anger    

Tragic:  sorrow,  pity,  awe    Sa+rical:  disdain,  concern  

2011  Elec+on  Campaign    Growth  of  Candidate   Decline  of  Candidate  

Renewal  for  Canada   Harper:  majority  (more  power)  to  deliver  economic  growth    Layton  (overcomes  physical  challenge)  

       Layton  (ill  health)  

Decline  for  Canada   Igna+eff  (Conserva+ve  story:  “in  it  for  me”)    Duceppe,  BQ  (perks  in  OCawa  mais  rien  pour  le  Quebec)  

Narra+ve  for  Public  Servants  

•  Informa+on  for  government  narra+ve  of  renewal    speaking  truth  to  power  

•  Telling  an  organiza+on’s  story  =>  good  news  stories  about  its  clients  and/or  its  staff,  predic+ve  stories  in  strategic  plan,  exculpatory  stories  or  accusatory  stories  for  auditors  or  commissions  of  inquiry  

•  Telling  your  own  story  

Telling  an  Organiza+on’s  Story  1  

•  Give  Invest  Support_  Trauma  Emergency  and  Cri+cal  Care.wmv  

•  Sunnybrook  hospital  in  Toronto,  suburban  member  of  University  Health  Network  

•  Who  is/are  the  hero(s)?  •  What  does  it  tell  us  about  the  ins+tu+on’s  capacity?  

•  Who  is  the  narrator?  Possible  alterna+ve  narrators?    

DNI  Mike  McConnell  2  min.  history  of  US  intelligence  (transcript  slide  1)  

•  McConnell  Cut  Video.wmv  •  This  is  the  context  …..  The  first  spymaster  was  George  Washington.  But  the  US  public  doesn’t  trust  or  embrace  spies.  Let  me  go  to  World  War  2.  We  weren’t  ready.  We  ul+mately  were  breaking  German  and  

Japanese  code.  We  put  agents  behind  the  lines.  We  served  the  na+on  well.  When  that  story  is  fully  told,  we  probably  shortened  the  war  by  18  

months  to  2  years.  We  made  a  preCy  vital  contribu+on.    Think  Cold  War.  We  were  going  to  take  the  community  apart.  The  best  thing  that  ever  happened  to  us  was  when  Soviet  Premier  Nikita  Khrushchev  banged  on  

the  podium  and  said  “we  will  bury  you.”  We  were  in  a  struggle  for  na+onal  survival.  In  a  bipar+san  effort  we  created  a  community  that  could  look  inside  the  Soviet  Union.  We  

captured  the  technological  advantage  and  the  high  ground.  Think  Space.  We  got  up  high  so  that  we  could  look  down  and  see  and  understand  what  was  happening.    We  served  the  na+on’s  policy-­‐makers  by  keeping  them  sufficiently  informed  about  what  was  

going  on  that  they  could  make  decisions  that  defeated  the  Soviet  Union.        

DNI  Mike  McConnell  2  min.  history    of  US  intelligence  (transcript  slide  2)  

•  Fast  forward  again.  •  We  disassembled  the  community.  Remember,  we  don’t  like  spies,  we  don’t  trust  them,  and  they  cost  a  lot  of  money.  So  we  started  to  take  the  community  apart.  

•  We  weren’t  prepared  for  new  threats  in  a  new  age.  •  Al  Qaeda  looked  at  us  as  a  community  and  said  “if  we  can  get  aCackers  inside,  they  will  be  invisible  because  that’s  how  we  organize  ourselves.”  And  that’s  what  they  did.  

•  All  the  lessons  learned  said  we  must  create  a  community  that  focuses  on  today’s  threats,  that  must  be  innova+ve,  integrated,  and  collabora+ve.  

Telling  an  Organiza+on’s  Story  2  

•  US  intelligence  community  joint  duty  program  presenta+on  to  HKS  innova+on  awards,  Director  Mike  McConnell    

•  What  is  surprising  about  the  history?  •  What  is  the  counter-­‐narra+ve?  •  Where  does  the  narra+ve  lead?  

Telling  an  Individual’s  Story  •  Sampled  bios  of  US  and  Canadian  cabinet  secretaries/ministers  

•  Story  told  in  reverse  chronological  order  •  Current  mandate  •  Prior  experience:  prepara+on  for  mandate  •  Achievements,  recogni+on  •  Unusual/dis+nc+ve  steps  in  career  •  Formal  educa+on  •  Family,  recrea+on,  human  touch  

Arne  Duncan,  US  Scty  of  Ed.,  exemplary  narra+ve  (on  www.ed.gov)  

•  “Educa+on  is  the  civil  rights  issue  of  our  genera+on,”  commitment  to  work  under  Obama’s  leadership  

•  CEO  of  Chicago  Public  Schools:  “mandate  to  raise  educa+onal  standards  and  performance”:  metrics  

•  Board  memberships:  e.g.  Harvard  Overseer  •  Awards  and  dis+nc+ons  •  1987-­‐91:  professional  basketball  in  Australia:  “worked  with  children  who  

were  wards  of  the  state”  •  Captain  of  Harvard  basketball  team  =>  “team  oriented  and  highly  

disciplined  work  ethic”  •  Father  prof.  at  U  of  Chicago,  mother  ran  south  side  tutoring  program  he  

par+cipated  in:  “shaped  his  understanding  of  the  challenges  of  urban  educa+on”  

 

Conclusion  

•  Power  of  stories  •  Story-­‐telling  is  a  powerful  leadership  skill  •  Hear,  read,  analyze,  learn  from  stories  •  Governing  Fables:  Learning  from  Public  Sector  NarraCves