Newfoundland Politicians and the Three Wise Monkeys

Experience is not what happens to you; it's what you do with what happens to you. - Aldous Huxley

Whenever a man has cast a longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct. - Thomas Jefferson

There is a long-told story of three wise monkeys by the names of Iwazaru, Kikazaru and Mizaru.  You may know them best as “speak no evil”, “hear no evil” and “see no evil” respectively.

As I observe the political circus taking place in my home province of Newfoundland and Labrador, I can’t help but notice how those three characters can be applied to the three leaders of the Provincial political parties.  However, instead of three wise monkeys, we will examine their behavioural opposites since wisdom is often a matter of perspective.

Speak No Evil

Former Premier Kathy Dunderdale who, through a number of poorly executed communication blunders, managed to cast the entire party as indifferent and apathetic to the people of the Province.  In addition, the behavior of many of the elected members of the party appeared to be above the law or at least beyond the scrutiny of the people (at least as perceived by the politicians), thereby reinforcing such feelings within the electorate.  Meanwhile, the Party is moving on to select a new leader, acting as if the damage produced by the current government leadership never happened and that suddenly they are the party of the people.  

Even the leadership selection process has become a source of intrigue with many insiders staying away from the job.  What does that tell you about what they perceive as success potential?

Hear No Evil

NDP Leader Lorraine Michael who, despite going from first to last in the polls practically overnight as a result of a leadership and team collapse, insists that she is not concerned with the past and current events within the party.  I am reminded of Alfred E. Neuman from Mad Magazine who never worried about anything even when everything was collapsing all around him. 

The interesting thing is that I don’t hear a lot of people clamoring to join this party.  Maybe it is time to worry, Ms. Michael.

See No Evil

Liberal Leader Dwight Ball who indicated that everyone is welcome in the Liberal Party no matter what they have done in the past.  This includes if they were accused of rigging polls for a political party or were solely responsible for gutting their party and creating the calamitous fall that subsequently ensued. 

The party appears to be evolving into the party of the opportunist and the self-interested with people coming out of the woodwork to run for the party.  What does this say about the desperation and self-interest level of not only the party but of the leader as well?

So the ballot for the next election looks like this.

There is a fourth money, Shizaru, who symbolizes “do no evil”, but somebody got to him and paid him off before he embarrassed anyone.

Truthfully, there doesn’t appear to be a whole lot that separates all three parties.  Oh sure, they all talk about unique values and the like but under the facade projected to the people they are bound by a common tie …… the notion of “what’s in it for ME?”

Maybe the Newfoundland and Labrador government could actually be compared to a hockey farm team where the team captains and other key players use their experience in the junior leagues as a preparation for a position in the big leagues.  They do what they want, how they want, to whom they want and when it all hits the fan they step out of one league, supposedly in disgrace, only to reappear suddenly in the big leagues where the rewards are far more lucrative.

This could be said of many who have walked through the swinging door that is the Newfoundland and Labrador Legislature with the exception of Danny Williams who was larger than Life when he entered and even larger than Life when he left.  While he didn’t need to move on to a bigger league (being already there), he sort of fits the mould by actually buying a real hockey team.  Well played. :-)

So Where Does That Leave the People of the Province?

I have no idea.  Politicians come and go with such little accountability that no one holds them responsible for what they have done or didn’t do as promised and come election time, the cycle repeats itself.  Memories are short in the Province, it seems.

Ironically, if one reflects on the backroom wheeling and dealing (some would suggest skulduggery) of the pre-Confederation negotiations, things don’t really appear to be that much different today than they were more than 65 years ago.

So how does one fix a pattern that predates Confederation?

For starters, it takes more than expressing unhappiness in coffee shops, frustration on call-in radio programs and the like.  To do so emphasizes a truth as expressed in a great line from the Buddy Wasisname and the Other Feller’s song “Old Wooden Shack” where Ray Johnson sings:

Empty wishes leave a wanting man sore.

While passion and a desire to make things better are important, what is equally if not more important are the actions that come as a result of that passion and desire.

Because without action that is intelligently and strategically carried out and without demanding accountability, responsibility and transparency from its leaders, the Province is headed for more of the same in the future as it has experienced in the past - a mix of potential, realized and missed, without fully unleashing what the Province is truly capable of producing. 

Meanwhile, the people who have architected the mixed results move on to an amazing, lucrative future with little care of the trail of mixed results left in their wake or the people who are left behind to pick up the pieces.

Past performance is the #1 predictor of future behavior and results.

If the people of the Province recreate yet again what they have suffered from in the past, I wonder who the monkey is then.

In service and servanthood,

Harry

PS

For the local writer in the Province who has felt empowered to lift my blog content lately and pass it off as her own, I wish her well on the success of her next article.  Success is a team sport after all. :-)

Addendum – February 9, 2014

A few readers reached out to me yesterday and asked me why things don’t change and why people won’t stand up for something better.  When I replied that more people need to speak out against what is not working, they replied to me that this wasn’t possible for them because they had too much to lose.  As I pointed out to them, “legitimate” reasons such as theirs were exactly why change wouldn’t take place – that many who want change are counting on someone else to create it.  The response wasn’t received well by any of them.

I wonder if the electorate breaks down into:

1. Those who benefit from the status quo.
2. Those who don’t like the status quo but are afraid to rattle cages.
3. Those who have given up, resigned to the  belief that change is not possible.
4. Those who for a variety of reasons (some reasonable) are braver in coffee shops and in the anonymity of social media and call-in radio programs than in the public eye.
5. Those who are afraid to speak out.  This is related to the previous point but is worth noting separately because of what it says about democracy in the Province.
6. Those who believe they have the answer to making things better and compete against others with the same belief instead of collaborating with them.
7. Those who desire change confuse activity and productivity, not being strategic in their intentions and execution of those intentions and thus accepting any result as a good (or good enough) result.
8. Those who make a lot of noise but in the end are complaining for the sake of complaining without really caring about results.
9. Everyone else.

It would be intriguing to discover what percentage of people fall into each category.

What category do you fall into?

Addendum 2 – February 13, 2014

I just finished reading Greg Malone’s “Don’t Tell the Newfoundlanders” and there is a quote in the book that stands out. It is this:

This country [Newfoundland] has been so badly governed during the whole period of its history of over four hundred years that I think it is inevitable, and no matter how good a government may be, it is inbred in the people here to be always in revolt against the governmental authority.

These words were written by High Commissioner Charles Burchell to Norman Robertson (Department of External Affairs) in September of 1942.

They are interesting words that are just as relevant today, almost 72 years after they were written.

Should Newfoundlanders be disappointed or angered?

Maybe they should be both.

Why Your Business Really Failed

That's been one of my mantras - focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains. - Steve Jobs

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. - Leonardo da Vinci

After watching another business go down the drain with some really smart MBAs at the helm, I have to admit that I’m starting to become slightly discouraged (ok … really discouraged) about the number of unnecessary business failures that are occurring.

I’m not talking about business failures where market conditions, bad luck, aggressive competition, faulty legislation, poor data or some other factors contributed to the failure.

I’m referring to a lot of well-educated MBAs, PhDs and the like setting out for success while breaking every rule of intelligent business execution, including failing to establish measurable goals and outcomes, not having realistic tactical roadmaps, ignoring the competition, refusing to take corrective action when required, not seizing opportunities laid before them, not learning from the mistakes of others, etc.

What is the reason for such sloppy business execution?

Such failures are certainly not for lack of education, access to information or because of a shortage of best practices, methodologies, frameworks and brilliant minds.  One could make a lifetime out of study and never scratch the surface of the knowledge available.

In fact, maybe we suffer from the reverse.  Maybe we have too many techniques in the business world such as SWOT, Porter 5 Forces Analysis, PEST, GE / McKinsey Matrix, backcasting and the like and people’s brains are melting under the pressure of trying to memorize all of them.

Or maybe there’s another reason.

And so with that in mind, I offer my “predicting business success model for 10-year-olds” model.  Study it carefully – there will be a test afterward.  Click on the image for a readable version.

Bottom Line

Yeah, I know … a little sarcasm can certainly be discerned from my over-simplified diagram. :-)

But the bottom line is this.

The knowledge generated by our education institutions (including MOOCs – massive open online courses), public and private entities and in Life itself is staggering in width, breadth, depth and quality.

We all have fairly unlimited access to all of this knowledge (with the exception of the awesome database that the NSA has put together).

And most importantly …….. there are many people who create success despite staggering odds. 

So there must be another reason why too many businesses fail when success should have been almost assured and why some businesses succeed when failure was confidently predicted by everyone around them.

Do you know what that reason is?

I have a suggestion but I’m not sure your ego can handle it.

Oooops … did I just answer the question by accident?

Unfortunately, skill in this area cannot be taught although it can and must be learned to be successful in a sustainable way.

In the meantime, please strive harder to not be an inspiration for posters like this:

Or this:

The world needs more people who know what they are doing …. and it needs them in a hurry.

Are you one of those people?

Are you sure?

How do you know?

In service and servanthood,

Harry

PS This applies to politicians as well.  Those studying former Premier Dunderdale’s recent flameout in Newfoundland and Labrador would do well to understand the lessons contained within or run the risk of repeating them.

Newfoundland–A Leadership Crisis, Not An Energy One

Where there is no vision, the people perish - Proverbs 29:18

I must follow the people. Am I not their leader? - Benjamin Disraeli

Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. - Publilius Syrus

<<Continued from my earlier blog post Newfoundland–Leadership (or Lack of It) in Crisis.>>

I am an optimist and I strive to see the best in every situation and in every person.

However, as my native Province of Newfoundland and Labrador enters its fifth day of rolling power blackouts, with 30,000 customers still without power after two major blackouts in 36 hours, even my eternal optimism is being strained.

Consider these items:

1. As previously noted, the Province is entering its fifth consecutive day of rolling blackouts with no official end in sight

2. On Saturday morning, the Province experienced a near Island-wide outage that put almost 200,000 customers in the dark.  At the time it happened, they had no real idea when the power would be restored.  Many were without power (and in many cases water also) for 24 hours or more.

3. After getting almost everyone back up by Sunday night, the Province suddenly had another outage that put 100,000 customers back in the dark.  The reason has not been officially identified at the time I write this (12:30pm Newfoundland time) and 30,000 customers are still without power.

4. Some towns are reporting food, heating oil and fuel shortages.

5. Schools and universities are closed until at least Wednesday.  Government offices are being closed early today as well.

6. There were emergency evacuations of senior citizen homes.

7. Some businesses, including the second largest shopping mall in the capital city of St. John’s, have closed down as pipes froze and burst without heat to protect them.

8. Some of the energy generating components used by Nalcor Energy have been identified to be years beyond their useable life. Nalcor has admitted that this creates risk for future energy production until Muskrat Falls comes into production 3-5 years down the road.

9. The Premier admitted that with such aging infrastructure, the possibility exists for the current power outage events to occur any time in the future until Muskrat Falls comes online.

10. Heavy rain warnings for some areas without power leave people wondering today if their basements will flood without electricity to power sump pumps.

11. Phone systems (landline and cell) started dying in some areas last weekend as battery backups became depleted, thus cutting off communications for some residents.

12. The Government asked towns and municipalities to implement their emergency contingency plans, including the setting up of warming centers.  Some towns declared a state of emergency.

13. For the first three days of the event, the Premier was nowhere to be found publicly and made no comments at all until her press conference on Sunday when people were crying out for their “leader” to appear.

And finally the Premier appeared

And now that she has surfaced, her focus appears to be on damage control, insisting on local and national media that there is “no crisis” and “no critical situation”.

With all due respect Premier, whenever electricity goes out for most of the Province and you admit that it could happen again at any time without warning for any duration, that has the potential to be a crisis. 

For some people, the events of this weekend were in fact a crisis (having limited or no access to food, water, heat, fuel and communications) and so it is unfair to tell people, without having context for their situation, if they were experiencing a crisis or not. 

A strong leader understands this and doesn’t make generalized statements negating or making light of specific situations without knowledge of those situations.

Adding to the confusion, some of the Premier’s messages have been mixed, indicating on Sunday that the events were not a critical situation while saying on VOCM this morning that they are.

When the Premier cites aging infrastructure being to blame, that is not the fault of the people.  It is the fault of the Government.  And when the Premier says the cold weather “caught people by surprise”, I would assume that people are paid good money for contingency planning. 

And besides, it’s Newfoundland.  Winter has been known to arrive there on occasion.

There are even rumors swirling around that the reason the Premier was publicly absent in the early days of the event is because she was secretly out of province on vacation and doesn’t want to admit it.  If (and I say if) that is true, then she also lied to the people in her press conference on Sunday when she indicated she was home during the crisis. Ahhhhh social media – a blessing and a curse when it comes to ferreting out the truth.

So now the Premier is doing the media circuit in typical CYA mode, even daring to get angry with people who challenge her leadership.

Personally, I would find it difficult to judge her leadership during the event. 

After all, she was invisible.  How can you judge what you can’t see?

However, I will agree with the Premier on one thing

She insists that there is no crisis regarding an energy shortage in the Province.

I somewhat agree with her although the potential for a real energy crisis is significant.

However, there is a more insidious crisis in the Province.

I believe there is a serious leadership crisis within the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.

And as in Alcoholics Anonymous where you learn that you can’t begin working on solutions until you admit there is a problem, I believe the leadership crisis has far more dangerous ramifications than the current energy one.

To the Premier, I say (and with all due respect), leadership is not merely a title or how you see yourself.  It is how others perceive you, the actions you take and the results you produce.

To the people of Newfoundland and Labrador I say “Da arse is gone right out of ‘er, bys”.

No, I’m not referring to the Province, your storied history or the great people who live there.  You have always risen to the occasion (often with a great sense of humor) and you will again in the coming days.

I’m referring to the person who believes she is leading you.

In service and servanthood,

Harry

Addendum – Preparedness – January 6, 2014

Discussion about the impact that someone else’s choices and competencies can have on your Life brings me back to thoughts of preparedness.  Preparedness and contingency plans for personal health and safety in times of emergency can mean the difference between an event being a crisis, an inconvenience or a non-event altogether.

If you have the capability, resources and interest to be more self-reliant, then I recommend that you take steps to protect yourself as best as is reasonable from the impact of future events.

For those who do not have the capability or resources to create a stronger sense of self-reliance (despite their desire to do so), they unfortunately rely on the people who lead them.

Or attempt to.

When (not if) an event occurs, the problems of the unprepared become the problems of those who are self-reliant because as human beings, we care for those who struggle.

And so no matter how self-reliant you think you are, you are never isolated from the impact of decisions by leaders (whether self-described or real).

And that is why we all need to care more about the impact of decisions made by those who govern us.

Or attempt to.

Addendum 2 – Accountability - January 6, 2014

As of 6:00pm Newfoundland time, less than 1,000 customers remain without power, thanks to the tireless efforts of the men and women who are braving difficult conditions to restore service.

It has also been reported that 1 death and 8 injuries from carbon monoxide poisoning have been reported by Eastern Health.  No matter how much information about safety is promoted by officials, some people continue to fall prey to such accidents …. sadly.

As things get back to a sense of normalcy in the Province, it is important to not get complacent nor to allow “leaders” to duck accountability and responsibility under the guise of “we can’t talk to you right now because this is not the right time for you to be asking questions”.

There are too many times when problems never get resolved because of the interaction cycle that looks like this:

1. We’re too busy solving the problem to answer your question.

2. We’re too busy investigating the cause.

3. We’re too busy writing the report.

4. We’re too busy reviewing the report.

5. We’re too busy investigating the impact of the report.

6. I’m confused - what problem are you referring to?  Oh – that issue that we already commissioned an inquiry / investigation on?  I’ll get back to you on that.

8. You will have to follow the request for information process as clearly defined in step 7 <<if you can find it>>.

9. Sorry, I’ve got another problem to deal with right now. I’ve got priorities, you know.

And so the cycle repeats with each prior problem getting pushed down the pile and waiting to resurface at an inconvenient time.

Not keeping the issues front and center while the rawness is still being felt will allow people to get complacent only to relive the pain when the next event occurs.

Addendum 3 – Closing Thoughts – January 6, 2014

As the peak concerns fade and Newfoundland moves forward, it occurs to me why I was disappointed in the performance of the Premier.

I was in NYC during 9/11 and witnessed Mayor Giuliani work tirelessly around the clock.  He coordinated rescue, recovery and security efforts during a horrific disaster and yet was also constantly seen on the cameras and in the streets.  Our leader was involved, he was engaged and we felt the energy and inspiration that came from him.  He inspired us to pull together and move forward.

I was in Calgary during the flood of 2013 and witnessed the tireless, positive energy of Mayor Nenshi and Premier Redford, both working hard to coordinate efforts behind the scenes while simultaneously presenting focused, upbeat, inspiring personas to the people.

And then I witness Premier Dunderdale who makes an appearance several days into a difficult time for the Province and makes comments that could almost be translated as “My goodness, what’s all the noise about people?  Quit your griping and move along.”

When I see such lack of empathy, I cannot help but think of this excerpt from “History of the World – Part 1”:

So in defense of Premier Dunderdale, I was spoiled by better leaders and dared to hold her up to their standards – the standards of a leader of the 21st century.

Please accept my apologies for doing so, Premier.  Moving forward, I will lower my expectations to make your Life easier.

Addendum 4 – Thoughts on the Announced Review – January 9, 2014

After the Premier announced her plans for a transparent review of the events surrounding the power outages, I offered this musing - Everyone Makes Mistakes–Leaders Learn From Them

Addendum 5 – Premier Dunderdale Resigns – January 21, 2014

The press has announced that Premier Dunderdale will be announcing her resignation on January 22, 2014 and that Tom Marshall will be taking over as Interim Premier.  With public opinion significantly against her, this appears to be the only viable option available to her and she is taking it.

I am reminded of this blog post I wrote over three years ago when the previous leader, Premier Danny Williams, stepped down and I warned about the lack of strong leadership candidates to succeed him - Premier Williams and His Legacy.

Whether she was responsible personally for her political demise, she received poor advice or she failed to accept good advice, the world is not kind to leaders who appear to be weak as far as being strategic, tactical, fair, competent or empathetic is concerned.

I wonder whether history will be to Kathy Dunderdale.

As for her departure, it is unknown what is best for the Province – that a leader be burned, learn from the experience and come back better than ever or to go with an untried leader who, as an unknown, could be far better or far worse.  That’s why I think “celebration” regarding her departure is both unfair on a personal level and premature.

Newfoundland–Leadership (or Lack of It) in Crisis

Leadership is a matter of having people look at you and gain confidence, seeing how you react. If you're in control, they're in control. - Tom Landry

As I write this late on Saturday evening, electricity is starting to return to the Island of Newfoundland after a near Island-wide outage today.  Regardless of one’s thoughts on energy distribution, redundancy, strategy and the like, I think everyone on the Island owes a debt of gratitude to the men and women of Nalcor and Newfoundland Power who toiled ceaselessly, in lousy and sometimes unsafe conditions, to get electricity restored to the Island.

However, there is an interesting element that becomes more glaring as the Island-wide power outage progresses.

That element is the absence of any public comment or appearance by the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Premier Kathy Dunderdale, for the duration of the event.

Now one doesn’t expect her to be putting out fires in substations, climbing poles with linesmen, restarting the generators in Holyrood or doing anything else so complex (or potentially dangerous).  One assumes that she is in touch with critical leadership team members behind the scenes.

However, in times of crisis, many people want and need to hear from their leader.  For some, it brings comfort to hear from their leader even if the leader is not actually out “in the streets” addressing the issues.

But for many, to hear from their leader during a crisis shows that their leader gives a damn about them at all.

It’s all about smart strategy, being sensitive to the people they serve, the leader’s level of intelligence and their knowledge regarding the optics of ignoring the public.

I think that the Premier appears to be lacking in one or more of these.

What do you think?

To the great people of Nalcor and Newfoundland Power who fought the battles “in the trenches” today (and will continue to do so for a while), the people of Newfoundland say “Thank You”.

To Premier Dunderdale, you might as well stay where you are.  It doesn’t seem to make a difference at this point whether you have anything to say or not and it appears that you still have a lot to learn about leadership.

And besides, the Province did just fine without you.

In service and servanthood,

Harry

Further Musings: As the power outage issues continued into January 6, 2014, I shared additional concerns about the leadership of Premier Dunderdale in my blog post Newfoundland–A Leadership Crisis, Not An Energy One.

--------------------

Addendum – January 5, 2014

A nervous sounding Premier Dunderdale appeared in front of the media at 12:30pm Newfoundland time on Sunday, making her first comments since the rolling blackout issues started on Thursday and the extensive Island-wide power loss occurred more than 24 hours ago.

Of all the challenges that exist for leaders, there are three critical components that separate self-described leaders from publicly recognized ones:

1. How well a leader responds during a difficult event.  The Premier was totally absent and silent for the brunt of the event and so a failing grade as a leader is the best one can offer.

2. How well a leader responds to the experiences of others.  Her dismissal of the opinions of others, including some people who actually experienced significant difficulties during the event, as merely “experiencing inconveniences” (without having specific knowledge of what they experienced) shows a lack of courtesy and empathy.  Perhaps some better communication skills would help in this area.

3. How well a leader guides and coordinates others towards solutions in the future. It is impossible to predict the future.  However, if past performance is any indicator, I would be concerned although for the people of the Province, I would like to be proven wrong.  Time will tell.

When asked during the press conference why she didn’t make any public appearances during the event, she said and I quote:

“It wasn’t a crisis.” (Even though Ed Martin, President and CEO of Nalcor Energy, indicated in the same press conference that he considered it a crisis).

“It wasn’t a critical situation.”

I’m sure the thousands of residents who huddled in the dark in extremely cold conditions, some in towns without water also, would beg to differ.  Most provincial or state leaders would have considered such an event as a critical situation, especially when it wasn’t known at the time when electricity would be restored.  The Premier also cannot offer assurances that it won’t happen again due to aging assets (the latter being a reflection of choices made by the Government).

It is easy to be a leader in good times.  True leadership is revealed during difficult times and when defining the future that leaders attempt to create.

When the Premier indicated during the press conference that she was “comfortable in her home” while others were freezing, I was reminded of the apocryphal response attributed to Marie Antoinette when told that the peasants were starving – “Let them eat cake”.

Leadership is a skill possessed by few.

Addendum 2 – January 5, 2014

A little after 9pm Newfoundland time tonight, the Holyrood generating station had an incident that immediately plunged 100,000 customers back into the dark.

While solutions are needed immediately and for the future, the Premier now seems more focused on her television / radio appearance schedule to explain her “side of the story” instead of being a leader in times of difficulty.

Real leaders lead – the rest go into automatic “CYA” mode.

4 hours after the most recent incident occurred, more than 90,000 customers are still in the dark.  They don’t want “CYA” – they want to know how their confidence in the system can be restored.

Is the Premier capable of restoring that confidence?

Time will tell but it sure makes a Provincial election almost 2 years out suddenly seem a lot larger and closer.

Meanwhile, the great men and women “out in the trenches” continue to do an amazing job while she hangs out in various media studios.

Politics and fairness don’t always see eye to eye, do they?

Addendum 3 – Premier Dunderdale Resigns – January 21, 2014

The press has announced that Premier Dunderdale will be announcing her resignation on January 22, 2014 and that Tom Marshall will be taking over as Interim Premier.  With public opinion significantly against her, this appears to be the only viable option available to her and she is taking it.

I am reminded of this blog post I wrote over three years ago when the previous leader, Premier Danny Williams, stepped down and I warned about the lack of strong leadership candidates to succeed him - Premier Williams and His Legacy.

Whether she was responsible personally for her political demise, she received poor advice or she failed to accept good advice, the world is not kind to leaders who appear to be weak as far as being strategic, tactical, fair, competent or empathetic is concerned.

I wonder whether history will be to Kathy Dunderdale.

As for her departure, it is unknown what is best for the Province – that a leader be burned, learn from the experience and come back better than ever or to go with an untried leader who, as an unknown, could be far better or far worse.  That’s why I think “celebration” regarding her departure is both unfair on a personal level and premature.