Are you a 21st century-proof public manager?

Are you a 21st century-proof public manager?
Volatility and complexity will play an increasing role in the public sector manager’s work, argues Associate Professor Zeger van der Wal. He outlines the five attributes public servants will need


ATO says fraud systems work but could be better

'Public servants cannot be silent members of society.'
The High Court's refusal to address the sacking of a federal employee for controversial public views leaves public servants in an invidious position.

Have we outgrown Yes, Minister? | The Spectator Australia

Martin Bowles’ 6 lessons for a rewarding public service career.
If you're not having fun in your job, find something else to do, advises the former head of the Health and Immigration departments, which possibly explains his abrupt departure from the Australian Public Service this year.

Jay A. Soled (Rutgers) & James Alm (Tulane), W(h)ither the Tax Gap?:, 92 Wash. L. Rev. 521 (2017):

For decades, policy makers and politicians have railed against the “tax gap,” or the difference between what taxpayers are legally obligated to pay in taxes and what they actually pay in taxes. To close the gap, Congress has instituted numerous reforms, with varying degrees of success. Notwithstanding these efforts, the tax gap has largely remained intact, and, if anything, its size has gradually grown over the last several decades.

Hard Things to Do at Latitude East and North whe surrounded by resume writers  ..., by Ben Horowitz of Andreessen-Horowitz, the venture capital firm.  While it is hard to pull bits from the broader stories, here are a few:

Most business relationships either become too tense to tolerate or not tense enough to be productive after a while.  Either people challenge each other to the point where they don’t like each other or they become complacent about each other’s feedback and no longer benefit from the relationship.

And:

People always ask me, “What’s the secret to being a successful CEO?”  Sadly, there is no secret, but if there is one skill that stands out, it’s the ability to focus and make the best move when there are no good moves.  It’s the moments where you feel most like hiding or dying that you can make the biggest difference as a CEO.

And:

The first rule of organizational design is that all organizational designs are bad.

And:

The purpose of process is communication.

And:

By far the most difficult skill I learned as CEO was the ability to manage my own psychology.

Finally:

CEO is an unnatural job.

Definitely recommended, it is one of my five favorite management books ever.  Furthermore, its lessons are relevant for people in academic, media, and policy worlds, unlike many other management books.  Is that because of an emphasis on talent evaluation and also work in teams and small groups? 

Sovereignty or service

We often talk about an organization having a mission, as if the organization exists as some separate entity with its own individual will. But increasingly I’m wondering if that attribution hasn’t always been upside-down. Organizations ... read more

Heather M. Field (UC-Hastings), Aggressive Tax Planning and The Ethical Tax Lawyer, 36 Va. Tax Rev. 261 (2017

Nearly Half the Pentagon Budget Goes To Contractors The American Conservative

This Place Lets You Pay Your Taxes In Bitcoin


How Norms Change The New Yorker

Dataveillance to Uberveillance and the Realpolitik of the Transparent Society

• Higher taxes for rich will not harm economic growth, says IMF
   
• Panama Papers: German authorities carry out first raids in connection with tax leaks  
  
  
• Ebay and Netflix pay total UK tax of less than £1.9m  
• Geneva banks, stung by tax evasion crackdown, see rosier 2018  
• UK leads the way with its fizzy drink tax - it should cover sweets too  
• Citi's private bank to set up Luxembourg unit to cope with Brexit  
• $100 Billion Question: Will Trump Let Alphabet, Pfizer Keep Tax Havens?
   
• Anti-money laundering: only 1 in 300 foreign deals triggers a 'red flag'  
• Small companies 'are dodging the most tax'  
• Companies House and combatting money laundering  

Should we have a meeting about all these meetings? Winston Smith and Michael W0007n call your office

“I recently gave birth in Japan. Here is some of the hospital food I ate” For example:

Italians turn to fortune-tellers and occult as economy slumps - the sector is now worth an estimated eight billion euros a year

Conference on Artificial Intelligence - "AI: Intelligent Machines, Smart Policies"

Treasury is top target for cybercriminals
finextra.com, 5/10/17. Corporate treasury is a top target for cyber-criminals. Treasury’s trove of personal and corporate data, its authority to make payments and move large amounts of cash and its often complex structure make it an appealing choice for cyber criminals, a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit and Deutsche Bank revealed.

North Korean hackers stole US-South Korea war plans, official says CNN. Probably makes the situation more stable, not less, assuming the plans aren’t chicken feed.

Mattis tells Army to “be ready” on North Korea military options CBS

US bombers overfly Korean peninsula in show of force AFP

The House of Saud bows to the House of Putin Pepe Escobar, Asia Times

Gartner Identifies the Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2018

How to Build a Self-Conscious Machine - Perhaps the best thing to come from AI research isn’t an understanding of computers, but rather an understanding of MEdia Dragons

Accounting in the Age of Digital Currencies: Bitcoin & Blockchain – the new disrupters

HEAVEN OR HELL?: A glimpse at what life might be like when lived on the blockchain.