Posts By Nicholas Charney

Giving credit where credit is due

There have been a lot of really influential people thus far in my career, but one of the most influential has to be Etienne. Etienne’s now dormant blog on management in the public sector was an incredible source of inspiration and learning when I first broke into this business and his paper “An Inconvenient Renewal”Read… Read more »

Debunking the “risk” of working more openly

I’ve heard a lot of chatter recently about how we (public servants) can’t work in a more openly because of the “risks” of putting our information “out there”. I’ve always tried to push back on people who hide behind the risk argument because, quite frankly, I feel as though their fears are vacuous, unfounded, andRead… Read more »

Two simple thoughts on innovation and leadership

Public sector innovators have the courage to look right when all their colleagues are looking left. Public sector leaders recognize that courage, celebrate it, and do whatever they can to steer the rest of their organization towards it. Originally published by Nick Charney at cpsrenewal.ca subscribe/connect Original post

Watching Government Sausage Get Made

This week (as part of my official duties) I had the opportunity to sit in on a meeting for the Senate Committee on Human Rights. It was an incredibly rich experience, and an opportunity that I would encourage you to take advantage should it cross your plate. It was interesting for a couple of reasons,Read… Read more »

Where ideas go to live and/or die

I just finished reading Steven Johnson’s “Where Good Ideas Come From” and it’s an absolute must read for anyone interested in the sweet science of innovation; he’s actually got a TED talk that addresses some of these issues but it isn’t nearly as compelling as the book). I was so impressed with the book thatRead… Read more »

What I did last night instead of blogging

I miss colouring; don’t you? I’ve been chewing on a lot of things this week; but instead of sitting down and writing, I sat down with some of the people that matter the most to me. I sat down and coloured a picture with my kids; something I haven’t done for a long time. MyRead… Read more »

Sometimes it is about the technology

It’s not about the technology, its about the people. It’s a phrase I’ve uttered probably more than a thousand times in the last five years. It stems from the understanding that technologies will come and go (quickly, almost at a whim) but behaviours change slowly and as a result we should focus our attention onRead… Read more »