Last month, I had a
most heavenly gastronomical experience: a three-course
meal at a tiny little restaurant in Tanjong Pagar.
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Couscous with crab
meat in strawberry sauce — courtesy
of Melissa Cheah |
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The food was excellent. But what stole the show
was the appetiser: it was couscous with crab meat
sitting on strawberry sauce. Actually, the crustacean-berry
combination initially made me hesitate. I did not
know whether it would work out. But I decided to
give it a go in any case. It was a good decision.
One month on, I’m still thinking about the dish.
Imagine if I had decided to play it safe and chosen
something more “conventional” and familiar. I would
have missed out on the wonderful experience.
The same principle can be applied to the spirit
of innovation and change. Innovation is about the
ability to put aside our doubts and apprehension
to try the untested and unfamiliar. If we choose
to remain with the status quo, we risk missing out
on better ways of doing things. We risk falling
behind. Head, Civil Service Peter Ho said in his
keynote address at the PS21 ExCEL Convention: “The
biggest risk and the largest failure will be failing
to take the risk
to change.”
Innovation and change can only thrive when there is good leadership. After all,
“leadership attitude is… the partner, the flip-side, to staff attitudes”, said Ms Yong Ying-I,
Permanent Secretary (Health) and Chairman of the ExCEL Committee. The most brilliant
of ideas is useless in a work environment that is not receptive to innovation and change
— just as my memorable appetiser would have been a forgotten recipe had no customer
dared to try it. Leaders play a key role in defining a culture that is receptive to innovation
and change.
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Riccota cheese on
toast, topped with strawberry and
honey — courtesy of Melissa
Cheah |
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In this issue of Challenge, we bring you
examples of innovation and change in the Public
Service. From winning the prestigious CIO 100 Award,
to challenging staff to come up with ideas worth
$10,000, to increasing revenue by more than $700,000
a year using Six Sigma, we keep coming up with initiatives
and ideas to improve the Public Service.
PS21 is a continual journey without end. To be in
time for the future, we need to constantly look
for ways to do things better and ways to do better
things. We need innovation and positive change.
Willingness to try out new ideas must be an integral
part of our attitudes and lives.
Melissa Cheah Editor, Challenge |
