The ABC of governance: Choosing what truly matters

From Prime Ministers to Chief Ministers, the challenge is not the scarcity of issues — but the discipline to pick the essential few, act with clarity of purpose, and resist the grasshopper-mindset of governance

In all organizations, and at all levels, situations often arise which present various options and priorities. In order to understand the wide gamut of issues in the realm of public administration, consider a hypothetical example. If one were to take over as Prime Minister of India, say two months from now, one, is likely to face a range of challenges.

They will probably include a fiscal crisis, a food and nutrition crisis, burning issues concerning the welfare of women and children or degradation of the natural resources in the environment. In addition, there could be issues with neighboring countries, the need to decide whether the country should bid for hosting the next Asian Games, and diplomatic parleys needing to be undertaken to canvas for a place in the Security Council of the United Nations, apart from the usual issues, such as provision of housing, drinking water or roads, etc.

A similar situation of choosing the best options and addressing them in the proper order is also faced by the Chief Ministers of various States. I would strongly advocate that at the highest political levels in the country as well as in the states, the ABC mantra will prove useful in the best possible interest of the public.

It should not, after all, be extremely difficult for an able statesman and an astute political leader to find a small number of issues to address in the A category.

Internal and external security of the country, poverty alleviation, setting right regional disparities, addressing issues relating to distress, economic distance in the farming, community, leading to suicides, putting an end to honour killing of women in some parts of the nation and ensuring the welfare of children, the physically, and mentally challenged and aged, for instance.

The C category can comprise the same issues which have been mentioned earlier, and safely rest, or the B category, left to the large number of ministers and departments, both at the national estate levels together with their armies of bureaucracy and agencies.

Although not quite the same genre, the controversy, whether the kind of skill set a generalist administrator possesses is to be preferred over the ones for which specialist in specific disciplines, such as agriculture or health, for instance, is yet to be settled in public administration circles in our country.

Whether, in other words, a jack of all trades, but a master of none is better than a master of just one. The consensus that has emerged over time is that administration being the art of managing governance related issues rather than excelling in individual disciplines is perhaps best left to those who have specialised in administration as a skill.

An absence of focus, in other words, has its value in certain contexts. This columnist, for instance, has formed the firm impression from his experience that knowing enough about different areas of expertise to be able to understand how to manage a multi-disciplinary team without delving too deeply into strictly technical issues and hindering the performance by individual experts is much better in the long run.

No matter who one is, and what the task to be performed is, it is essential to be able to avoid the “Grasshopper Mentality” - with attention flitting from one thing to another and everything getting blurred.

What with the advent of social media, and the breathless speed at which developments are taking place, in various fields from sports and entertainment to science, technology, health, and education, not to mention climate change, terrorism or international conflict, it is becoming increasingly difficult not to be overwhelmed by the amount of information and knowledge being forced upon one’s senses.

It is becoming very easy to get lost in a sea of irrelevant and trivial factors and lose sight of what one originally sort out to find in the first place.

The trick, really, in learning the art of segregating information from the ambient noise; to put in place an access protocol that will only let in that which is useful to one, to the exclusion of all else. Focus, once again, in other words!

That is a technique very popular with astronomers, for instance, who struggle to acquire the ability to make meaningful observations by using various techniques to filter out different sources of noise so that the signal they are looking for is as clear as possible.

At this point, it is necessary to put things in perspective. Preparing a short list of possible options out of the many available, arranging them in the order of the priority in which one wishes to address them, and then to begin action is what has, so far, been advocated.

That does not, however, mean that the one-thing-at-a-time approach is necessarily always the only approach. Several gifted individuals in the course of the history of the world were able to manage to acquire significant expertise, in a substantial number of different subject areas and record remarkable achievements.

The ancient Greek philosopher and scientist, Aristotle, for example, was what is known as a polymath and had mastered a wide array of disciplines from physics and metaphysics, through poetry, the theatre and music, to logic, rhetoric, politics, ethics, and even zoology.

Likewise, Benjamin Franklin of the 18th century was not only a founding father of the American nation, but also writer, scientist known for his inventions, statesman, diplomat, and a philosopher.

So was Rabindranath Tagore was not only a poet and novelist, but also a musician, playwright, painter, and social reformer, not to mention having been the first non-European to win the Nobel prize in literature.

The ability to handle simultaneously a dazzling array of tasks and challenges has been known in India from ancient times.

Ashtavadhanam and Satavadhanam, for example, are literary performances by gifted, persons, pundits, of learning and knowledge.

The person (Avadhani) spontaneously performs many feats, such as composing poetry on a various variety of subjects, demonstrating exceptional memory and creativity, as well as responding to questions from multiple questioners (Prcçhkas).

It is an event most certainly worth attending at least once in a lifetime. I recall, with a sense of thrill and disbelief, my experience in one such event years ago when I was the Chief Secretary to the government of Andhra Pradesh state.

On a smaller scale, but equally remarkable is the abilities. Some sportsman have shown to excel in more than one game. Kapil Dev, for instance, a great cricket fast bowler who represented the country with distinction is now a well-known golf player.

Many movie actors in Hollywood as well as the Hindi screen, were noted, for not only their histrionic abilities, but also as composers and crooners. Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Kishore Kumar, and Talat Mahmood, for instance.

And one has only to look at how many Presidents of the United States and Prime Ministers of India have handled a mind-boggling canvas of complex and daunting challenges with aplomb and insouciance, to understand the point being made.

Having said all that, however, the virtues that close and selective attention to a small number of chosen objectives cannot be overstated.

In making a choice among available options, before addressing them in order of priority, one has to be aware of the danger of running after perfection, and denying oneself opportunity of availing of a satisfactory or good outcome.

After all, the best, as is said, is the enemy of the good. Hobson’s choice. In other words one takes what is available, with the alternative being nothing at all.

It is nobody‘s case that the matter of choosing the right options and the best way of prioritising them is a task easy to handle, especially at these levels. It can be a stressful and daunting challenge.

Little wonder, then, that the distinguished philosopher Bernard – Paul Heroux famously said, “relaxation for me is to move from one crisis to another.” All that this piece is trying to do is to offer the best way of addressing the question.

(The author is former Chief Secretary in united AP)