For decades LAs had enjoyed a virtual monopoly on local public services. Then the PM of the day announced that the public didn't care who provided their services as long as they represent value for money. Soon LA's would be facing tough competition from the private sector. Management teams across the country did what management teams do, restructured, downsized and outsourced. But for council leaders and their chief executives this wasn't enough. They worried that their organisations didn't have the right culture, that staff did not understand the need for ," efficiency" and "performance targets " and that managers were not sufficiently entrepreneurial. If they were to compete in the new world it was not just management structures and working practices that needed an overhaul. Their employees needed an overhaul as well, starting with managers. And so the management consultant were brought in. But what evidence was their that cultural change was happening? Why the language of course. Managers demonstrate they have joined the new club and embraced new thinking, by using new management speak. So you need to know how and when to use the following expressions, low hanging fruit, blue sky thinking, strategic staircase, lean Ninjas, imagineering, emptying the bins, polishing the silver, bounce back ability and the AHA Effect. Blair McPherson www.blairmcpherson.co.uk
