'Joe Blogs' - The Chief Executives Blog  by  Joe Duckworth

Mark Twain said "the report of my death was an exaggeration."
Similarly, the report of me applying for other jobs isn't true. I don't know why these rumours start or for what motivation, but why should I?

We still have a very ambitious political administration, the Island is a fantastic place, the Council team wants to be great and at last we have a stable Directors’ Team.
It has been a difficult and challenging time of late. It hasn’t been pleasant dealing with the Undercliff scandal or the referrals to the Standards Board for England over the planning issue. But the council was right to address them. It is an unfortunate part of our journey to really serve the best interests of the Island.

There maybe, but I hope not, other things we find which are not right. We will take a measured approach to them. But we will not turn a blind eye. If we do we might as well give up altogether.

This is not to be holier than thee. We will make mistakes. The thing is what you do when it goes wrong. No sweeping it under the carpet.

I don't think there is anybody who isn't fed up with the Undercliff etc. It’s all backward looking. Many staff I speak to just want to move on. Get some recognition for the good stuff we do.

The pull of the better future should be in our minds not the misdemeanours of the past. We are now kicking off work on a new vision for the Island and the Councils role in making it a reality. It is really exciting stuff. The emerging theme is the "Eco Island" where we can trade on our natural bounty and enhance it by increasing wealth and wellbeing and reduce our carbon footprint at the same time.

So remember the Andrews Sisters and avoid the odd dementor on the Island who suck the spirit out of everything and likes nothing better than seeing people fail.

I had a great holiday on the Island. Where else can you do great mountain biking, kayak in the surf, go to a fun park then out for a nice meal all in one day within a radius of a few miles?

Mind you I had to grow a beard and not brush my hair so I wasn't spotted! I was only caught out three times!

The importance of having a good break from work cannot be overestimated. Let's face it the Island and the Council are hot house stuff. That's a real positive most of the time. A danger of it is a sense of perspective and balance can be knocked out of whack. Being away for a while restores that sense of balance and perspective.

One thing I've been musing about is what type of employer do we want to be and how does it feel to work for the Council? It is dangerous to generalise about the "now" as staff work in different offices and teams across the Island. Not everyone's based at County Hall despite what you read in the media!

It has been an unsettling time for staff due to change. First we had an election which resulted in a radical shift in policy. Then new senior management, Undercliff, a sharper focus on performance and value for money and a drive for quick delivery of stuff that makes a difference to the quality of residents' lives.

This change will continue and pick up.

To some there is a conflict between say an unbending approach to sticking to rules, acting lawfully, following our policies and accepting there has to be a commitment to the Council, and the organisation being humane and kind.

I don't see it like that. It is about an exchange between the Council and individual employees. We are public servants who should spend public money well and wisely and do all we can to do our best for the Island community. Everything we do effects the welfare and wellbeing of Island people and that "feel good factor". I know the majority of us feel we can improve things dramatically.

If we all sign up to that and act it out, in return it should be a humane, exciting and career enhancing organisation. We are not there yet, but will be spending increasing time improving how it feels at work.

Some say I like being in Private Eye. I don't. I'd rather be a quiet public servant getting on with my job. But my chum Percy Sugden keeps me in the limelight. Comments in the past about other chief execs glancing jealously say more about the profession rather than my wish to be regularly highlighted in PE!

Percy has recently suggested a cartoon character in Viz magazine is based on me! Joe Blogs and his internet connection is surely a coincidence. If not, isn’t imitation the best form of flattery?!

I’ve had an interesting and busy two weeks. First week was spent at the Local Government Association’s annual conference. We promoted the Island to this national event as well as hearing about good practice from around the country. It has to be said that in some areas we are ahead of the game but do not make enough of it. In others areas we can learn from others.

Last week I was part of a peer review team for another County Council. This is where a Council invites a team of Councillors and officers to come and stay with them for a week and hold the mirror up to them so they can see how they are doing. It is quite a privilege to be asked. It’s like having other people spending a week living in your home, interviewing family members, relatives, neighbours and observing how the household works.

I hope the report we produce will be useful to the Council as it tries to improve the way it serves its community.

I certainly learnt a lot. It reinforced for me that what we are trying to do on the Island is in the right direction but that these things take time. Also how important communications are. Our recent residents’ survey has started to show this where satisfaction with the Council has increased over the last 9 months. But there is still much to do.

The last staff survey was difficult reading. We will do another at the end of the year. It has not been an easy time for us with the Undercliff investigation and considerable change. At the next Director Team meeting I will discuss whether we have got our staff communications right and whether we are supporting colleagues through the changes enough.

I've not seen Private Eye recently so don't know if we have been in again. In the beginning they were taking the mickey. Over recent issues however they have been reporting how we have been dealing with Undercliff, which has largely been supportive to the Council.

I find it a little bemusing that some people criticise the council for hiding stuff away, then criticise us for investigating a major project which has been going on for 6 years!

If we find wrongdoing or stuff that is not right we will deal with it appropriately and properly. If some people criticise us for doing that, then so be it!

"Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, and don't mess with Mr Inbetween." A quote from a famous philosophical group, the Andrews Sisters (possibly with Bing Crosby).

It's a fact of life that not everybody looks at the world this way. There are various counter syndromes.

The "sourpuss" syndrome is a frequently found one. Imagine a situation where adults are celebrating the achievements of young people in life and sport, and the only comments are cynical jibes at the motivations of the grown-ups.

Then there is the "go for the player not the ball" syndrome. Imagine an organisation, something like the WI. One branch is incredibly successful with a charismatic if controversial leader. This syndrome sees the persons attacked with no proper discussion about their methods and policies.

I have seen examples of these syndromes over the last few days on the Island.

Good news though. Sufferers of these various syndromes do tend to get a lot of air time, but the majority of us are with the Andrews Sisters and get on with life with a positive outlook!

I never realised this Island was so hilly! Two Sundays ago I did the round the Island bike ride with a council team. It was a great day out with a good crowd. It was also a well organised and friendly event. Percy Sugden in the County Press reckoned it was so well organised with so little fuss that they should be put in charge of the Council. Yet again I have to agree with our Percy

Each week is mixed. Good and not so good. Ups and downs. Generally things are going very well with some really positive signs of change. Our reputation on the North Island is improving significantly. For example we have advertised two key senior vacancies and attracted high quality applicants. This very much depends on a reputation as a place where things are beginning to happen.

On the other side of the coin I did an interview with Solent TV where every question seemed to be negative. One question was: “given the culture of the Island why should we try to make the Council one of the best in the Country?”. I have to say that I haven’t met a resident or member of Council staff who wants the Council to be mediocre. So I was left wondering who Solent is asking these questions for?

It’s more cycling to work for me over the next couple of weeks. My next big ride at the end of this month is the Wight Diamond Challenge 2 day event! What a great way to see the Island.

My family has been the victim of crime twice in as many weeks. My 11 year old was mugged at knife-point on Saturday afternoon by a grown-up. Then driving home from Scotland my card was refused at a petrol station. This was because my wife's credit card had been 'cloned' and £3000 disappeared in Bermuda and Canada!

Thankfully nobody hurt, but it makes you understand how people can become frightened and feel insecure.

In fact fear of crime is as big a problem as crime itself.

The stuff we are beginning to do with the police and local communities on the Island will make a real difference. Over coming months there will be more people on our streets looking after things with residents. More police of various sorts and from the council parking attendants and town centre managers. We have to keep all this in context. Crime is about, but not much. The fear of crime is a big worry. Luckily my son seems to be frightened of nothing!

Been involved in the unfolding national debate about the future role of local government. We are going to leap to the cutting edge of public administration. Why? Because we are absolutely focussed on our responsibilities to the Island and we know how to do it. That's part of the short-term frustration because we are well aware that we have much to do and it will take some time to be excellent in residents eyes. We have made a lot of promises for this next year and practically all our time this year will be making sure we deliver what we have promised.

At the announcement of the latest report on Local Government, I noticed several Chief Executives of other authorities looking sideways at me with envy. At first I thought it was because my Leader was sat next to me. But no, I noticed every one of these jealous CX's had the latest copy of Private Eye! There is a curious phenomena amongst this strange breed that if you haven't made it into the Eye, you don't cut the mustard. I think I now have the record for the most consecutive appearances in the great organ of any CX!

So, Lord Percy of Gnome Hall, trebles all round!!

Another interesting and varied week. I'm writing this in the middle of a field in Scotland. Just driven 500 miles to take part in a two day mountain bike orienteering event called the Polaris Challenge. The traffic on the North Island is truly awful. We must make sure it never gets like it on the Island.

Meeting with Jim Knight the education minister went very well. Our reputation nationally is improving quickly. Jim Knight as asked Steve Beynon our Children’s Director to sit on a national group directly advising him on educational reform. I wish the teachers who have been shouting at Steve over the last few weeks would listen to what he has to say. The Minister for Education does.

Sat in another field in the middle of nowhere ( well Scotland). Just biked for 7 hours. Survived! Just had a cuppa soup and a protein bar. Later more dehydrated food, a nice sleep and another 5 hours tomorrow. I really know how to have a good time. Still, it makes me look forward to work!

It's been a hard few weeks for the Council and everyone involved - whether staff or councillors. Doing the right thing is often not the easiest way. But it is what we are going to do.

Whilst we do it, I hope people remember that we are on the up. Our external inspectors recognise it. They say we are improving well. For staff we will continue to drive forward improvements in what we deliver for the Island Community and make the council a better place to work.

For Islanders and visitors we are focussing in real practical improvements. For example, the free homecare for the over 80's, a first in the country, makes a real difference for people who deserve not to have to worry about how they can afford that little bit of help to stay living in their own homes. An Island couple were interviewed on the telly about what it meant to them. It reminded me why I do this job and how lucky I am to have a job which gives such satisfaction.

It's not all sweetness and light. Some of the behaviours seen in a  recent consultation exercise is saddening. Hectoring and shouting doesn't make a point of view right. We have some very important decisions to make in the near future. They need to be based on what is right, not on who shouts loudest. I'm sure they will be.

Doing the right thing is not always the easiest way.

I had a really interesting week last week. On Monday I had a fascinating meeting with the Chamber of Commerce. They have a great deal of members and are very representative of businesses on the Island. It is the best Chamber I have ever worked with and they are nationally recognised for a variety of reasons including the youth chamber.

The Council spends about £50 million a year off Island. I am sure many of you think that more of this could be spent here however, my responsibility is to achieve best value for Islanders and we must seek far and wide to ensure we are achieving this. This is all about spending public money, i.e. your money well. There are various ideas we could consider that would benefit Island businesses. We could look at doing a "Marks and Spencer" where we work with potential suppliers and the Chamber to help us spend public money well, subject to competition, with Island businesses? This is blue-sky thinking at the moment but something I will look at in more detail over the coming months.

Thanks to Debbie, the Principal of IW College, for showing me round the college last week. There is an absolute focus on quality there and you can feel it as you walk around. It is one of the top ten percent performers in the UK.

There was one point as we were walking round that I could see Debbie was annoyed. In one of the spanking new buildings students had left some litter on the floor. Straight away she started picking it up. I do the same on the street. Why do people litter? We have to spend your money tidying up after ourselves. Wouldn't it be better spent on books or mending some of our street furniture?

Cllr Muriel Miller as quite rightly pointed out the howler in my last blog. The school I mentioned is obviously in EAST Cowes not Cowes. Honest it was a typo. I am well aware of the mutual respect and friendly rivalry between East Cowes and Cowes. Muriel offered me cream with my humble pie if I publicly apologised to all residents of East Cowes. Sorry.

Just waiting to listen to Paul Coen the CX of the Local Government Association. He is the most senior public servant in local government and at the heart of the modernisation of the sector. On the Island we are going to be leapfrogging others in improvement. Paul is an old chum of mine from when I worked with him at Surrey County Council. He is going to spend a day on the Island early this year. I'm sure he will talk us up nationally. This is critical as the better your reputation nationally, the better our chance of getting more money for the Island.

Percy Sugden has been very kind to me in today's County Press. He points out, quite rightly, that I have not done my blog for some time and wonders if it is because of the injuries I sustained when I came a cropper on my bike over Christmas. I'm fully recovered except for my embarrassment with the guys at Wight Mountain bike shop in Newport. What Percy kindly didn't say is that doing my blog regularly was one of my new year resolutions. I didn't last till the end of January!

OK - OK  - yes I have managed to spectacularly and very publicly break my own new year’s resolution to blog more regularly.  However I am heartened that so many people have noticed and commented on this as at least I know that people are reading my blog.  In fact nearly 1000 people read it in its first 6 weeks  - so that’s not a bad start.

For future reference I am going to use my blog to update people when I have something key to say. So you will be pleased to hear you are not going to get a stream of consciousness from me…but good solid information and opinions when they count.

For example this week I got my first glimpse of the staff survey results.  They are still interim results as the consultants complete analysing the data. I have to admit that it made uncomfortable reading.  Staff clearly are not happy with certain aspects of working for the council. As I have said before we are going to take these results very seriously and act on them.  Furthermore we are going to publish the results -  warts and all.  The council I want to be chief exec of is open and honest and we are prepared to take the knocks because we know that we are going to deal with them and ensure that issues are dealt with properly.

Another key moment for me this week was on Monday when we had our monthly director/cabinet member service boards and it made me think how far we have come in six months.  I saw genuine joint working and a commitment from officers and members to work together as a real team to take things forward.  I felt very proud at some of the excellent work directors and their teams are doing at the moment. Steve Beynon and his team’s work on post 16 education is inspirational.  Another turning point happened when Stuart Love managed to solve a flooding problem at Cowes school that had been extremely inconvenient for the school for months with the council seeming to take no action.  He visited the school with Cllr Miller – couldn’t believe what he saw, came back to county hall, assembled the right people in a room and within 24 hours work started to resolve the flooding. 

Started the new year all full of promise! Had a really good break with lots of family stuff, although had a nasty fall off my bike on boxing day resulting in some nice "road rash".

I am feeling very confident and quietly excited about 2007. This is the year we start delivering tangible improvements for Island residents. A lot of hard work has gone into preparation. Now it is time to deliver!

Two new year resolutions. First not to overuse the best swear words. Save them up for when they are most effective! Second, do my blog more regularly!

Happy new year to all, but especially to Percy Sugden.

I was honoured today to be asked to speak at the retirement do of Ann and Pearl, 62 years between them in the service of the Council. Both fantastic women. I think they were a bit overwhelmed by the number of people who turned up to say goodbye and thanks.

I'm going to miss them. On my first day in the job I think most staff I met were a bit careful. The only person to give me a full-on honest big smile was Pearl. Ann is exactly the same. Rightly proud of the quality of their work keeping our working environment spick and span and genuinely warm to everybody whoever they are. Happy retirement to both of them.

Looking forward to a good sing song at the Carol service tomorrow. Hope there is a good turn out and we raise the rafters.

Christmas is nearly upon us. I find I end up working harder in the run up to the break as I like to go into the festivities with all things completed as much as possible and the start-up after the break well prepared and planned.

Percy Sugden has forsaken me! I've not been mentioned for two weeks. Mixed feelings but sense prevails - long may I never be mentioned again.

Percy and all, have a great festive time.

Again I've not been disciplined enough to do my blog as regularly as I should. I've been too busy answering e-mails! Do we have to send so many? What is wrong with popping down the corridor and having a chat to someone?

What I'm picking up from staff is they are fed up hearing about stuff from the local media which they should be hearing from managers. And they don't want e-mails they want good old fashioned face to face stuff. I agree. Managers get stuck into their offices answering e-mails which makes it difficult to get out and chat! Catch 22. It happens to me too. But we have to break this vicious circle and humanise things again.

Me and Percy Sugden are still getting on like a house on fire. He obviously reads this blog as yet again we are in Private Eye which makes reference to "trebles all round" which was a reference in a recent blog entry!

He has good contacts on the Island, but even after 7 months mine are not too bad. For example I know what bicycle he rides (a Scott Genious) and that his wife is buying him a top of the range Gore cycling waterproof for Christmas! Trembles all round! ( I'm not spoiling his Christmas morning surprise as he knows about it. I'm not that bad!)

Went to see Andy Sutton in hospital tonight after his operation last night. He looked better than when he went in! He is being discharged tomorrow. What can you do though! He has disobeyed my strict instructions to rest. He had his Blackberry in his dressing gown pocket and was sending e-mails although he said he was only playing games on it!

I try to answer all my e-mails every day so I start the next day fresh. It's also because other colleagues may well need my view before they get back to someone else, for example a resident. If I don't get back for a few days, then it can lead to further delays in responding to them. Before you know it a month has gone by.

Later this week we will be publishing the results of a survey of resident opinion about the Council. It's mixed with criticism but a will and belief we will get better. Why publish? Because when we get this sort of feedback it will be open, we will stare it right between the eyes and sort it out.

We can do it. Simple things can make a difference. Like answering letters. A major criticism is that we don't. At Director and Cabinet member level we have started monitoring it every month. Directors will be working with staff to make sure we meet our stated objective of 20 days for an answer. Once we achieve that we are going to halve the standard to 10 days!

Nice stuff today. Went to the Botanical Gardens for the long service awards for 25 and 40 years service. Represented in the room was 1016 years of experience, knowledge and public service! Awesome.

I didn't mean to miss so many days. It’s been very busy. Lots of positive stuff. And a few really baffling experiences.

First positive thing. Stuart Love joined us this week. The top team is nearly in place. Directors’ team is getting more effective and we actually had a real laugh as well. Very good collective sense of humour. And we sometimes need it!

It’s baffling how some people jump to conclusions without any evidence. Some comments made about senior officers are strange. For example we are putting in place processes for producing high quality papers for members. Frankly this is basic good practice which is the norm in most authorities. But good grief when we tried to implement it here there were some extraordinary comments made about our motivation for doing it!

I'm looking forward to the results of the staff survey. More people filled it in in the first four hours than completed the last staff survey in total. There will be some tough things for us to deal with. But all of us in the Council need to own the responsibility for making the council a better place to work.

I've been hob nobbing recently. Was invited by Canon Palmer to a seminar with the Archbishop of Canterbury. Very good. Met the Vice-Chancellor of Portsmouth University. He will come to the Island to discuss us having a higher education presence on the Island.

Yesterday we were invited to a small private meeting with Angela Smith MP the minister for local government and Ivan Lewis the health minister as we are seen as leading the field in joint working with health over social care. It was really good and another example of how our reputation is changing.

Percy Sugden, my old mucker on Corrie! We are now back in touch and it is going famously. He has earned a few more bob from Lord Gnome for another story this week. Same story in CP this week. Paid twice for the same work. Trebles all round!

Finally, even hard asses like me need a few positive strokes. So I was pleased to receive the following from a Councillor on the North Island "I'm a member of another authority in England. I wish our Chief Ex. wrote a blog like yours does. I really enjoyed reading it. Can he start a fashion for all chief ex's to do their own blog."

Council tonight had good debates on the CPA action plan and the JAR action plan. There was good passionate debate and a general good will towards this time we really are going to make it happen.

I'm more optimistic now than I was when I first arrived. It is going to be hard work but we have everything we need to do it. The reason I'm more confident is because. Of the people I keep meeting.

Met the head of Sandown High today. Optimism, good results, more on the way and a real desire that we should all work together for the benefit of Island kids.

Met with Cat, Sue and Mathew of the Estuaries Project. It is about what sustainable development means. Their approach was all about problem solving and innovation. This is just the approach if we are to become famous as a place which modernises and improves but enhances our island not destroy its uniqueness.

The Remembrance service on Sunday in Newport was very moving. A young woman played the last post most beautifully.

So far this week I have been focusing on embedding proper business management processes across the authority. We haven't got it right yet. For example we put on the agenda of Audit Committee a report which was highly critical of our technology disaster recovery undertaken by the external auditor without a covering report. I am not suggesting we cover up these sorts of things......quite the opposite as we are going to look these issues straight in the eye.

The point is there should have been a covering report that set out what we have done and plan to do to address the issues. In fact £800k has been in the budget and a lot of the problems have already been addressed or are well underway. This was put right on the night but we have to get better at it.

Also visited Cowes High school. Had a great discussion with David the head. We are going to rebuild the school and will get significant funding to do it. What was exciting is that the school and the council are at one on a fantastic vision for a learning centre with extended provision and it will be the best in the country!

Joe

This has been the most enjoyable week so far. I've had more opportunity to get out of that prison of an office.

Kicked the week off with induction for new staff. Good to see so many high quality people joining the Council.

Mid week I found myself recruiting the new Chief Executive of the PCT with the Chair of the PCT and the CX of the Strategic Health Authority for SE England. What a great appointment for the Island we made. Ed is going to be excellent. We are going to do some great stuff together.

At Cabinet we agreed the things we are going to do to improve our performance as a Council and specifically for education. We have to accept we are not good at doing some stuff. What the external inspectors tell us is right.

But you know we have to be balanced about it. One of the problems of my job is you tend to focus on where we need to improve or where we have problems.

Take education. When our kids start school they are amongst the brightest in the country. As they go thru the system our performance drops so overall we are the second worst education authority in the country. I get very angry about it. We should all be absolutely focussed on making sure every kid on the Island achieves the best they can.

Then you visit a school like Downside Middle School. I had the privilege of giving prizes to young people at the school. I left the evening inspired.

The school has just had a good ofsted inspection and is held up as a national exemplar for extended school. Working with the local community. It was a brilliant evening and thanks to everyone at the school for letting me go to the evening.

I also visited staff at Charter. House this week. What a passion and skill I found there. Some serious high quality work around crime disorder and drugs. Good to hear Westminster are coming here to learn from us how to use CCTV in better ways. That's the way it should be.

On Friday the Council chamber was full of staff who have worked hard to gain qualifications. Again it filled me full of confidence that we are going places.

Balance. We are only two star which is not very good. But did you know 40 percent of our services are in the best 25 per cent in the Country. The average for other councils like us is half of that. So, don't shy away of things which are unacceptable, but more recognition about where we are flaming good.

Always the highlight of the week is getting the County Press on Friday.

Its not a bad local rag, although it is sometimes difficult to get our good news stories in it.

Percy Sugden always makes me giggle. Its no surprise as we always got on well together when we worked on Coronation Street. I thought the bit about being in Private Eye was quite good as the journalist who hides behind Percy is the very same one who flogs the stories to the Eye for his beer money! Pip! Pip!

So, a good week. I'm not sure how this blog is going to work or if it will be of interest to others. I'm going to give it a go and try to do shorter but more frequent entries.

Family time now. See you next week.