Yesterday I had a chance to visit with graduate students at Utah State University about adaptive ecosystem management. After I'd given them my spiel about adaptive management and our Forest Service seemingly endless stuckness on the wrong side of adaptive ecosystem management, one of them asked me what I'd do to fix the mess if I had a chance to make it better. Tall order!
So I began to list off a few items as starters, like
- Throw Forest Service Manuals and Handbooks in the Potomac (currently about 21 feet of shelf space)
- Revamp budget and performance accountability systems to get rid of targets
- Instill 'servant leadership' to replace career-ladder climbing
- Learn and apply Ronald Heifetz' leadership methods
- Learn and apply W. Edwards Deming's management methods
- Make sure that people challenge each other all the time in Fierce Conversations.
In truth I don't quite know what might work. No one else seems to either. But I'd be interested to see what might happen if we began to act on these recommendations. Or perchance others have a few suggestions to offer up?
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