ethos CRS

19 April, 2017

Critical reasoning and strategic decision making—Analysis, values and persuasion in public policy

By John Preston In ancient Greek mythology, Theseus—the founder of Greek democracy—entered the Labyrinth on the island of Minos and conquered the Minotaur. Theseus was renowned for his great strength, courage and—above all—wit. Today’s regulatory and policy environments are a […]
3 April, 2017

Ready, steady, go! – Bridging the science—influence—policy divide in public sector policy

By John Preston   Let’s face it; if facts were enough, we wouldn’t still be discussing the science of climate change, would we? And yet here we are. Why is this? Could the problem lie with the fact that we […]
3 April, 2017

Sticky tales—Tell a story to make ideas memorable

By Robert Garran  ‘A storm is brewing over spectacular Katherine Gorge about Aboriginal land rights.’ Back when I was a rookie journalist on the Age in the 1980s, I wrote an article that began something like that. I’ve forgotten the […]
27 March, 2017

Changing 18C—Why knowing your environment could help

For some, the debate about changing free speech provisions of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 is a tenth-order issue. The Deputy Prime Minister, for example, has been quoted in Fairfax papers as saying, “It is definitely not the issue people are talking about […]
22 March, 2017

Focus in feedback: Don’t let feedback turn into a fight

  In our courses on Giving and receiving feedback, we find that a lot of people don’t really understand the feedback process—what it is or how to do it properly. Feedback is an integral part of developing a team in an […]
22 March, 2017

Creating and nurturing a clear writing culture

These days everyone works as a writer. No matter their background or whether they work as a tinker, a tailor, a soldier or spy. Everyone writes as part of their job—be it emails, reports, business cases, decision briefs or proposals […]
7 February, 2017

The Magic of Trump

Donald Trump amazed us all and became President of the United States. You may, like us, be a little baffled by this but, when we delved into his communication and presentation style a bit deeper, we began to understand why […]
11 January, 2017

Cliché of the day

  In our world, and especially the world of government, clichés abound. A handy backup in case inspiration fails to strike, overused phrases and metaphors are kept under every politician’s tongue. Here is our hated cliché of the moment: Unpack […]
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