Defence’s MSP creation is without strategy, and at a premium for resources
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Defence’s MSP creation is without strategy, and at a premium for resources

As published in the Mandarin March 14, 2021 by Kiah MD John Glenn An early lesson as a boy on a farm was that you don’t leave a dog unattended in a sheep pen. They revert to instinct, and so it is with the Defence Major Service Provider Program — its MSPs. In early 2018,…

Not all consultants are the same
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Not all consultants are the same

As published in the Mandarin March 1, 2021 by Kiah MD John Glenn A recent article suggested replacing consultants with a “public sector reserve”. I thought it was a nonsense, addressing a ‘symptom’ rather than the root cause. The underlying problem seems clear – the public service doesn’t get sufficient value for money from the…

Be more commercial they said – really?
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Be more commercial they said – really?

As published in the Mandarin November 2, 2020 The public sector is often exhorted to be more commercial in its behaviours. “In some ways it’s a bit of a nonsense”, says MD of Kiah Consulting, John Glenn. “Dogma, like any other dogma, doesn’t make sense. The public sector is about spending money to deliver a…

Bridging the gap between public and private sectors
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Bridging the gap between public and private sectors

As published in Forge magazine in early 2020 Linking critical thinking and negotiation boosts contributions from project stakeholders, reduces conflict, and creates significant long-term value for stakeholders. That is the view of John Glenn, Managing Director of Kiah Consulting, and one of Australia’s leading experts on public-private sector negotiation and project strategy. ‘You can’t move…

Boosting outcomes with innovative approaches
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Boosting outcomes with innovative approaches

As published in Forge magazine in early 2019 Kiah MD John Glenn spoke to Forge Magazine in early 2019 about how Kiah is bridging the gap between the public and private sector. John Glenn knows the value of managed risks better than most. In his 23-year career with the Australian Army, he jumped out of…

To get a better answer, ask a better question
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To get a better answer, ask a better question

Throughout our work we engage a variety of management consulting and legal services, either directly or through our client. Regularly we are handed the results of previous engagements, too often accompanied with statements like: ‘this is OK but not as useful as we had hoped’, or ‘doesn’t quite answer the question’. We confine our observations…

Contract negotiation: why the public sector needs to drive a hard bargain
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Contract negotiation: why the public sector needs to drive a hard bargain

As published in the Mandarin June 19, 2018 by Kiah MD John Glenn The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short;but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.-Michelangelo In 2017, the federal government executed $47 billion of new contracts.1 Negotiating a 1%…