Saturday, October 16, 2010

Stogran: Needed by Liberals as a Candidate

Pat Stogran, currently Veterans' Ombudsman, soon to be released from his post, would make an ideal "hot-sauce" candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada. And if ever there were a political party looking for some "hot sauce," it is the current Liberal Party of Canada.
Stogran is relentless in his advocacy for veterans returning from Afghanistan, systemically, not individually only, and that brought him into view as "dangerous."
The people "in charge" (not only in the military, but in corporations and not-for-profits) have a fear and loathing of anything even smelling of the odor of "systemic" perspective.Why is this?
Fear and loathing attend those circumstances that might expose weakness, failure to measure up, failure to take the mission seriously, failure to ask, when something is not going right, "Why?" and not just once, but at least FIVE (5!) times. And only when a CEO, or a PMO, or a Minister of Veterans Affairs is prepared to ask the question "why" at least five times, will that CEO/PMO/Minister find the answers s/he ought to be looking for.
Hiccups in manufacturing, health care provision, social service delivery, even financial services always have more than one presenting cause, and only by looking past the obvious, and the first answers to "why" does the organization begin to uncover the dynamics that might be leading to the glitch. And the risk to such a process is that those respsonsible will be found "wanting" under their current "m-o" (modus operandi, or way of operating). It takes an especially confident and open and courageous organization and leadership to willingly open to such scrutiny. And clearly, the Canadian government, and particularly Veterans Affairs, |(although rumours out of Ottawa for years provokes questions about other departments, especially Health Canada) are not organizations open to the scrutiny of a "systemic" approach.
Listen carefully to some corporate "talking head" explain a situation of some trouble for the organization, and the reasons will remind the listener of a cartoon character, simplified to the bare bones, in order to present the most positive image possible, covering the honest, and perhaps more "ugly" details with make-up.
Stogran is not now, and probably never was, comfortable with the superficial answers to complex problems.
And the country needs such minds, hearts and voices with passion and conviction to remove the veil of both secrecy and denial from our public institutions.
Three cheers for his integrity, his passion and his leadership! The Liberals would be fortunate to recruit him!

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