Alexander Stevenson worked for the Financial Times and was a key member of the team which launched [...]. He then set up a public sector consulting company and has advised over 150 public sector organizations.

Foreword by Peter Mandelson

Foreword by Lord Mandelson
Acknowledgements
About the authorIntroduction - managing the unmanageable 01 The challenges of managing in the public sectorNo single simple success measure
Democratic accountability
Pressure?02 Managing accountabilityIntroduction - the unaccountable lack of accountability
Why is it so hard to be accountable in the public sector?
How to create accountability
Creating accountability in a partnership
Summary03 Managing target settingIntroduction - to target or not to target
The consequences of bad targets
Why it is even harder to get targets right in the public sector
So what should you do about targets?
Further tips for setting targets and picking indicators
Summary

04 Managing politiciansIntroduction - the challenges of arranged marriages
Some marriage guidance counselling
Summary05 Managing peopleAssessment and development - appraising the appraisal
Managing poor performance
Recruitment
Summary06 Managing risk and innovationIntroduction - mitigating risk, stimulating innovation
Characteristics that stimulate risk aversion and mitigate innovation
Managing risk effectively
Innovation - or the lack of it
How to encourage innovation
Summary07 Managing decision makingIntroduction - public sector decision making
How to improve your decision making
Summary08 What the private sector can learn from the public sectorThe art of persuasion
Making complex decisions
Crisis management 09 Public sector managers and their publicThe importance of good public sector management
The status of public sector managers
Backgammon versus chess - unfair comparisons with the private sector
High importance, (relatively) low status - does it matter?
Making the public sector more attractive - better status, better pay
Conclusion

Twenty-five key insights
Interviewee biographies
Index