“KISS” TO CREATE YOUR FUTURE
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to spend three days in Andhra Pradesh, a state on the east coast of southern India, bordering the Bay of Bengal. It is the seventh largest Indian state by area (about 220 times the size of Singapore) and the tenth largest by population (about 50 million).
It was a direct flight of just over four hours from Singapore to Vijayawada International Airport. The road all the way to the city of Vijayawada had a centre planting strip of trees and shrubs, which I was told had been inspired by all the greenery on the road from Changi Airport to downtown Singapore; I however cannot vouch for the veracity of this statement!
I was in Andhra Pradesh to meet the leaders of six key ministries involved in the development of a new capital city called Amaravati, which is located just across the Krishna River from Vijayawada.
Amaravati Capital City Project
The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Mr Nara Chandrababu Naidu, seeks to establish Amaravati as a major administrative and economic hub featuring advanced infrastructure, green spaces, and smart city technologies. The current Amaravati Capital City Project has a completion deadline of 2028.
Its core development features include:
Smart City Infrastructure: Integration of modern, technology-driven urban systems to ensure efficient city management.
Sustainable Planning: A strong emphasis on incorporating extensive green spaces throughout the urban landscape.
Administrative Centralization: The project aims to bring together executive, legislative, and judicial functions in one location.
It is always inspiring and exciting to be working with people keen to develop a future beyond the imaginations of the past. Amaravati is a huge construction site, with activity dotting the whole landscape – while some roads and buildings are already completed and functioning, a lot more are still under construction, and yet more have not even begun construction.
The hive of busyness may appear random rather than integrated and co-ordinated, but I was told to not be concerned. As the approvals of plans and works involve so many government agencies, the key is to get moving on site once the approvals are secured for that site. As long as things keep moving, the integrated whole would naturally manifest with time.
“Software” enables the success of “hardware”
Success in such projects is not just a matter of “hardware” (i.e. the construction of new infrastructure, offices, industrial areas, and housing), but very much also a matter of “software” (i.e. a civil service that is future ready, the effective translation of plans and strategies into working systems centred on efficiency, effectiveness and excellence, etc). It is the “software” - culture, values, mindsets, and beliefs - that would enable the success of the “hardware”.
While we often tend to think of plans and strategies as sensible reactions to the situations we face, given the reality that the future will always be filled with “known unknowns” and “unknown unknowns”, it makes a lot of sense to focus on creating the successful future we desire to bring about, rather than be paralyzed by intense analysis or fear of the future we might find.
A “creative mode” is less daunting and more exciting than a “reactive mode” - the difference is in addressing the future by way of “thinking the future backwards” rather than “thinking the present forwards”.
“KISS” to create your future
Hence, in my two half days of interaction with the senior civil servants, I sought to draw out their imaginations on what “success” for Andhra Pradesh’s civil services would be like in 15 years by asking them to articulate five descriptors of the future civil service they imagine.
Once the senior civil servants came to a consensus on the five characteristics of the future successful civil service they desired, they then applied the “KISS” questions on their policies and practices in order to achieve their desired vision:
Keep – what should we keep doing?
Improve – what should we improve on?
Stop – what should we stop doing?
Start – what should we start doing?
I should mention here that there is nothing magical about using a 15 years’ time period - what is important is to not stipulate a relatively short timeframe, such as five years, because the tendency of people will then be to project the current situation forward by five years.
A longer time period of 15 years would likely be beyond what they can reasonably project ahead from the present, and thus the five descriptors will more likely be imaginations of “what is desired” rather than “what will be”.
“Cultural Back-casting”
Some people will recognise what I have described as the process of “back-casting” – defining the desired future, and working out strategy to get there. What makes my approach different is that I am working on timelines of 15, 20 or even 30 years ahead, whereas much of the practice of “back-casting” tends to look ahead for just 5 years or even less.
My approach goes beyond short term plans and actions towards short term goals, to transformation by way of “culture” – that is the collection of values and beliefs that would yield the necessary behaviours for a highly successful organisation. What I am looking for is “cultural back-casting,” in the belief that “culture is the ultimate competitive advantage”.
“Imagination is more important than knowledge”
Albert Einstein is reputed to have said: “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
Imagine it!
Believe it!
Do it!
The best is yet to be!!!
💡 Actionable Reflection for This Week
Take a moment with yourself, your team and/or your family to evaluate your desired future in 15, 20, 30 years.
Then ask yourself:
Keep – what should we keep doing?
Improve – what should we improve on?
Stop – what should we stop doing?
Start – what should we start doing?
Share your thoughts with us at Hello@LimSiongGuan.sg.
Text edited and image generated by Joanne H. Lim.
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