When decisions SUC(k)
When the stakes are high and messy, building a good process is the only way through.
By
Alicia McKay
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Become a member
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June 2025 Book Report
A mixture of crotch-wetting, tear-shedding and hope-for-humanity books to improve your month
By
Alicia McKay
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Bonus AI resources for paid subscribers
Thanks for your support, here's the goods.
By
Alicia McKay
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May 2025 Reading Journal
Short stories, essays and memoir to get you thinking, but in manageable chunks (+ a prompt for a mid-year reset.)
By
Alicia McKay
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Members-only
Responding to community requests: a guide for Councillors
A guide for Councillors on dealing with incoming constituent requests
By
Alicia McKay
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Balancing micro delight and macro despair
How I try to keep my WTF IS THIS SH*T impulse from ruining public events
By
Alicia McKay
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Strategy
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Prepare for disaster
Hope for the best and prepare for the worst. When have things ever gone exactly as you planned?
By
Alicia McKay
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Change
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Leadership
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How to be more strategic
Strategists make their decisions with intention. Goal-oriented choices, made consistently, even under pressure, will deliver you almost anything you want.
By
Alicia McKay
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Power
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Identity and self
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Take yourself seriously
Because you only have one life and being you is a full time job.
By
Alicia McKay
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Society and culture
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The Ambition Vacuum: Inevitability and cultural malaise
Ambition depends on shared stories about the future. The old stories have collapsed, leaving a vacuum of inevitability and futility, especially around AI, the climate, and democracy.
By
Alicia McKay
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AI
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Paid-only
Bonus AI resources for paid subscribers
Thanks for your support, here's the goods.
By
Alicia McKay
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Local government
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Government
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Events
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ICMA 111th Annual Conference 2025 in Tampa, Florida
Alicia McKay will travel from New Zealand to give a Game Changer session revealing powerful insights from her work with New Zealand and Australian Councils and a breakout workshop for strategic public leadership.
LGNZ Mayors' School
Alicia McKay will host Mayors School for Local Government New Zealand following the 2025 local government elections.
Strategic Public Leaders Training, Sydney, September 2025
Local government managers from across NSW came together for two days of strategic leadership training with Alicia McKay - in partnership with LGPro NSW.
LGMA Annual Conference in Brisbane, September 2025
Alicia McKay will give the opening keynote in alignment with the LGMA theme: "The More Things Change..."