Keep the dream alive
Plans are predictions about how we think we could achieve our goals. They’re a hypothesis, an experiment ready to be run.
Archive
Everything I've written, newest first.
566 essays
Alicia McKay named Top 25 Thinker in Local Government by the LGIU
Alicia McKay has been named one of the world's top 25 thinkers in local government by the UK's Local Government Information Unit.
Start with strategy
Our hopes, dreams, and plans live in an unpredictable future. We can’t read tomorrow’s headlines, but we can position ourselves to achieve our goals.
Press
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Future Local Lab interview
Future local leadership, challenges and solutions - an interview with LGIU.
Strategy
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Why strategy is a survival skill this year
Winging it is a death wish. If you don’t know what you want, the next 10 months are going to swallow you whole. Never fear: strategy will save you.
Are you having the wrong argument?
Learn to have better arguments for fuller, fairer, and more focused decision-making.
Quizzes
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Local Legends strategic audit
Audit the strategic capability of your Council and find out where to focus your efforts.
Responding to community requests: a guide for Councillors
A guide for Councillors on dealing with incoming constituent requests
How to be popular with voters and achieve nothing
Hint: its being a rock-throwing jerk.
The public opinion trap
It will skew your perspective and make for bad decisions. Don't fall for it.
In defence of the bureaucrat
Spare a thought for your local public servant. Taking the boot out of the public sector, volume 3
The difference between private and public value
Your retort to "you'd never run a business like this!". Taking the boot out of the public sector volume 2.
Public service isn't inefficient, it's complex - there's a difference
Let's shatter the myth that the private sector would do government projects faster or cheaper: they don't.
Local leadership done well: strategic, aligned, and connected
How Local Legends transforms governance and management effectiveness in local government
Events
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Alicia to speak at LGIT24: Local Government IT Conference in Coffs Harbour, Nov 2024
Alicia is the keynote speaker on perspective in local government leadership
Work
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Revenge of the Arts Degree
BA grads excel at context, patterns, and big-picture thinking. Learn why hiring Arts graduates - and mastering critical thinking frameworks yourself - gives you an edge.