AN EMAIL TO NORTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR JOHN HOEVEN'S CHIEF LEGAL COUSEL RYAN BERNSTEIN

Nov. 14, 2007

Dear Mr. Bernstein:

Now retired, I spent about 40 years as a Secret Service agent, senior executive at the Star Tribune Newspaper in Minneapolis, and independent organizational consultant who specialized in leadership and transformational change in several markets.

Along the way I completed a Ph.D. in Leadership and Organizational Change. I write extensively about leadership and organizations and have a large and global following of readers. My Pamphlets can be found at my site: http://www.amorenaturalway.com/

I've written four commentaries about WSI (Workforce Safety and Insurance) over the past year, based on what I've read in the newspapers. One was published in both The Fargo Forum and The Grand Forks Herald and another in The Grand Forks Herald. All are available at my blog: http://www.viewfromfargo.com/

Below is the most recent, which I sent to WSI, all state senators and representatives, and the regional newspapers. I posted it on my blog (http://www.viewfromfargo.com/) and on my internet site.

Based on what I wrote below, I was really pleased to see the governor's announcement last Friday (Nov. 9, 2007) "to bring in outside consultants for a comprehensive review of the troubled agency's operations...."

Spokesman Don Canton said, "It should include any and all issues, including the claims issue." He added, "The investigation needs to be thorough, it has to be transparent and it has to be inclusive."

Bringing in consultants of national repute was also mentioned--as did I in my last commentary for they will bring the credibility needed.

Since last Friday (November 9, 2007), the focus in the media has been on a consultant to review the claims process and an attorney to deal with the whistleblower issue. I think each of these important.

I imagine reasonable people can disagree about claims philosophy but serious charges have been made that cut to the core of the WSI mission and need to be taken seriously for there to be public trust.

I have concerns, as I wrote in a previous commentary, about the quality of some whistleblower claims. I think the claims and motivations of those seeking protection need to be examined closely and then they need to be protected or fired as is appropriate.

So far so good.

But, if that is all that is done, I suggest that everyone will have missed the primary question and issue and WSI will soon be in trouble again.

A leadership and cultural assessment is needed at WSI to get to the root causes that lead to the above symptoms of distress within the organization.

What in the culture and leadership of WSI (and in the political and legal communities) led the agency to this place of distress?

My experience and organizational data say a leader cannot lead an organization from decline to renewal once credibility and trust are destroyed. Is Mr. Blunt in a position to lead WSI effectively?

It is a given that serious conflict exists in the community and within WSI between employee groups. Can that be healed? A trained, experienced consultant can evaluate that situation and provide methods and facilitation to help mend relationships or tell you which ones cannot be treated.

An experienced consultant can take organizational structure and reporting relationships out of the political realm and make appropriate recommendations based on organizational effectiveness.

I've assessed organizations for about 30 years, quite effectively based on the eventual outcomes. My experience is that the problems on the surface are rarely those that the consultant finds as the true causes of the organizations distress.

Unquestionable new skills, knowledge, and talents are needed to change how the organization is led, how people follow, and how people engage together. An employment attorney and/or a claims review person cannot provide these skills, talents, and knowledge.

Employment attorneys deal with employment law and strategy; claims people examine the process of making a claim and evaluate decision-making. Talented organizational consultants evaluate organizational dynamics, leadership, and culture and provide facilitation, methods, and experience to leaders and followers. Experienced organizational consultants deal with people, leadership, and change.

This organization requires a serious, competent, and complete assessment of its leadership, followership, and culture and then professional help to change as well as help in dealing with whistleblowers and the claims allegations.

You need a team of experts to look into WSI (maybe even more than the three I've listed), guided by a credibly steering committee empowered to make decisions.

The state auditor came up with more than 200 recommendations in last year's audit. But that seemed to be more problem solving; problems that reflected deeper organizational dynamics, which remained unidentified and/or unarticulated--like removing tumors without treating the underlying cancer or putting a new facade on an old building with faulty wiring. In each case, the outside looks good, while the inside continues to rot away.

True transformation requires a fundamental and sustainable change in vision, values, and operating practices, not just making symptoms go away.

In my opinion, 200 recommendations reflect an inability to prioritize issues--no one can deal effectively with 200 issues at one time and new issues are added every day in a rapidly changing world. I can go into any organization and find 200 issues that need work. That is easy.

The challenge is to find a few things to focus on that give the organization tremendous leverage to grow its effectiveness, efficiency, and people.

In the aftermath of that audit, some say that the auditor's office became involved in politics. If that is true, they should be disqualified from this process and from future audits.

I always write and say, "In the end, it is always about leadership." I believe that but I want to be sure in this case that Mr. Blunt is not more a victim than a villain of internal and external political forces before I want to see him replaced. It seems that plenty of villains are involved in this--the biggest mess I’ve ever seen in an organization.

So, my hope is that the group selected does what the initial statement called for: a broad review of any and all issues, including the claims issue by outside consultants of national repute. A review that is thorough, transparent, and inclusive.

And seeks only truth and justice.