Comments on: An open letter to Mr Wolfowitz’s successor http://buscom.wordpress.com/2007/05/02/dear-prospective-chairman-of-the-world-bank/ Thoughts on corporate life, business, acquisitions, politics, current affairs, life generally... Fri, 22 Jun 2007 01:33:33 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Peter Quennell http://buscom.wordpress.com/2007/05/02/dear-prospective-chairman-of-the-world-bank/#comment-7 Peter Quennell Fri, 04 May 2007 21:32:19 +0000 http://buscom.wordpress.com/2007/05/02/dear-prospective-chairman-of-the-world-bank/#comment-7 Great tips. Keep writing! The right style of leadership anywhere in the UN is a really vexed issue. From a UNDP vantage point and frequent agency visitor (Bank and IMF included) I observed some of the new director-generals of UN agencies arriving for work and creating their space in the early days. Only two really went the full heady way of Wolfowitz: MBow of UNESCO, and Souma of FAO. While both of them built constituencies and won re-election, the damage their shoot-from-the-hip "initiatives" and nepotism did was considerable both in the agency and the field, and each left their agency strapped for cash. Someone really should dust off the MBow and US boycott of UNESCO story, right now, for all the great parallels and ironies. In contrast, I would encounter Kofi Annan out walking here in NYC, in the northern part of Central Park, and he would nod back in what seemed a rather shy way. Here's an issue you probably have some thoughts on: whether ministers of finance and ministries of finance are the best locus for WB governance and the running of development programs in the field. Competent guys all, the finance ministers I met... but I never thought even one was a natural for development. Great tips. Keep writing!

The right style of leadership anywhere in the UN is a really vexed issue.

From a UNDP vantage point and frequent agency visitor (Bank and IMF included) I observed some of the new director-generals of UN agencies arriving for work and creating their space in the early days.

Only two really went the full heady way of Wolfowitz: MBow of UNESCO, and Souma of FAO. While both of them built constituencies and won re-election, the damage their shoot-from-the-hip “initiatives” and nepotism did was considerable both in the agency and the field, and each left their agency strapped for cash.

Someone really should dust off the MBow and US boycott of UNESCO story, right now, for all the great parallels and ironies.

In contrast, I would encounter Kofi Annan out walking here in NYC, in the northern part of Central Park, and he would nod back in what seemed a rather shy way.

Here’s an issue you probably have some thoughts on: whether ministers of finance and ministries of finance are the best locus for WB governance and the running of development programs in the field.

Competent guys all, the finance ministers I met… but I never thought even one was a natural for development.

]]> By: OD Observer http://buscom.wordpress.com/2007/05/02/dear-prospective-chairman-of-the-world-bank/#comment-5 OD Observer Fri, 04 May 2007 17:53:47 +0000 http://buscom.wordpress.com/2007/05/02/dear-prospective-chairman-of-the-world-bank/#comment-5 All excellent advice and dead on for the rebuilding effort that will now be needed. WE have an agenda, and now we need a leader. Build on the core values--professionalism, candor and passion--that you've seen helped get rid of Wolfowitz, and move with, not against, your staff and their managers. Figure out what will give the greatest short-term traction, and acknowledge there's a lot of grieving. Not for Wolfowitz, but for the damage he's caused to the Bank's good name. All excellent advice and dead on for the rebuilding effort that will now be needed. WE have an agenda, and now we need a leader. Build on the core values–professionalism, candor and passion–that you’ve seen helped get rid of Wolfowitz, and move with, not against, your staff and their managers. Figure out what will give the greatest short-term traction, and acknowledge there’s a lot of grieving. Not for Wolfowitz, but for the damage he’s caused to the Bank’s good name.

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