One client recently visited by someone from the strategic planning team who was trying to look beyond the many immediate challenges and determine where they should be in 20 – 30 years.

I was delighted, 25 years ago the inspirational leader of the financial services organisation I worked with did the same thing and the outcome was both transformational and exhilarating. Taking the longer view helped focus on the important rather than the urgent and directed attention and investment towards areas that, at the time, could best be described as ‘unpromising’. In the years that followed that organisation was seen as visionary as it backed winner after winner.

Working now with the public sector I am delighted that somewhere, at least, there is a team looking beyond endless budget cuts to what they could and should be. One advantage the sector has is history – in one form or another they have been around for nearly 700 years. During this time they have experienced endless change while the fundamental work that they do has changed very little. When you take the long view you realise that the current digital revolution may change ‘how’ we do things, but makes little difference to ‘why’ we do them.