Let’s see, so far I have:

• 10. Right Fit — government, intellect over manual, system over transactions, specific files not general, manage the level of personal investment
• 09. Environment — informal, networked, coalitions of the willing, mainly in English
• 08. The People — Balance, day to day, bosses and a good team

For the 7th on my list, I’m not even sure it is different from the tenth, or just variations on a theme. I said I wanted specific, not general duties, i.e. I don’t want to be wholly responsive to whatever wind blows my way, but rather responsible for several files in particular that need to be managed or advanced.

Yet I find that is not precise enough. There’s another element, which is managing the level between down in the transactions or up at the system level, I also want to be the generalist. I don’t want to be a technical expert in a specific area. I don’t mind working with those people, or consulting them when I need to do so. But I don’t want to be that expert on one thing.

I like the interplay between multiple issues. Ones that individually may seem straightforward, but once put together, requires a strategic overview and good judgement to figure out how to make them work together. Which seems at first glance like perhaps just a variation of dealing with systems, but it isn’t quite that. Certainly, when I was at CIDA and dealing with trade files, I was able to deal with the strategic side of the file without getting into systems.

Which is why, with a slight risk of redundancy, my next one is:

07. Strategic — multiple files needing to work together, requiring the judgement of a strong generalist rather than a technical expert in one single area. Integration, I suppose.