Foreign Secretary William Hague is trying to sort out the FCO after years of studied neglect by Labour. Here is his recent speech which describes the problems quite well (albeit in general terms) and sets out a plan for putting things right.

Especially encouraging is his emphasis on basic technique. Indeed, I wrote a paper for the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee on this very subject and received some important good reviews for it.

The Foreign Secretary gets it:

But on top of this, and this is the third crucial element of the changes I am introducing, we have launched the biggest drive to enhance the cutting edge abilities and diplomatic skills of the Foreign Office that the Department has ever seen; skills in negotiation, analysis, difficult languages, economics and policy making.

This new Diplomatic Excellence Initiative covers every aspect of the work of the FCO. After years in which the level of ambition of Ministers has been that government departments are simply fit for purpose, in the Foreign Office we have set ourselves the goal of excellence in every crucial area of our work…

That is a far-reaching proposition. But what does it mean?

Take, say, Steve Jobs. He was often unkind and intolerant if not brutal in refusing to accept less than excellent outcomes from his team. He would have failed as an FCO manager. Yet he ended his life hugely praised because he delivered fine results.

Part of the deep problem with the FCO and much of wider governmental process is an idea which management consultants slipped into the Whitehall system: that to be efficient it is not necessary to have top standards – work need only be ‘good enough’ or ‘fit for purpose’. This of course led to a steep decline in the presentation of written work both for internal and external purposes – hey, it’s a bit of a mess but it’s good enough init. 

This was linked to another management consultancy assertion, that the FCO had ‘too many layers’.

Yes, too many layers of checking work as it heads towards Ministers is a problem. But at each level new insights and suggestions based on higher orders of experience and wisdom are available – cut that out and the organisation’s collective knowledge and wisdom are short-circuited, plus silly errors are less likely to be picked up.

Add to this priggish indoctrination that FCO officials are meant to focus on ‘priorities’ and ‘targets’ at the expense of good manners and common sense and you get this sort of result: illiterate, rude and intellectually impoverished communication. 

Thus William Hague’s problem now. It is not that so many FCO people have allowed their standards to decline. Far worse. They don’t understand what standards are, so they are genuinely baffled when grown-ups talk about them and sulky when they are asked to work in a different way: Why are you expecting me to work harder and better? Am I being threatened if I don’t want to? Help! Bully!

Anyway, in his speech the Foreign Secretary announced various initiatives intended to help use former FCO talent:

We are putting greater emphasis on cultivating and retaining knowledge throughout the institution; bringing the work of FCO Historians back into the consideration and formulation of policy along with the academic rigour that our Research Analysts bring, including regular seminars to learn from history.

This includes a new approach to the alumni of the Foreign Office. I have decided to set up a new ‘Locarno Group’ of some former Ambassadors and other former members of the FCO who will be an additional source of advice to Ministers on foreign policy.

We are also setting up smaller networks of alumni expertise in specific subjects such as the European Union as well as involving outside experts more in our work. Last year I set up a Human Rights Advisory Committee whose members have already made a very important contribution to our human rights policy.

And you’ll all be pleased to hear that I have been invited to join this new Locarno Group. Hurrah.

Plus I have been invited by the FCO Permanent Under-Secretary to a ‘networking reception for FCO Ministers, British Ambassadors and High Commissioners and leading businesspeople’. There is life after death.

But wait! Look at the invitation itself. Ignore the poor layout. 

Even at this top FCO level on a formal invitation going to so many top people they still can not avoid a crass typo:

Enquiries to: Governtment Hospitality

Lancaster House, St James’s, SW1A 2BB

How to restore ‘excellence’ to the FCO?

Sack the junior person who drafted this invitation and the more senior person who signed it off as acceptable. Then keep sacking inadequate people until they all the others get the message: that only the best is ‘fit for purpose’.