By PETER SHELDRAKE 

IN the current environment, change and innovation are critical.
In the commercial world, companies that stay still die: they are
eaten by other more aggressive organisations - those that are
moving faster; or they simply run out of customers as others
nibble away at their market.

In local government, change is continuous, and the demands being
made on services continue to grow. You have to innovate to stay
alive.

Innovation and change can be driven from the top of the
organisation. However, while system-wide change has its place,
often it is change at the business-unit level that makes the
critical difference. It is at this level that "Ronin" play an
especially important role.

The term "Ronin" comes from Japan. The Ronin were samurai who
were no longer tied to a feudal lord - often because their
leader had been defeated. Under the Japanese feudal tradition,
samurai were expected to do as they were told - trained fighters
who fight as directed, and die in the service of their master.

However, the "master-less" samurai, the Ronin, became
independent - in thinking and in behaviour. Some travelled, even
outside Japan. They found themselves in unexpected and
unfamiliar situations, and they had to live by their wits, a
long way from the comfortable world of living under direction.

Many of those who travelled came back to Japan, and shared what
they had learnt. They were an important source of change in
Japan.

The comparison with modern organisations is obvious.

Just as the closed society of Japan needed new thinkers, and
people who were willing to follow an independent path, so do
local government organisations today. They need people who are
confident in their abilities - and are comfortable with new
ideas, challenging the past, and unwilling to continue to do
things "in the old way".

The Ronin in organisations are constantly questioning, and
seeing if things can be done differently, and done better. They
make life uncomfortable - and they discover new and effective
ways for organisations to operate.

In many respects, the world of the Ronin is both exciting and
lonely. As the internal revolutionary, the seeker of difference,
the person always willing to ask difficult questions, the Ronin
always sit on the margin of the organisation.

This means that Ronin have to ensure they have some degree of
internal protection or support - to avoid being thrown out or
excluded. In this regard, champions and mentors are of critical
importance.

A champion is a supporter, and Ronin need champions. These are
people within the organisation who are willing to ensure that
the Ronin is protected, given resources, and is even kept
"hidden".

When some years ago Robert Greenleaf wrote about the idea of
"servant leadership", he recognised that some people came to be
leaders by an unusual path - these were people whose initial
motivation was to serve others, but as a result, they then
"earned" the right to lead.

Such servant leaders are extraordinarily important in
organisations. They are the source of nurture and protection for
those who don't fit, and Ronin need to find the servant leaders
in order to find the champions who will support them, as they
seek to change the organisation.

Of course, a champion may be more than just a protector. They
may also be an advocate, willing to speak out in meetings to
promote the views and the ideas of the Ronin. However, while the
servant leader as advocate is a very special kind of champion,
they are even harder to find.

Mentors are also very important. They sit outside the
organisation and are a source of advice, counsel and
encouragement. Because the mentor has no vested interest in the
organisation in which the Ronin is working, they are able to
provide an independent perspective on what is happening, and
what might be done.

A mentor is really a kind of sounding board - and ideally is
someone with experience and wisdom about organisations and the
ways in which they operate.

Are local governments dinosaur organisations about to be run
over by the forces of change? Do they need Ronin? Would you
support and assist the Ronin in your organisation? If you don't,
you may find that the winds of change will blow you, and your
activities, away, for change is clearly in the air!

Peter Sheldrake is the Professor of Business Entrepreneurship at
RMIT. MIM collaborates with RMIT in various management education
and training programmes. For more details, please call MIM
Customer Service at 03-21654611, e-mail to: enquiries@mim.edu or
visit www.mim.edu