A lot of folk in local government are chewing over the problem of when to transform during LGR, and when to play things safe.

My personal take is this: keep the strategy and the vision transformational, but be more cautious in delivery.

The biggest danger is that a ‘safe and legal’ focus means that the opportunity created by having brand new organisations to play with is missed.

However trying to transform services at a time when everything is changing can be a recipe for chaos.

My advice is to be as radical as possible when talking about the opportunities, when setting strategies and outlining the vision. When talking long term, be as creative and transformational as you can.

But at those times when you are deep in the weeds of splitting systems and services up, or renegotiating a load of contracts, or implementing four new systems at once, tread carefully.