GORDON LIGHTFOOT | Culture
OUTSTANDING SERVICE
A Wellington-based MBIE staffer has reportedly received a “Values Shout Out” for the Ministry value of Mahi Tahi this week, after doing exactly what he said he would do in an email.
Thirty-six-year-old Business Analyst Craig Parsons was nominated by a colleague for “living the MBIE values” after looking up some numbers for someone, and then emailing them the very next day, just as he said he would.
“I told her I’d get back to her with those figures, and, you know, I did,” said a humble Craig. “I’m not sure if it’s worth writing home about,” said the man who was clearly new to the public service.
Sources at MBIE confirmed the extraordinary feat was achieved without any of the usual bottlenecks. There were no working groups, no three-week wait for cross-departmental sign-off, and not a single Teams call to “align on next steps.”
“It’s a real inspiration for the rest of us,” said one colleague. “We didn’t even know it was possible to get something done in one email thread. It’s been a real talking point.”
Craig’s manager said he was a model example of what can happen when someone cuts through the layers of MBIE bureaucracy and really just “does the mahi”.
“Craig embodies our values every day. But this week, he’s shown what true Mahi Tahi looks like — collaboration, delivery, and completing a task without having to involve layers of management.”
As part of his recognition, Craig received a PDF certificate via email, and will go in the monthly group draw to win two movie vouchers.
When asked what he planned to do next, Craig said he would “probably just keep coming to work” before he was interrupted by an email with another straightforward request.
Meanwhile, onlookers say it is only a matter of time before Craig comes undone for failing to follow some kind of process he didn’t know about.
More to come.
