Talking Heads: Getting involved adds up for statistician

Len Cook

Age: 49

Organisation: Statistics New Zealand

Position: Government Statistician

What makes your day?

I guess having a day where I get involved in a good mix of the things that make up my job.

That includes long-term things, representing the organisation to the public in some way, encouraging people in the organisation and solving the odd hard problem - that's a good day.

Why are you valuable to your organisation?

I suppose I'm quick off the mark, which isn't always an asset, I put a fair amount of energy into most things and I think I bring a long-term sense of purpose to what we do.

Right now, because I'm coming towards the end of my contract, I'm concentrating on building up a strong management team.

What is your management style?

I guess I like to be seen around, so I'm fairly visible and do quite a number of things that make that happen. I like to be involved at the early stages of big projects.

I'm a little blunt in some people's eyes. When I'm frustrated with progress I sometimes get on with things myself, though I like to do that less often than I used to.

What is the work tool you can't do without?

Lotus Notes. We use it across the organisation and it gives me access to pretty well all the papers and processes that I need.

What was your biggest career break and why?

I suppose becoming Assistant Government Statistician when I was 32, which made me responsible for about a quarter of the staff in the organisation and their work. It was a pretty big adjustment for someone who'd been a researcher up to then; it was the first time I'd really had to work with other people.

Who was your most important mentor and why?

I suppose out of nine or 10 people who have been really important, the previous Government Statistician, Steve Kuzmicich, who was quite a critical thinker and managed to be an innovator in what was, traditionally, quite a risk-averse organisation.

What is the biggest challenge for your organisation and for the New Zealand economy?

A couple of things. One is getting data out through the Web and speeding up the timeliness of statistics and being able to produce a quite different set of statistics for the emerging information society.

Also, getting better quality information that will lift the quality of public policy analysis so we get better quality government.

What do you do when you are not working?

I spend a bit of time fly fishing, I travel. I'm a budget adviser for the Citizens Advice Bureau and I've got a crib at Purakanui, south of Dunedin.

What skills do you wish you had?

I'd like to speak more languages - I speak French and I'm learning Maori now.

I'd like to learn a musical instrument and even to be a bit more artistic - they'd be the sort of skills I'd really like to have.

* Len Cook spoke to Mark Fryer.