KEY CONCLUSIONS
The Far East is a promising talent pool
“We want to launch the country’s best management training programme. I believe the Far East suits this purpose ideally. This is the world’s best place to give people leadership qualities, such as the ability to overcome obstacles and – most importantly – to embrace their strength and achieve results,” Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
“Yakutia is among the very few places – if not the only one – where one can implement a global-level project that would be remembered for years. Just imagine in a year from now, our country will launch the world biggest coke mining operation. Russia will launch this kind of project for the first time in its history. We will complete the Lena bridge, which will be around for centuries. Yakutia is a challenging place because of its territory and climate. If you want to test your strength, come to Yakutia and work there a little. If you survive Yakutia, you will find something that suits you anywhere,” Aysen Nikolaev, Head of Sakha Republic (Yakutia).
“A versatile employment and training record is a valuable experience, much like being able to work and study in different places, in different cities. I joined the Far East development team after at one of the meetings I said that I had a dream of establishing the country’s best public administration school. I believe such a school can be created in the Far East,” Vladimir Solodov, Governor of Kamchatka Territory.
Muravyov-Amursky 2030 Programme is set to train the country’s best talents
“We now find ourselves at the university that is the best in the Far East and among the best in the country. Opening training programmes at the university is a good tradition. <…> I am confident that the Muravyov-Amursky Programme organizers will do their best to make this programme the top one in the country,” Alexey Koshel, Acting Rector, Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU).
“Achieving the result takes three elements. First of all, it is the foundation – the knowledge one gets through training. Most importantly, it is the spirit – nothing is going to work without the spirit, without the opportunity to embrace your inner strength. This is why the Muravyov-Amursky Programme will target balancing out and developing these two qualities in its attendees within two years,” Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
PROBLEM
“I sometimes speak with governors. They say: ‘I keep thinking of the ways to make people stay instead of leaving for a neighbouring city, or region, or Moscow, or even further’. I think it is a dead end of sorts. The question is different: how do make them come to you? How do make them want to come back after studying in Moscow, New York, or Sweden?” Andrey Sharonov, President, Moscow School of Management SKOLKOVO.
“This programme should train people capable of working in challenging regions and extreme conditions. The biggest danger here is that as soon as our alumni start working in the Far East, they will immediately get stolen. This is the greatest danger there is. They will just take the person and send him to a ministry in Moscow. What are we supposed to do then?” Aysen Nikolaev, Head of Sakha Republic (Yakutia).
Lack of motivated achievers
“We definitely need a management training team. Yet, what we need the most is training specialists for municipalities. The training level at the municipal level is significantly lower. People communicating with locals on a daily basis are incapable of things. We will never get any results this way. If you have a pot hole that needs to be dealt with, but it will be done some time later. If that is the only response you are getting, nothing good will happen here,” Sergey Dmitrienko, First Deputy Head of Vladivostok Administration.
“I believe the biggest challenge this programme is facing is finding the people who want to be in public administration. It is the people motivated to change the world and achieve greater results. If they do not have this motivation, they are not the people we need. If they do not have this motivation, they will not succeed in today’s objectives,” Vladimir Solodov, Governor of Kamchatka Territory.
“Over the last 15 years, I have selected and employed quite a few people. You do not choose those with highest grades. You choose those who are likely to achieve the result your organization is looking for. You need a high-quality comprehensive education to understand what this result is,” Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
SOLUTIONS
Attracting motivated and ambitious participants
“Almost everybody was worried: if we get the most active people, they will get stolen by Moscow and they will become individualistic leaders. They will never be team players. We will teach them, because we will select the smartest ones. Would a smart person leave the Far East now? Is there another place where you can build a billion-worth company from scratch? Is there another place offering USD 10 billion for a tidal power plant or a new hydrogen generation cluster? This is a place for a prompt career, where you can become a governor at the age of 38 or a vice governor at the age of 30. You can launch your own business only here. We will find smart people who will not leave,” Alexey Chekunkov, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic.
“Coaching is an important element of the programme we plan to implement. We have studied a number of regional programmes with coaches and their trainees. They meet once every three months. It is important, but the Muravyov-Amursky Programme is different from other approaches: our coaches will be around their trainees for a fairly long time. Basically, most programme participants will be armour-bearers or aides to the people we all would like to learn something from,” Igor Nosov, Acting General Director, Far East and Arctic Development Corporation.
Focusing on strong management teams
“It is important to train teams instead of individuals. We need to our people to acquire the qualities that will eventually build successful teams. These teams will need to make the Far East successful. First of all, it is the ability to change and the ability to change the environment. Secondly, it is strategic thinking and goal setting. The third one is the ability to make decisions and own the responsibility. This is a rare quality,” Vladimir Solodov, Governor of Kamchatka Territory.
“Over the last 40+ years, a team has been a very specific concept for me. I believe you need to select the smartest and the most talented ones and build a team. It is never easy, because the smart and talented are usually not easily managed. If you want to manage such people, your only choice is finding common values. If you share values, you will be able to overcome tiny disagreements for the sake of a common goal,” Victor Sidnev, President, Union for Russian Science Cities.
“I have always thought that the Far East can be developed only by teams due to its enormous territory. Now we have a team that gets things done in the Far East. Many ask what is it that makes Yakutia work so well? You have forest fires, yet you show an economic growth and an industrial growth of 25% year-over-year. People stopped leaving, it is the opposite now – people started coming to us. It was achieved by a building a team that is working now,” Aysen Nikolaev, Head of Sakha Republic (Yakutia).
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