Includes bibliographical references and index.

From his appointment at the Irish Management Institute as Information Officer and Editor of "Management", through his swift promotion to Director General, to his work with companies and boards as a Senior Research Fellow at University College Dublin, "Last Word" tells the story of a changing Ireland. Interweaved with the story is a deeper, more radical (used in its correct sense of getting to the root of things), message - of the need for clear thinking, for strategy, for action, and for accountability. "Last Word" is a call to arms - for managers and for government, which, Kenny argues, needs to adopt a more business-like approach. My years working with senior managers have convinced me that the way businessmen think and act is more relevant than the way most - but not all - of the politicians, civil servants, academics and commentators who have concerned themselves with Ireland's problems thus far. I have no romantic notions about the wisdom of businessmen. Nor am I suggesting that we replace politics with management science. I simply look around for people who are not frightened of change. The private enterprise firm is the best way we know to innovate and to create wealth. The State is becoming increasingly incompetent. Many people are near the limits of their patience with government's costly disabilities. They cannot fathom its objectives, take its word, depend on its effectiveness or see where it is taking them. If we gave to the implementation of change as much energy as we gave to our reports, if, more important, we changed radically the way those reports and recommendations were arrived at - and that means also change in our governing system and in the knowledge, skills and attitudes of the people who make up those systems - then we might stand a chance of reversing trends. There is the possibility that the right use of planning and of process in parallel could lengthen woefully short political policy perspectives, and could guide political managers to systematic choices instead of the lunges that have passed for problem-solving. For this cogent analysis, Kenny was described as "the most dangerous man in Ireland" and roasted on a Late Show dedicated to the theme. Will history repeat itself?