One of the most important things we have learned with inflation targeting is that monetary policy works best when it is well understood. The explicit inflation target is the centrepiece of our communications on monetary policy - it helps to anchor inflation expectations, and it makes it easier for us to explain our actions, and for people to judge our performance.
It provides a strong incentive for us to meet the objective and to be accountable. Taken together, these are the characteristics of effective, modern central banking. But I think that one can go further and say that these characteristics are useful principles that apply to the broader realm of public policy making.