The late management guru Peter Drucker wrote of meetings, “Meetings are by definition a concession to deficient organization. For one either meets or one works. One cannot do both at the same time.” Yet, we are wired to want a meeting whenever it is possible to have one. Perhaps it is because we want toRead… Read more »
What is your sense of the culture of your organization? Is it mission-focused, optimistic about succeeding and engaged in tackling difficult issues with an anxiousness to solve them? Or has it become a territorial, negative, bureaucratic enterprise where every opportunity is met with “we could never do that” excuses that roll off the tongues ofRead… Read more »
Learning or experiencing leadership can be daunting. Every day a myriad of new theories and articles appear on what leadership skills a manager should exhibit, or what key phases or words a leader should use to motivate a team, or how better understanding strategies of a long-dead samurai warriors can help make you an exceptionalRead… Read more »
Tomorrow, we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is an amazing document written by bright and determined individuals who wanted to throw off the yoke of servitude from the British crown. It, of course, was signed on July 4, 1776. But five months later, it looked as if the American Revolution wasRead… Read more »
Some state governments are not making it easy for their elected officials or their citizens to see where money is being spent and what results are being achieved. Consider this latest example. The actual name of the state has been omitted, as it would be a terrible embarrassment to its statewide elected leaders, its legislature,Read… Read more »
The Center for Public Integrity’s state corruption index has hit the news again this past week, giving most states terrible grades on transparency and accountability and suggesting that our states governments are corrupt. The study, completed in 2011, was put together by journalists in state capitals choosing 330 questions and was peer reviewed by manyRead… Read more »
How do we know if states (or my state) are acting efficiently with tax dollars and if programs or initiatives are working? Surprising, we know little from the states themselves. “Of course, our programs are working,” say the elected politicians! “Our programs are more effective than ever!” say the myriad of special interest groups clamoringRead… Read more »
As state governments move toward total financial transparency, there is at least one place to look for information on how the states are doing in providing constituents with data on where money is being spent and what results are being achieved with the investment. Earlier blog posts have elaborated on the current ‘shortcomings’ of stateRead… Read more »
We know that government is slow to adopt new technologies and change. But the technologies now exist to provide you as a constituent or as a state leader with the ability to see where state dollars are being spent and what results are being achieved virtually in real-time. It is now only a question ofRead… Read more »
Most states have decided to list their expenses so their citizens can see where tax dollars are being spent. Listing the thousand, or millions, of individual transactions is good in theory, but these endless lists of expenditures fall dramatically short in providing the kind of transparency people yearn for as government continues to expand. GoodRead… Read more »