The federal government faces an estimated annual structural deficit of $500 billion to $700 billion. A deficit of this magnitude represents a major threat to the economic health of the nation. The structural deficit is defined as the portion of the total annual deficit that results from a fundamental imbalance in receipts and expenditures, notRead… Read more »
The deficit showdown reflects a challenge of modern times: how can government – and society – deal with increased complexity? A new book may point the way. Noted government observer Donald Kettl, wrote several years ago that the government of the future needs to develop three things to deal with increased complexity: knowledge-driven organizations, theRead… Read more »
Check out my new column on OhMyGovThe Importance of Dealing with Problem People
A recent academic symposium on performance-based budgeting suggests that trying to apply this noble idea across government may be hopeless. Decades of research and efforts to implement performance budgeting across federal, state, and local governments in the U.S. seem to consistently come down to the conclusion that no matter how rational it sounds, politicians don’tRead… Read more »
This article was originally published on the Tri Tuns Blog. IN THE NEWS In a recent interview on CNBC Warren Buffett said that he could end the federal deficit in five minutes. “I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that any time there’s a deficit of moreRead… Read more »
It’s time to take the next evolutionary step on the path of leadership-business success. While the step seems obvious, as many have noted common sense is often quite uncommon. More than ever organizations and businesses need to initiate new and varied approaches to connecting and collaborating with their customers and employees, especially by proactively solicitingRead… Read more »
I’ve long admired Gary Locke for his commitment to results-oriented government. He pioneered new approaches in Washington State both as the chief executive of King County and as governor. But I’d never met him until last week at a Partnership for Public Service event where he summed up his tenure as Commerce Secretary, before departingRead… Read more »
Goal setting and running regular, data-driven reviews are tools an agency can use to improve performance. Across the federal government, we need to understand where we are regarding current performance, and be able to regularly ask the right questions to review progress on meeting those goals. It’s less about hitting a specific target and moreRead… Read more »
The Department of Defense is partnering with the Performance Improvement Council to host the upcoming Performance Symposium for all federal government employees. You must be a federal government employee to register. The event will take place on June 27-30, 2011 at the National Conference Center in Lansdowne, VA. Federal employees are invited from every departmentRead… Read more »
Can you think of behaviors or traits that might make you say, “Hey this person would make a great civil servant!” Or conversely, would cause you to say “Hey, this person needs to start their own business, they really might not fit in with the government?” I am giving a speech to the JSSA EmploymentRead… Read more »