Books

Extreme Government Makeover
Increasing Our Capcity to Do More Good
The house of government is broken, and it needs a serious makeover from top to bottom. In his latest book, management expert Ken Miller discusses how the processes of state and local government became so complicated and inefficient – and how to start cleaning up the mess. This book reveals the tips, strategies and hiding-in-plain-sight secrets for making government work better.

We Don't Make Widgets
Overcoming the Myths That Keep Government from Radically Improving
Written for middle- and senior-level managers in state, city and county government, We Don’t Make Widgets: Overcoming the Myths That Keep Government from Radically Improving explodes the myths that prevent dramatic improvement in government operations. If you’re interested in a new way of thinking about what you do, who you do it for and why you do it, this book — part of the Governing Management Series — is for you. Read it and manage with the best!

Measuring Up 2.0
Governing’s New, Improved Guide to Performance Measurement for Geniuses (and Other Public Managers
Now available: a new, updated edition of the book that started it all — in government, anyway. Nearly a decade ago, the first edition of Measuring Up took an irreverent, entertaining approach to introducing public managers to a management tool with staying power: performance measurement. The new edition provides the same clear introduction to linking resources and results, while showing how managers, executives and policymakers at every level of government are putting the techniques to use to improve services across the board.

Good Press, Bad Press, De-Pressed
Governing's Media Survival Guide for Public Officials
The latest book in the Governing Management Series is a roadmap for public officials who want to do a better job of dealing with the media in all its forms, from getting the word out when good things happen to avoiding becoming media roadkill when something bad happens. Author Jonathan Walters is in a unique position to help public officials understand how the press works and how to cope with it: In addition to being a veteran journalist, he is also a public official. And he brings the same irreverent approach to De-Pressed that made his Measuring Up books best-sellers.

Governing States & Localities
The fifty states and the many cities and localities are about as diverse as can be—but why do they differ? And how do political scientists account for those differences? In a unique collaboration, political scientist Kevin Smith has teamed up with Governing magazine journalists Alan Greenblatt and Michele Mariani to provide the answers.

Papers

FutureStructure: A New Framework
FutureStructure is a new framework for thinking through and solving the challenges faced in building economically and socially robust communities. …

The Power of Print Outsourcing
How organizations can optimize their marketing communications through print management outsourcing. …

Papers