Archive
Plus: A state-city disconnect, an entirely unscientific poll about performance measures, and more
In their search for young workers, IT departments are seeking ways to make technology jobs look more like a day at a Play Station.
Plus: Improving 311 systems, the pain of conference calls, and more
Plus: How to fix failed institutions, keeping track of budget cuts, and more
Plus: Our own predictions for the year, government's "big pencil," and more
Plus: The balanced-budget myth, Oregon's progressive Progress Board, and more
Plus: How informing patients can lower Medicaid costs, a great resource for performance reporting, and more
Readers of the B&G Report respond to the idea of using federal stimulus dollars for quality-of-life projects.
Plus: Adaptability and flexibility, California's new stimulus watchdog, and more
A running list of must-reads for public managers, suggested by readers of The B&G Report
Plus: saving on Medicaid, the problem with building consensus, and more
Your hiring process may be what's keeping your agency from achieving change.
What can we learn from the George Foreman grill, Southwest Airlines and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"?
Making a profit doesn't always mean money. It can be a lot more important than that.
Toothpaste and taxes can teach us a lot about simplifying government for citizens.
Motivate your employees by giving them a stake in your success. Just don't try to do it with money.
Employees don't need another new mug with a catchy slogan. They need context.
The crushing effects of backlog, and how the Golden Arches can help you avoid them.
An open letter to President-elect Obama (and all other new government leaders) on the best ways to improve government.
There's a lot that government does right. The private sector ought to take a few notes.
One-half? Where did that number come from? It came from a landmark study in 2002 that reported that in some regions Medicare pays more than twice...
That myth may be the conventional wisdom, but only 10 percent of our medical-care dollars are spent in the last year of life. And, although spending...
In the United States, we know what our medical care costs are, but we haven't a clue what our real health care expenditures are. And...
You hear it all the time: "Our medical care is terrible and we get nothing for all we spend." This is a good example of...
It's not enough to be ethical, writes Bob Stone. You have to teach it.
Impartial judgment is part of the deal for public servants. There's no room for bias. But, writes Bob Stone, many factors conspire to rob us of our chance at true impartiality.
When it comes to ethics, we all know what we should do. So why don't we?
Speaking the truth isn't just a matter of personal integrity; it's crucial for organizational success.
Bosses get special privileges. As a result, writes Bob Stone, they need a simple set of ethics for dealing with these perks.
What I learned from the 1960 flick, writes Bob Stone, is the distinction between law and ethics. Law requires obedience to the enforceable, while ethics requires obedience to the "unenforceable."
There's a calculus for figuring out what a state or locality can do to prime the development pump.
Simply put, procurement practices are desperately in need of solid management and accountability. The good news: Help is on the way.
Techies and their interactive tools may be the way to lure tourists to local fairs and state parks.
The tough choices on emergency response are gradually migrating to Washington.
Governing through a diverse array of third parties can provide important advantages to public managers at all levels. It also poses daunting management and accountability challenges.
As the money flows from Washington, state and local government managers need to be proactive about accountability.
We pay a high price when we depend upon a crisis to catalyze action to solve major problems.
Political leaders have ample incentives to propose new ideas, but do they have equal incentives to revisit and review existing claims and programs?
Leaders at all levels of government should think twice before assuming government can solve a particular problem, writes Paul L. Posner.
State and local leaders are realizing how reliant they are on other sectors to meet public goals and expectations. This column discusses the implications of that reality for public managers.
Why management initiatives need to be saved from their own excessive promises.
In spite of the importance of intergovernmental collaboration, at present an effective, institutional framework does not exist to promote the necessary dialogue and partnerships across governments.
Management reforms often seem to flounder on the shoals of legislative indifference and hostility.
A quick scan at the policy agenda facing federal and state officials shows a number of problems that threaten to balloon in future decades. For each of these problems, policy changes are inevitable -- the question is not whether, but when and how.
Policymakers are more polarized and driven by ideology than ever before, writes Paul L. Posner.
When times are tough, politicians and managers have the cover to make hard choices.
Financial pressures demand transformation but transformative government demands broad authority -- something federal policies make difficult.
Even if the Wall Street bailout works, state and local governments will have fiscal problems for a long time.
It's awfully hard to get legislators or the public excited about an IT program when the words that describe it sound like gibberish.
We haven't heard a lot about botched disaster response this year. There's a reason for that.
Senior officials in state and local government are understandably appointed for their subject-matter expertise, but they should have some basic financial management skills as well.
After an election, it is critical to prime your staff for a transition. Otherwise, anxious public employees will give more sway to rumors.
There's more to moving people around than wings and wheels, speed and price.
The problem with silos is that they cause people to ignore the big picture, and instead, focus insularly.
There are ways to spot an employee with an eye on bringing down the network.
Creating a brand could help public-sector managers improve performance, create a culture of excellence and impel everyone working for the agency to think about their core mission.
As an economic development strategy, agriculture usually looks like a loser.
Economic policies are unlikely to succeed if they are driven by the federal government alone. It is clear that states, regions and local governments have a vital role to play.
We all know there's something wrong with our rules for electing a president. But fixing it has proved impossible.
Most infrastructure is local. That's where stimulus spending can do the most the quickest.
Federal, state, and local officials must make the ecological choices that address current needs and enhance the livability of our communities today without compromising the capacity of future generations to do the same.
The key to retaining government's best people is knowing what makes them tick: They want to make a difference, and they thrive on complex tasks.
Government employees' contributions to their organizations revolve around six key areas of commitment.
Identifying creative approaches is imperative to attract and develop a cadre of skilled, committed, and trained individuals to serve in state and local government.
The federal government's long-range financial projections demand that local and regional governments create innovative ways to address challenges and opportunities.
Robert O'Neill identifies eight insights learned from communities that have, or hope to, build diversified, successful economies.
There are no miracle cures. The key is focusing on the strategic big picture.
Does the latest management trend -- evidence-based management -- complement or confuse our current management practices?
Since 1994, the Center for Performance Measurement, created by ICMA, has helped participating jurisdictions improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their public services through the collection, analysis and application of performance information.
It is time to move away from a "command and control" approach to a disaster-assistance system that relies instead on a network of partnerships.
There is a lot of fanfare when a new program is signed into law. But then, it disappears from sight. Why is that?
State and local governments invest only a fraction of what the private sector does in research and development. To make up for that lack of investment, states and localities need a new approach to research, innovation, and the development of best practices.
In Massachusetts, there is an ongoing disconnect between enjoying the good things in life and paying for them.
The Great Lakes states and provinces sign on to protect their greatest resource -- and need only a rubber stamp from the feds.
Forget about the brightly lit movie complex and pedestrian shopping patterns. The New Economy isn't for everyone.
Governors are scouring the country to "silicon-ize" their economy by attracting e-business. But first, they need to gut and re-format many of their management systems.
Many cities have been switching to the efficiencies of as-needed lighting, thanks to their computer programmers.
It could be a mixed blessing if federal funding for infrastructure goes on the upswing again.
A Supreme Court case on state exemptions of interest income from muni bonds could fire up big changes in the bond market.
There's a lot to learn from the great storm of 2005. We're a little slow putting it to work.
The conventional view that conservatives should favor the federal form and liberals should favor national action is wrong.
Organizational approaches that can be adopted to insulate certain policy choices from the hottest of hot politics.
Some states and localities are taking steps to get constituents to do what they ought to do anyway.
By "time stamping" data, government managers can use that data to operate their programs more effectively and efficiently.
Oversight of stimulus spending is important, but just as critical is sharing knowledge and experiences
Government agencies need to get smarter about how to implement individual and organizational incentives, writes Shelley Metzenbaum.
For states and cities, the trick is to capture the wealth when and where it's created and put it to long-term use locally.
A well-framed goal has tremendous power in driving government accomplishments to new heights. So, asks Shelley Metzenbaum, what makes some goals effective performance drivers and others ineffective?
A study compared how well old-city street layouts handled traffic versus modern approaches. The results set off a firestorm.
War veterans are coming home in worse mental shape than anybody expected.
Resistance to comparison is understandable, but unfortunate and self-defeating. When done well, writes Shelley Metzenbaum, comparison is a powerful tool for improving performance.
Some of the problems with property taxes could be solved on the management end.
Consolidating call centers is proving to be a boon to cities, but the roll-outs are rough.
Government agencies that embrace problems rather than avoid them turn out to be highly effective, writes Shelley Metzenbaum.
The U.S. Supreme Court expresses its fondness for muni bonds and accepts the way things are.
Performance measures needn't be feared. Publicizing the data in the right way can benefit government agencies and the public.
States can fume about the federal identification law -- or they can find ways to cope with it.
They really need to know, writes Jerry Mechling, how to earn a role as a trusted member of the leadership team.
Transition time is the right time to transform the government and economy -- as enabled by information technology.
With electronic infrastructure now so widely available, writes Jerry Mechling, the next step for government is reorganizing, re-allocating and redefining agencies and functions.
When officials act quickly to solve a problem, they may fail to look at the long-term effects -- and those can create new complications.
Public managers know all too well the barriers to sharing services across jurisdictional boundaries. One county in Michigan is knocking them down in ways others may soon need to emulate.
A workshop analyzing where shared services are now found Canada was a leading example of where things may be heading next.
In turbulent times, institutions must respond with increasingly energetic, leadership-driven innovation.
It offers ways for governments to tap the wisdom of crowds.
I'm starting to believe the hyperbole about the revolution being spawned by Charlotte's new light-rail line.
Cleveland is unique in its approach to broadband, its emphasis on entrepreneurial innovation and its focus on the region rather than on the city, the state or the nation, writes Jerry Mechling.
The video a state or locality puts up on YouTube doesn't have to be wacky, but it helps.
Information technology is critical for innovation, but the IT-driven innovation of the future will be much more difficult than anything we've done so far.
To succeed, airports will have to provide travelers with many business services that are accessible without a car.
The states and feds started fighting about banking law in 1789. They're still at it.
As we move deeper into the Information Age, leaders must help us move forward on the risks and returns of innovation.
For many issuers, going to market without insurance is unappetizing. But that may be changing.
The latest political buzzword is transparency. But it may not be the cure-all it's cracked up to be.
The nation's roads and bridges urgently need attention. The question is who can best provide it.
Of all the skills and traits we expect of our leaders, none of them is more important than the ability to learn from one's mistakes.
What's up with groups that argue for less government but see publicly built highways as an expression of the free market?
Commuters are infringing on resort communities, making it hard to keep cheap housing around for local workers.
It's up to an organization's leaders to create a culture that fosters collaboration, writes Russ Linden.
When public employees ask the question "what is in it for me," they are evaluating what the change requires from them. Russ Linden provides insights in to how to manage the process of change.
Forget about ideology, the great majority of voters just want a more effective government.
Dealing poorly (or not at all) with the human element is usually where change initiatives go south.
What worked in the business world, writes Russ Linden, doesn't always work in the public sector.
Good relationships mean that others are more likely to give you the benefit of the doubt when you're in trouble.
As one emergency management veteran puts it, "you don't want to start forming relationships when you're standing in the rubble."
Millennials may be problematic, but consider their potential for radically improving government.
Managers and leaders have to take themselves out of the fray to understand what's really going on.
Lincoln, who lead a team of fierce rivals during our country's biggest crisis, has a lot to teach us.
With a little planning and a lot of commitment, writes Russ Linden, a crisis can produce significant changes in the status quo.
To prepare for the future, states need to shape the future to their advantage.
Most Americans continue to deny the possibility that anything bad will happen in their communities, but state and local governments need to prepare for future catastrophes.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency should never have been folded into the Department of Homeland Security.
If we don't heed the lessons of history we may find that what little remains of the federal budget will be eaten up by a new entitlement program -- emergency management and response.
Health care is literally eating our families out of house and home -- and our governments out of education, transportation and human services. Four key problems, writes Peter Hutchinson, make transformation necessary.
Civil servants feel that their advice is not heeded, while politicians feel that the permanent government undermines them with poor performance. They are all right and they are all wrong.
Foundations and corporations can be terrific partners for governments, but there are limits. For one thing, writes Feather O'Connor Houstoun, they can't fill budget gaps.
Organizational change is tough for those on the receiving end. But grieving is essential to change.
The rush to spend stimulus money as quickly as possible is fraught with management risks.
It's become clear that a fast Internet connection does not necessarily equal fast access to opportunity.
We are in a recession, and according to Peter Hutchinson, public managers have three choices: ignorance, illusion or innovation.
