What to do with the 'Flo's' of Child Protection
If the work made passionate people act like Flo on the TV series "Alice," then the work can bring them back.
Bill Bott is a GOVERNING contributor, and blogs for GOVERNING Public Great. Best known for his work consolidating the IT functions and staff in Missouri, he was recognized as a GOVERNING Public Official of the Year in 2007, and one of Government Technology's 2008 Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers.
If the work made passionate people act like Flo on the TV series "Alice," then the work can bring them back.
Agencies' tendency to add more rules (and thus work) every time something bad happens prevents child protection workers from doing everything they can to keep kids safe.
Above all else, citizens want results. When they don't get them, they morph into selfish people.
The leader of Colorado’s prison system, who was killed last week, was a hero to communities that probably never knew his name.
IT isn’t the solution to all our problems, and it shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to see that NASA should postpone liftoff for its new procurement system.
There are many, but tracking software -- which various government agencies make use of every day -- is one of the biggest.
Reality TV reveals the problems with government services, but how do we fix them?
But black belts, "Lean" t-shirts and TQM posters are forever. Well, not really.
The Games may be over, but public workers must still find the drive to go for the gold.
The false hopes of unnecessary solutions can drown out meaningful conversation about how to fix government processes.
Good management is a four-quarter commitment, not a last-ditch effort.
Recent abuses in the GSA, the Secret Service and the ICE are reprehensible. But they're no reason to overhaul government policies.
Stop thinking about the work involved in a given task, and start thinking about everything else.
States and localities keep trying on the same pair of pants and expecting them to fit differently.
Part 2 of the tale of the overworked social worker.
Resolutions were meant to be broken. Here are two that government needs to break this year.
Annual employee appraisals are at best a waste of time -- and they could actually be keeping your agency from improving.
Clearly, the worst part about the public sector is its employees.
A reader asks about the importance of diving into Facebook and Twitter.
In government, the customer may not always be right, but they're still always the customer.
In the public sector, great customer service is nice. But there's something else that matters more.
We've made it so difficult to access certain government services that we've ended up spawning entirely unnecessary industries.
New government leaders will learn reorganizations have little to do with the work of their agencies.
What this year's most popular commercials can teach us about government management.
Getting ready to take office is a lot like putting together a football team.
Is there true cost savings in consolidation? Ken and Bill debate the merits and demerits of such proposals and actions.
We can learn a lot about process improvement from poker. Well, from a poker movie, anyway.
In the public sector, there's one phrase that's downright bone-chilling.
The roots of the problems with government processes go all the way back to Adam Smith.
In their travels, Bill Bott and Ken Miller have learned a simple truth: all government buildings are basically the same, right down to the motivational poster.
The closure of the Defense Department's Business Transformation Agency is unfortunate, but too often these things fall into a pattern as predictable as the end of "Titanic."
This month, the Public Great blog looks at why government processes are like a series of pipes, and why they're so clogged up.
It's the Fourth of July. Let's blow something up.
Technology didn't create the flawed processes and overly complicated systems that make government inefficient. So why do so many people think tech upgrades will fix those problems?
If you’re counting on technology to swoop in and save the day, you may be wasting a lot of hope, and a lot of money.
A personal take on the merits of IT consolidation in government.
Here is the essential digest of articles that reflect my view of the world -- or at least that part of it that relates to government, technology and management. If Public Great is a buffet of new ideas, here is a sampler plate: