What if there is an overarching malaise of dysfunction, inefficiency and apathy towards ambition to build a better nation? 1950’s USA was very different than today.
I've worked with some brilliant government orgs (NIST) but more often than not, many have the problem of top-down management and bureaucratic class that has no checks and balances, that is impossible to get rid of, and perpetuate dysfunction, overbilling, etc. No one questions them, media is busy with other things, and we always talk about funding the gov, but never asking "Can we do more with the same amount?". At least, private enterprises have skin in the game and they'd be toast if their products and services does not perform or is overbudget. Similar to government agencies, as private enterprises get larger (GE, Lockheed, IBM, P&G, Mitsubishi), they have exact same problems as governments.
The solution is to completely start over. We did that in 1950's when many new agencies were formed. They were vibrant and well functioning. Without a garbage-collector process so-to-speak, government agencies tend to become dysfunctional.
I love Eli Dourado's blog, particularly these two articles:
Re-orgs are often partially a garbage collection process, I have noticed. Lots of talk about "efficiency" and "better alignment". All fluff you expect, but in practical terms, a lot of people get let go, projects and org units disappear, and priorities are reorganized. The whole operation is expected to work as if the re-org never happened, and often it will.
I've worked with some brilliant government orgs (NIST) but more often than not, many have the problem of top-down management and bureaucratic class that has no checks and balances, that is impossible to get rid of, and perpetuate dysfunction, overbilling, etc. No one questions them, media is busy with other things, and we always talk about funding the gov, but never asking "Can we do more with the same amount?". At least, private enterprises have skin in the game and they'd be toast if their products and services does not perform or is overbudget. Similar to government agencies, as private enterprises get larger (GE, Lockheed, IBM, P&G, Mitsubishi), they have exact same problems as governments.
The solution is to completely start over. We did that in 1950's when many new agencies were formed. They were vibrant and well functioning. Without a garbage-collector process so-to-speak, government agencies tend to become dysfunctional.
I love Eli Dourado's blog, particularly these two articles:
How to move needle on progress: https://elidourado.com/blog/move-the-needle-on-progress/
Notes on technology in the 2020s: https://elidourado.com/blog/notes-on-technology-2020s/