Yearly Archives: 2013

What Traffic Lights Say About the Future of Regulation

I have a piece up on TechPresident about some crazy regulations that took place in Florida that put citizens at greater risk all so the state and local governments can make more money. Here’s a chunk: In effect, what the state of Florida is saying is that a $20 million increase in revenue is worthRead… Read more »

A New Approach to Cybersecurity Across Agencies – the Administration’s Progress Report

This article was originally posted by Dan Chenok on the IBM Center for the Business of Government blog. Last week, the Obama Administration released its latest set of reports on government performance toward achieving many high-priority goals, within and across agencies. As the Center has written previously, public presentation on this topic focuses on outcomesRead… Read more »

Benefits of Failure

Before you can have a breakthrough, you often need a breakdown. Failure acknowledges an ending, which is also an opportunity to start something new. The prospect of failure concentrates the mind, inspires creativity, focus, fear. Outwitting failure builds confidence, relationships, esprit de corps. Failure can cause you to examine your reality more closely. I oftenRead… Read more »

The Changing Role of the CIO – It’s not just a bureaucratic blackhole

10 years ago the role of the Chief Information Officer was radically different than it is today. Consider this, in 2013 the federal government will spend more than $80 billion on IT. And in the last 8 years they’ve spent more than $500 billion. The CIO must now oversee the most complex business organization onRead… Read more »

The Rapid Rise of Spanish Speakers in America: What Does It Mean for Government?

Is it time to swap “De Muchos, Uno” for “E Pluribus Unum”? It’s not every day that a gringo from Virginia steps to the Senate floor to give a speech in Spanish, but that’s just what happened yesterday when Senator Tim Kaine delivered his remarks on immigration reform. In addition to that small, but importantRead… Read more »

Who Is Better At Making Government Decisions: Bureaucrats or Elected Officials?

Carl Friedrich and Herman Finer debate the most effective way to ensure accountability of public officials In the Public Administration world, this question is almost always referred to as the Friedrich-Finer debate. In the beginning of the 1940s, Carl Friedrich and Herman Finer debate the most effective way to ensure accountability of public officials. ThisRead… Read more »