“The execution of the ACA was seriously flawed. Three factors contributed to the rocky rollout: the nature of lawmaking, poor personnel decisions, and poisonous politics,” notes Dr. Zeke Emanuel. The American healthcare system is complex. It was not created complex and expensive from its origins, but evolved to become this way over a period ofRead… Read more »
You’ve got ideas! You want to change your office/unit/department for the better and know how to do it! You’ve worked it all out! But no one is listening. Or if they listened, things remain at the status-quo. Or if they want do implement change, it’s happening with the efficiency of the Pony Express. Has thisRead… Read more »
After the US Men’s National Soccer Team lost in the World Cup, all the commentators lamented the state of US soccer. How are we going to develop great American soccer players when the best athletes are still choosing football and basketball? Listening to this discussion, I found a parallel between attracting great young athletes toRead… Read more »
Tomorrow, we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It is an amazing document written by bright and determined individuals who wanted to throw off the yoke of servitude from the British crown. It, of course, was signed on July 4, 1776. But five months later, it looked as if the American Revolution wasRead… Read more »
Mapmaking has helped government agencies tell better stories In the late 1800s, Charles Joseph Minard created a map charting the losses suffered by Napoleon’s army in their attempted conquest of Russia in 1812. Edward Tufte, world-renowned expert in data visualization, refers to Minard’s visualization as “one of the greatest ever.” Minard’s chart is a greatRead… Read more »
On July 4th, Americans celebrate our country’s adoption of the Declaration of Independence, which expressed the ideals of political and individual freedom upon which our country and government were founded. We at GAO uphold these ideals as we work to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to maximize the federal government’s benefitsRead… Read more »
Leadership is a talent that people either learn and develop over time or an attribute they are born with and carry through all facets of their life. If you take a moment to review the past few years, you may recall the words of a leader who instilled confidence, mentored or coached you to beRead… Read more »
A few days ago, we highlighted King County’s governmental offices’ transition to cloud computing. We threw around a bit of tech jargon as well – virtualization, software as a service, and legacy systems. However, for King County, the technology simply served as an enabler for the changes currently taking shape. The real transformation took placeRead… Read more »
“Today the Administration is releasing detailed action plans for the fifteen CAP goals,” announced Office of Management and Budget deputy director for management, Beth Cobert, in a blog post in late June. These four-year goals were first announced with the release of the FY 2015 budget back in March. Cobert’s announcement accompanies the first roundRead… Read more »
In case you missed it, today marks the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act (CRA). President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the landmark law on July 2, 1964 (pictured above). The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces Title VII of the CRA, which prohibits employment discrimination in the public and private sectors (in additionRead… Read more »