Why can't we be more like the private sector? An overused but valuable question.
I've spent nearly 10 years working with public sector organizations and one question comes up over and over again particularly at the more senior levels of government:
How can we be more _________ (fill in the blank with agile, results-oriented, customer-driven, efficient, or any other adjective out of the MBA vocabulary) like the private sector?
The reason this question makes a lot of sense to anyone coming out of the private sector was best explained by former Secretary of Treasury, Robert Rubin who arrived at the Treasury directly from his leadership role at Goldman Sachs:
"Most people I've known in the private sector are just much too accustomed to linear processes where they're clear decision makers and they make a decision and things more or less then happen. In government, the decisions you make very often are much less direct in their effect." - Robert Rubin
Source: Leadership in Government: An Interview with Robert E. Rubin from the McKinsey Quarterly, July 2007
Understanding the difference between public and private sector decision making is fundamental to allowing the tension between public sector best practice and private sector best practice to drive good public sector decisions.
For example, my focus at GovDelivery is on working with our city, county, state, and federal government clients to help adapt best practice communication practices from the private sector into the public sector environment. In the private sector, communication has a linear and measurable objective which is typically summarized by two words: Get sales.
We have seen more than 20 innovative companies gain prominence in the private sector by offering different kinds of electronic communication products/platforms. Where these products excel is in allowing marketers to target distinct groups of customers and potential customers based on demographics, buying behavior, and previous online actions. In the public sector, this kind of targeting is too time consuming and presents real concerns about discrimination and privacy. However, by helping our clients understand the benefits of a personalized message, we've worked with them to devise ways to offer the public much more choice in what they receive.
This doesn't lead to more sales (because our clients generally don't sell anything), but it leads to outstanding and measurable results in other areas such as dramatically more citizens signing up for content updates (what we refer to as "more subscribers") due to higher level of personalization.
There are many more examples of this phenomenon. What I enjoy about working in the public sector is that there are so many constituencies and considerations that the work we do is complex and often non-linear. We have to be creative in how we learn from our colleagues operating in the private sector and adapt what they do well (drive towards clear goals) to our more complex environment.
If you work in government now and this is frustrating to you, you might be one of the people Secretary Rubin was referring to who would be better off in the private sector. Don't worry though, if you make that leap, we'll be watching what you do and adapting it, as best we can, where we think it can help do the public good.
How can we be more _________ (fill in the blank with agile, results-oriented, customer-driven, efficient, or any other adjective out of the MBA vocabulary) like the private sector?
The reason this question makes a lot of sense to anyone coming out of the private sector was best explained by former Secretary of Treasury, Robert Rubin who arrived at the Treasury directly from his leadership role at Goldman Sachs:
"Most people I've known in the private sector are just much too accustomed to linear processes where they're clear decision makers and they make a decision and things more or less then happen. In government, the decisions you make very often are much less direct in their effect." - Robert Rubin
Source: Leadership in Government: An Interview with Robert E. Rubin from the McKinsey Quarterly, July 2007
Understanding the difference between public and private sector decision making is fundamental to allowing the tension between public sector best practice and private sector best practice to drive good public sector decisions.
For example, my focus at GovDelivery is on working with our city, county, state, and federal government clients to help adapt best practice communication practices from the private sector into the public sector environment. In the private sector, communication has a linear and measurable objective which is typically summarized by two words: Get sales.
We have seen more than 20 innovative companies gain prominence in the private sector by offering different kinds of electronic communication products/platforms. Where these products excel is in allowing marketers to target distinct groups of customers and potential customers based on demographics, buying behavior, and previous online actions. In the public sector, this kind of targeting is too time consuming and presents real concerns about discrimination and privacy. However, by helping our clients understand the benefits of a personalized message, we've worked with them to devise ways to offer the public much more choice in what they receive.
This doesn't lead to more sales (because our clients generally don't sell anything), but it leads to outstanding and measurable results in other areas such as dramatically more citizens signing up for content updates (what we refer to as "more subscribers") due to higher level of personalization.
There are many more examples of this phenomenon. What I enjoy about working in the public sector is that there are so many constituencies and considerations that the work we do is complex and often non-linear. We have to be creative in how we learn from our colleagues operating in the private sector and adapt what they do well (drive towards clear goals) to our more complex environment.
If you work in government now and this is frustrating to you, you might be one of the people Secretary Rubin was referring to who would be better off in the private sector. Don't worry though, if you make that leap, we'll be watching what you do and adapting it, as best we can, where we think it can help do the public good.
This linked story:
http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_9040078
is about the business community and the government in our home city of St. Paul using a facilitator and group meeting setting to hear input about the city's problems and opportunities.
The woman running this effort, Susan Kimberly, brings a unique combination of public and private sector experience to the table, and it's been interesting to see how her approach combines an open process that seeks to hear stakeholders and gather input with a true results-oriented mentality. This is definitely someone Robert Rubin would say knows how to function in both sectors.
Posted by: Scott Burns | May 01, 2008 at 12:37 AM