What if DOGE was less “Musky”?

Mar 20

Everyone wants government to be more efficient, but there is a right way to go about it.

We used to call it “reengineering”. Many corporations went through reengineering exercises in the nineties, often with help from consultants (I was one of them) to guide the improvements. We learned a lot about what to do and not to do.

A driving goal was to save money. But as we know from God’s Business School chasing the money only is misguided. Rather, do Good. Money follows.

Don’t exclude the people currently running the operation. Doing so only creates mistrust, dissension, and lack of cooperation.

The “consultant”, which is what DOGE really is, cannot make the decisions. Consultants recommend. Whoever runs the operation, the CEO or Board (and in the case of DOGE the Department Secretaries) are responsible for deciding. The Department Secretaries are left with running the operation and delivering better business results.

The Cabinet Secretaries are also responsible for getting buy-in from their boss, the President and in many cases Congress.

The “Chopping Block” (or chainsaw approach) doesn’t work. Actually, it is counter-productive.

Successful businesses, and government is similar, requires getting the right people and motivating them, having the right technology, and measuring results to foster continuous improvements.

The President’s and Congress’ roles include clearly defining their objectives. God knows, it is not just about money! Let’s take some examples:

USAID - Is it beneficial to reduce disease in Africa? Is disease mitigation overseas beneficial to the U.S.? How should we measure the tradeoffs, and is it practical to share costs more with other nations?

Veterans Administration - Are our veterans getting good medical care? How could we make it better and more accessible? What is the role of Veterans Hospitals in conjunction with private medical facilities?

Social Security - What kinds of benefits do we want to provide to seniors and to disadvantaged younger people? How do “customers” feel about the delivery of these benefits today? How could these benefits be delivered in a more user friendly manner, and how could the processes be simplified?

NIH - What is the most advantageous role for government to promote and facilitate good medical research? What do we do well today, and what could we improve?

Process Improvement takes time, effort, and coordination. Done well it significantly improves the “business”. God knows, we want our government to be the best it can be.

Process improvement never ends; it is a continual exercise.

Thanks for reading. What do you think? We welcome your comments.

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