Getting Started
“Just get started!”
This was a call to action two colleagues and I shared at the end of a webinar last fall. Our topic revolved around the integration of priority setting and budgeting more strategically for impact in local governments. It’s not a simple topic but one we worked hard to fit into a tight 54 minute run of show.
We covered broad principles but weren’t really able to give any specific direction to individual agencies, as a one-size fits all approach so rarely works in this arena. (One of my favorite quotes from former colleague is, “if you’ve seen one local government… you’ve seen one local government.”)
Because the three of us had decades of combined experience in government, we knew that all too often public managers will forego initiating the good for fear the perfect is all that will be accepted. We wanted to give a strong note of encouragement. So that’s where we landed:
”Just get started.”
And that’s where I find myself three months later. Getting started.
As I’ve worked in government agencies for 15 years and advised them on technology over the last two, I have witnessed a growing need for a seasoned partner for government executives. Someone who can help pull back out of the day-to-day and see the forest through the trees.
Sure there are the old public management & administration playbooks of the 20th century that folks can turn to. But those playbooks were written for a different era, with different challenges, which obviously called for different solutions than we need today.
I started GovStrategist because I believe we’re at an important moment in time. The need for public services is arguably greater than ever, while trust in all institutions and government in particular is at an all-time low. Our way forward cannot be a rehashing of the past. Indeed, it must focus on identifying our goals for the future and charting a path to get there.
I’m excited to be doing this work, in this time. And I’m excited to get started.
If this post resonates with you, reach out! I’d love to see if there’s an opportunity for us to partner on creating your community’s future, not just solving the problems of the past.