I was re-reading a really good book this week. A quote stuck out:

In most governmental services, there is no market to capture. In place of capture of the market, a governmental agency should deliver economically the service prescribed by law or regulation. The aim should be distinction in service. Continual improvement in government service would earn appreciation of the American public and would hold jobs in the service, and help industry to create more jobs.

–W. Edwards Deming: Out of the Crisis, 1982, MIT Press.

This seems especially relevant this week as we had the first meeting of the DOGE Subcommittee of the US House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. This is not to be confused with President Trump’s DOGE, headed by Elon Musk. There has been a lot of ink on the nature and relationship between these two DOGEs – enough to perplex and confuse most of the American public. I’m not here to lend an opinion about the relationship or constitutionality of the two organizations. I want to focus on higher questions in light of the above quote. But it seems that we may be losing sight of the bigger picture – that one of the purposes of DOGE is to improve our government by making it more fiscally efficient.

No Market to Capture

“No market to capture” means no competition. No competition results in an organizational culture of complacency and mediocrity operating with increasing inefficiency and producing less valuable programs and services unless/until someone/something holds them to account. It’s clear that an organization with no competition is an abnormal condition in a capitalist society. This is the crux of the Marxist argument – that competition should be replaced with socialism and eventually communism. But the end result is centralized control of the means of production, and we have seen what kind of society that leads to.

Deming makes a key observation. He asserts that since it has a captured market, government has an exceptional duty to deliver economically efficient services in the absence of market forces. Is our government delivering on this promise?

Distinction in Service

Distinction in service would seem to indicate that the efficiency and effectiveness of government programs should be exemplary. The way to achieve exemplary services in any sector is to engage in a culture of continual improvement. Since our government services don’t appear to be exemplary in many cases, is this an indication of a lack of focus on continual improvement? How do we change that?

The first two steps of the ITIL Continual Improvement process are 1) What is the vision? and 2) Where are we now? The vision (or strategy, if you will) comes from our executive branch, i.e., the president. This is the way our government is structured, whether we like it or not. Where are we now? I would point out that the debt-to-GDP ratio of the U.S. over the last 45 years has increase four-fold. In 1980, the ratio was 31%. Today, the ratio is 120%. We can argue about whether or not this fiscal path is sustainable, but that’s not my point. It would seem obvious to anyone that our current state is not efficient and arguably not effective. It is definitely not exemplary. How do we change this?

Continual Improvement

Deming points out HOW this is done – by focusing on continual improvement. As an ITSM practitioner and educator, I frequently think about continual improvement and how it affects value. Having worked in the government sector, I have seen how a lack of competition can lead to complacency and mediocrity. But I’ve also seen the results of having the RIGHT people in charge. My observation is that the biggest difference between the right people and the wrong people is a focus on developing a culture of continual improvement within the organization. In the case of our government, these people understand that they have an awesome and sacred responsibility to use their position with honesty and integrity, and in so doing will earn the respect and appreciation of the American people. This is what I believe our government can and should become.