RE: [tgf] Obama's State of the Nation speech

Kantara, amongst many other organisations, had a hand in comments and indeed resulted in the White house modifying the next revision of the NSTIC (Google it if you don't know it). Actually its new name (it was NSOT) was Kantara's suggestion..

If we can connect the dots between the cybersecurity guys and the 'merge, consolidate and reorganize' at the White House, we might get somewhere with your idea Peter.

Cheers

Colin

From: Peter F Brown [mailto:peter@peterfbrown.com]
Sent: Thursday, 27 January 2011 10:24 a.m.
To: TGF TC List
Subject: [tgf] Obama's State of the Nation speech - Government Transformation

Hi:

Watching and listening to President Obama’s State of the Union address last night, I was struck by the following passage:

“We shouldn't just give our people a government that's more affordable. We should give them a government that's more competent and efficient. We cannot win the future with a government of the past.

“We live and do business in the information age, but the last major reorganization of the government happened in the age of black and white TV. There are twelve different agencies that deal with exports. There are at least five different entities that deal with housing policy. Then there's my favorite example: the Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they're in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them when they're in saltwater. And I hear it gets even more complicated once they're smoked.

“Now, we have made great strides over the last two years in using technology and getting rid of waste. Veterans can now download their electronic medical records with a click of the mouse. We're selling acres of federal office space that hasn't been used in years, and we will cut through red tape to get rid of more. But we need to think bigger. In the coming months, my administration will develop a proposal to merge, consolidate, and reorganize the federal government in a way that best serves the goal of a more competitive America. I will submit that proposal to Congress for a vote - and we will push to get it passed.”

This sounds very much to me like a government in need of a transformation roadmap and model – the reference to “merge, consolidate, and reorganize the federal government” could be a good thing if done well but could equally be retrograde if the disruption cost is greater than the benefit. I think his Salmon anecdote is a perfect example of where the TGF ‘Franchise Model’ really comes into play and I really think we should bang on about this model – it could be the key to avoiding a lot of potential reorganisation follies around the world.

I’m working on getting our TC’s work heard as far as the White House (mainly through contacts in and discussions with the White House Office of Science and Technology) and if anyone else has ideas about how to make the connection between Obama’s stated goal and what we are doing then…I’m all ears!

Cheers,

Peter

Peter F Brown

Independent Consultant

Transforming our Relationships with Information Technologies

Web www.peterfbrown.com

Blog pensivepeter.wordpress.com

LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/pensivepeter

Twitter @pensivepeter

P.O. Box 49719, Los Angeles, CA 90049, USA

Tel: +1.310.694.2278

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