Thinking about Change

Rate of Change

Moore's Law as it applies to the gap between government and the private sector is the topic of this video from Clay Johnson, Director of Engagement at Expert Labs.

As some of you know, I had the honor of serving as a federal, state and local member of government during my career [to date]. In that order, serving last, as the first DBA for the Town of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. What a great place to vacation, the island is a better place to live... or at least it was in the late 1990s when I moved my family to the Low Country. Today, it seems that Bluffton is getting all the growth. But I digress...

This presentation by Johnson points out a couple of obvious issues with regard to most government entities [special thanks to Bryce Roberts for the link to this video] but of course the actual gap varies significantly from organization to organization. How else can you explain spending more than $250K on a Payroll and HR software package for administering the needs of less than 250 local government employees on an island getaway? Way not my decision. But again, I digress...

What did occur to me as I watched the video [twice] was this: Rate of Change is really a function of the Rate of Trust. I preach that lasting change cannot and will not occur without trust. But as a linear thinker [most days], my mental image of the transformation was very much a straight line. How absurd, right?

Just as we earn money at a rate, 

hopefully ever increasing, 

so too is trust earned!

That is profound.


Consider that with the apparent exception of Senator Harry Reid [D-NV] most Americans believe that government spending on personnel is out of balance with the rest of our economy. From the Senator's recent remarks:

“The massive layoffs we’ve had in America today—of course they’re rooted in the last administration—and it’s very clear that private sector jobs are doing just fine. It’s the public sector jobs where we’ve lost huge numbers, and that’s what this legislation’s all about.”

This suggests the rate of trust corresponds almost directly to change. 

Do you trust your government [local, state and/or federal] to do the right thing?

This might actually explain the gap more so than Moore's Law.