From Marv, our CEO and Founder –
I had lunch with an old friend recently where we discussed all of the large and significant forces dragging at the work of government at all levels these days. I was a little surprised when my friend looked at me and asked, “Given all of that, are you sure you still want governments as customers?”
My answer: Absolutely! In fact, we know that the work we do is now more important that ever. There are three key ideas at the heart of what we do in Managing For Results – three core beliefs that drive everything we do in our organization – that make what we do more relevant and essential than it has ever been. I’ll talk about all three of those principles in upcoming blog posts, but here’s the first:
Principle One: If government relentlessly focuses on results, it can and will make a difference in the lives of its customers.
It’s not an idea wedded to any particular political perspective. It’s not an idea popular with some who would believe government can’t make a difference. But we know it to be absolutely true – and to be what customers expect government to do for them.
During my 20 years in state government in Iowa, one of my jobs was as first the Manager, then the Director, of Iowa’s successful Refugee Resettlement efforts. This initiative, begun under Governor Robert Ray in 1979 and continued under Governor Terry Branstad, resettled more than 10,000 refugees, mostly from Southeast Asia, over 10 years.
Sometime around year six the U.S. State Department declared Iowa’s Refugee Program the most successful in the nation. Lofty praise does not come easily or often from Foggy Bottom, and in this case it came for one reason: more so than in any other state, Iowa was exceptionally successful in helping refugee families become economically self-sufficient. At one point, the program boasted that more than 90% of the refugee families resettled in Iowa had become economically self-sufficient in the first six months from their arrival on our shores.
This achievement didn’t just happen. We got those results through a relentless focus on the results we wanted to achieve—that the refugee families would develop Economic Self-Sufficiency, Social Self-Reliance, and Family Strength.
Every briefing of the Governor, every report, every staff meeting, every performance measure, every hire we made, every investment in technology, every new program implemented was focused on one or more of these key results.
And it worked.
Both Governors had a larger view – both humanitarian and economic. The humanitarian efforts were inspired and amazing by any standard. At one point we counted more than 15,000 identified volunteers involved in helping refugees achieve one of those three key results.
On a larger economic canvas, Iowa was also fighting for economic stability by diversifying our economy and expanding our workforce to grow the economy. Refugees helped spawn new industries and became the workforce for many others. Today, Iowans with roots in Southeast Asian countries, cultures and work ethics continue to contribute their brains and brawn to help drive the Iowa economy.
We’ve had the privilege time and again over the past 12 years to work with dedicated public servants across the country, and at every level of government, to help provide them with the tools and system they needed to influence results. We’ve seen their own relentless focus change things for the better – making their communities safer, healthier, and better places to live, and making their governments more efficient and effective in a variety of ways. So we know, with certainty:
If government relentlessly focuses on results, it can and will make a difference in the lives of its customers.
I had lunch with an old friend recently where we discussed all of the large and significant forces dragging at the work of government at all levels these days. I was a little surprised when my friend looked at me and asked, “Given all of that, are you sure you still want governments as customers?”
My answer: Absolutely! In fact, we know that the work we do is now more important that ever. There are three key ideas at the heart of what we do in Managing For Results – three core beliefs that drive everything we do in our organization – that make what we do more relevant and essential than it has ever been. I’ll talk about all three of those principles in upcoming blog posts, but here’s the first:
Principle One: If government relentlessly focuses on results, it can and will make a difference in the lives of its customers.
It’s not an idea wedded to any particular political perspective. It’s not an idea popular with some who would believe government can’t make a difference. But we know it to be absolutely true – and to be what customers expect government to do for them.
During my 20 years in state government in Iowa, one of my jobs was as first the Manager, then the Director, of Iowa’s successful Refugee Resettlement efforts. This initiative, begun under Governor Robert Ray in 1979 and continued under Governor Terry Branstad, resettled more than 10,000 refugees, mostly from Southeast Asia, over 10 years.Sometime around year six the U.S. State Department declared Iowa’s Refugee Program the most successful in the nation. Lofty praise does not come easily or often from Foggy Bottom, and in this case it came for one reason: more so than in any other state, Iowa was exceptionally successful in helping refugee families become economically self-sufficient. At one point, the program boasted that more than 90% of the refugee families resettled in Iowa had become economically self-sufficient in the first six months from their arrival on our shores.
This achievement didn’t just happen. We got those results through a relentless focus on the results we wanted to achieve—that the refugee families would develop Economic Self-Sufficiency, Social Self-Reliance, and Family Strength.
Every briefing of the Governor, every report, every staff meeting, every performance measure, every hire we made, every investment in technology, every new program implemented was focused on one or more of these key results.
And it worked.
Both Governors had a larger view – both humanitarian and economic. The humanitarian efforts were inspired and amazing by any standard. At one point we counted more than 15,000 identified volunteers involved in helping refugees achieve one of those three key results.
On a larger economic canvas, Iowa was also fighting for economic stability by diversifying our economy and expanding our workforce to grow the economy. Refugees helped spawn new industries and became the workforce for many others. Today, Iowans with roots in Southeast Asian countries, cultures and work ethics continue to contribute their brains and brawn to help drive the Iowa economy.
We’ve had the privilege time and again over the past 12 years to work with dedicated public servants across the country, and at every level of government, to help provide them with the tools and system they needed to influence results. We’ve seen their own relentless focus change things for the better – making their communities safer, healthier, and better places to live, and making their governments more efficient and effective in a variety of ways. So we know, with certainty:
If government relentlessly focuses on results, it can and will make a difference in the lives of its customers.
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