Resources - Say “Yes” to Less.

Government employees are asked to take action without adequate technology and funding to support them. They’re called to “do more with less,” a mathematically flawed formula for success.

Why Are Resources Constraining Action?

The technology sucks. “Legacy systems” are the anchor around the neck of innovative and motivated employees.

• Why? IT systems are frequently controlled by a third-party vendor, cost too much to change, and don’t meet the program’s analytical needs. They aren’t agile enough to change with changing requirements, and users can’t conduct data exploration because the information is trapped behind an impenetrable firewall only the IT department can navigate.

  • What can you do about it? Set an expectation for agile development between programs and the IT department, and stop saying “yes” to large IT projects promising end-to-end solutions for your problems. Those solutions rarely work, and they always come in late and overbudget. Say yes to smaller incremental improvements that make employees feel like their needs are being heard and responded to.

There’s no money. Leaders and managers want employees to take action to improve services, but that expectation is rarely matched with any funding.

• Why? Leaders and managers say yes to everything and never take anything off the plate of overstretched employees and overextended resources.

  • What can you do about it? Start by stopping a few practices or activities that aren’t working, making it clear you are willing to divert resources away from bad practice toward proven or emerging practices. Then say “yes” to less. Resist the urge to greenlight every good idea that comes across the conference table. No one has enough bandwidth or funding to try everything, and if they do, it will be shoddy work.