DOGE has raised the question amongst many; can you treat a government the same as a business entity? Having worked in and consulted with both I think there are a number of other questions related to cutting costs and improving efficiency discussions currently transpiring that haven’t been raised. Some of them may have been raised but very few if any answers based on experience have been given.
There’s always nuances with most questions but the answer to the one above is yes, you can treat them the same. Both entities are populated with people who work within a hierarchy and are hired to provide identified output. When you have people and power structures, and you need to cut costs and increase efficiency you have all the ingredients for chaos, failure, or as the British would say ‘a real cock-up’.
During my first experience working with a turnaround Leader, I asked him the how much question. His response shocked me; “till I hit bone”. As time and projects came and went, I learned why he responded like that and some other questions that need to be asked and answered in similar situations.
First, always keep in mind some simple rules to live by in these situations. The bigger the organization, i.e. the number of employees and locations, the bigger your problem is (exponentially) in making change. How much time do you have? Not as much as you think. Your balance sheet and the marketplace isn’t the only driver. The longer you take the more calcitrant your organization will become. The people that have marketable skills and probably your best people usually head for the door first. Therefore, speed is of the utmost importance.
How do I avoid making mistakes, i.e. cutting too much or terminating the wrong people? Back to the cut comment ‘until I hear bone’, he followed it up with you’ll only know if you have done enough when you reach your goals, and the organization and you find out it can’t function with your cuts. It is easier to add back in than find out to late you didn’t go deep enough. Fast and deep.
Next question, isn’t everyone deep down against this? Sure, they are, no one likes the unknown. You can divide the employees into the following groups. ‘Good soldiers, they voice support for the effort and make statements like ‘I’m standing by for orders.” The ‘Movers’, are looking for the severance package and the door early. The ‘Foxhole’ group think they will just hunker down and wait it out by keeping their heads down and their mouth shut. All three have positives and negatives. Figuring out who’s in what camp and their importance going forward is one of the most difficult tasks you will have.
Can’t I hire someone from outside to do this for me? You could also put some fancy marketing name on the effort just to make sure it fails miserably. Don’t make it a program and IF you bring in someone from the outside to help you, you need to Lead and be the face of it.
Where do I start? Not from your financial statements. Although the timeframe may be short, you need to ask yourself ‘what does this organization need to look like when I am all done? Start with the end in mind and work backwards. When you know what you should look like then you can set goals and work backwards from there with a flexible plan.
Is this all about cutting costs? This isn’t all about cost and efficiencies, it’s about what does the organization have to look like when you’re done. Don’t forget your customers, some are an asset while others, if you are honest, are a liability. You probably will need to make certain investments given where you want the organization to be in the near future. Investing is something that will upset a lot of people. People want others to suffer along with them.
As a great believer in learning from others mistakes and successes. I would recommend reading the history of General Electric starting with Jack Welch becoming CEO. Welch took over in 1981, by 2000 Fortune magazine named him ‘Manager of the Century”. Misfortune soon followed and required Larry Culp, the new CEO, to completely change the GE everyone thought they knew.
Also, if you want some insight into how Elon Musk approaches the world and why he is managing DOGE the way he is, read Walter Isaacson’s biography of Elon. Politics aside I think most reasonable people knew ‘changes’ needed to be made in how the federal government works but without really understanding what that requires.
Are there any ‘good guys’ in an effort like this? NO.
Good luck.
Plan for the worst, hope for the best. Jack Reacher