Is it magic to say that government can make things better for its customers and save money at the same time – continuously?

Government has customers – call them citizens, clients, taxpayers, whatever.  As this blog, my own HelpGov web site and many other worthy organisations (but you hunt them down – they might be my competitors!) will tell you, not only is it possible, the two things go together naturally – if you work the right way.

Here’s how to do it.

Understand and apply 10 principles.

  1. Work is a system
  2. The purpose of the system is to meet the needs of customers
  3. Anything that does not add value for customers should be eliminated
  4. Work flows through the system from suppliers through the organisation to customers
  5. Flow can be expressed in processes, which should be made as efficient as possible
  6. All unwanted variation should be eliminated in the delivery of services
  7. Use all the relevant tools and techniques that are available
  8. The people who do the work are the best to improve it because they know it best
  9. The role of managers and leaders is to enable improvement in the system
  10. Be self-aware (not always easy).

This will be old news to some readers but a  foreign language to many in government.

 Am I right or wrong?  Feel free to add your own comments.  I’ll say something about each over the next few weeks.