PRIVATE CITIZENS

All of us as citizens have become increasingly sensitive to how our tax payer dollars are being used by public sector agencies. In private business, market forces keep individual businesses moving toward improvement in order to survive among competing companies.  In the public sector, there is usually no competition for the services offered.  The reality is that incentives are often in place to grow the agency larger so that the agency has more influence. 

We see private companies becoming more productive and we understandably ask “why can’t public sector agencies do the same thing?”  The answer can usually be found when we examine the improvement tools being successfully used by private industry.  The challenges faced by public sector agencies are, in fact, different in several key aspects than the challenges faced in the private sector. Leaders of public sector agencies typically agree that performance could be improved, but absent tools that apply to their uniquesituations, the question is how can this be achieved? 

Using a tool analogy, if a Phillips head screw needs to be driven into a board, a flat blade screwdriver may be of marginal benefit.  If a flat blade screwdriver is all that you are awareof, you may conclude that a screwdriver will do you no good to achieve your objective.  If, however, someone introduces you to a Philips head screwdriver, you now see that this is the appropriate tool to accomplish the task at hand.

The GAPS^tm approach has been successfully proven to work well in private industry by many leading companies.  The GAPS^tm Program is a modification of the tools used in private industry to make clear how these newly introduced tools will allow public sector agencies to achieve the goal of improved performance.  With this powerful knowledge, all excuses to settle for less than stellar performance no longer makes sense. 

If you believe that improvements are possible in the public sector, we’d respectfully request that you spread the word to the leaders of these agencies to investigate the GAPS^tm approach.  It will cost them nothing to sign up for our newsletter and registering for a one day Principles of GAPS^tm seminar will give them a good feel for how the GAPS^tm approach would apply in the agencies that they direct.  If you have their e-mail address, we’ve made it super easy to refer them to this site. They will appreciate being made aware of this approach that can potentially transform the way their agency gets things done in a very positive way. 

Together, we can help improve the effectiveness of our public sector agencies one process at a time.