Government Accountability
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Government accountability…a phrase which has become an oxymoron of late may be making a comeback. While it’s still far too early to tell what type of president Barack Obama will be, today’s appointment of Nancy Killefer as the new administration’s Chief Performance Officer is certainly a step in the right direction. Granted this could certainly be nothing more than a great PR maneuver, but my hope is that it’s a sincere indication of President-elect Obama’s intention to tighten-up the ship.
I have had no less than a two-dozen emails today about this appointment, and regardless of your position, few would debate that this is a prudent move given what the lack of accountability has done to our nation’s economy. While I don’t know too many people who really like to hear the “A” word applied to their individual circumstances, choices, decisions, and performance, I don’t know anyone (sans the lobbyists and politicians themselves) who doesn’t want to apply a rigorous standard of accountability to the federal government. The fact of the matter is that most personal, corporate and government train-wrecks can be avoided by merely implementing a solid framework of accountability.
Accountability is the lowest cost, most practical and most productive form of risk management and quality assurance. It is really nothing more than a common sense understanding that decisions made within a framework are going to have a greater chance of success than those made in a vacuum. Decisioning options vetted in the full light of public view will by default go a long way toward the prevention of self-dealing.
It is those individuals or organizations who don’t believe they are accountable to anyone, for anything, or at anytime that are nothing more than a disaster waiting to happen. All human beings, regardless of who they are, can be capable of making huge mistakes when operating in a vacuum or under a veil of secrecy. While there are certainly those individuals who are just predatory, bad to the bone people, clearly not everyone who makes a mistake is evil with the intent to do harm to others. Rather many people when faced with a tough situation simply were not operating in an accountable manner, and therefore made a decision that they would not have likely made if they were openly operating under the scrutiny and review of others.
All one has to do is to just pay attention to the recent headlines to understand the critical importance of, and need for accountability. I truly believe that if most of the public figures falling prey to bad decisions of late had been operating in the open light of day, and had they sought counsel in their decision making, that the outcomes of their recent debacles may have been quite different. If you think back to any of the bad and/or regrettable decisions you’ve made in your life, it is highly probable that you didn’t seek the counsel of others (or ignored said counsel) prior to making the wrong decision.
Bottom line…There’s a new sheriff in town and it’s not Barack Obama. I wish Ms. Killefer all the best…
