The politically challenged employee

Why does the federal government so consistently fail to carry out even its most basic and necessary functions? Why is it that Wal-Mart can get supplies to Katrina victims days ahead of FEMA? Why do private veterans hospitals provide top-notch care, while government run facilities like Walter Reed fester? Simple. They have better administrators. Why are their administrators and managers better? Because they aren't hamstrung by politics, and constantly changing priorities. Think about how difficult it must be to be a government bureaucrat. For four years, you're told to do things one way, then four years later, you must do things entirely differently. Your priorities, goals, and methods are always in flux. Is it any wonder why bureaucrats get such a bad name? (#)

This is a point that is never made too often. It is not just that public officials, contrast to private employers and employees, are protected from competition and sheltered behind a thick wall of regulations and laws. It is also their great curse to have shifting managers that have to dance the political dance to get themselves anywhere in their job. Imagine a company that one day decides to follow some kind of Lean-method, and changes the whole structure of the company to meet its principles. Imagine that the next day, Lean is no longer the goal, but some entirely different approach. How will this company succeed? How will it satisfy its clients? It won't. It will waste resources and time and slip into bankruptcy. Why this hasn't happened to any public agency is no mystery. Taxes and regulations sustain the unsustainable. This is why a private company will always outperform the public, political one.