There are two long-standing debates in economics that fundamentally affect how one views the challenges our society faces. The two sides of the first debate are often associated with Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman on one side and John Maynard Keynes and Karl Polanyi on the other. Wapshott (2011) and Delong (2022) elaborate this debate […]
I have worked with over 100 enterprises, many large technology-based companies, quite a few government agencies, and many smaller entrepreneurial endeavors. The large enterprises pose particular challenges. This is due to the simple fact that they became large because of successful visions, strategies, and plans, and particularly determined execution. My encounters with executives in these […]
Members of Congress have only one objective – getting reelected. Their every utterance is focused on appealing to the voters that can get them through the primaries, if necessary, and winning in the general elections. Many also have aspirations for higher offices. Most have absolutely no interest in policy discussions and debates. They have concluded […]
Thirteen months ago, the Trump wing of the Republican party attempted a coup of the US government. They failed despite injuring hundreds and killing several. Many hundreds of these people have been indicted for their acts of insurrection. Prison terms have started to result with hundreds more in the offing. The Republican party has characterized […]
Exemplary leaders face difficult circumstances, work with others to devise plans for addressing these circumstances, cultivate support for these plans, and execute plans with a degree of success. Such success in difficult circumstances is possible. However, as the following vignettes illustrate, leadership is crucial. If top leaders remain stewards of the status quo, fundamental change […]
Many problems and potential fixes are being considered and debated to address the pandemic, associated economic slump, and economic and social inequities. Climate change is hovering in the wings. How do all these potential initiatives fit together? I think we can integrate all of these ideas by thinking about how they all support pursuit of […]
It is interesting to live in Washington, DC and observe how sponsors and colleagues are reacting to the changing of the palace guard. Most of these people are at least one level below the political appointees of the palace guard and will not be leaving. They seem relieved, not existentially but practically. Their new superiors […]
How can innovation be cultivated in the public sector? Consider defense, education, and healthcare. These three primarily public sector systems are ripe for disruption and innovation. Enormous improvements of services and decreased costs are undoubtedly achievable. The key question is how to disrupt the status quo. Let’s first consider how a direct approach might work, […]
It is very difficult to foster change and innovation in complex social systems. You need to understand key stakeholders; their perceptions, concerns, and values; and how to gain their support for central elements of the changes being entertained. It can take much time and work to build a coalition capable of moving forward. Examples of […]
Recent challenges suggest that the complexity of society in the US has become increasingly difficult to understand and manage. We seem to have great trouble agreeing on anything. Consequently, we do not act to quickly understand what is happening and competently develop and execute compelling courses of action. Let’s explore the sources of the impasse. […]
We have been awash in protests of racial inequality. Assuming we agree inequality is bad — not everyone does — what can be done to greatly diminish this inequality? Those who have suffered this discrimination are poor, unhealthy, and uneducated. How can we address these discrepancies? We could just give everybody money. This idea has […]
We are trying our best to physically distance ourselves from risks of the coronavirus. Along with washing hands and not touching your face, this practice seems to make much sense. Everyone I know seems to be doing these things. However, the phrase “social distancing” got me thinking. Most of us have been social distancing for […]
How can we address alternative facts? I think we should differentiate realities that can be empirically verified versus assertions about why these realities have occurred. Succinctly, we need to differentiate data and evidence from various pundits’ interpretations. I am constantly amazed at the wealth of pundits available who will comment on anything. There are thousands […]
The government has delivered on its promise, via statutes and regulations, that every building in the US be heated by coal-fired electricity by 2050. All buildings – residential, commercial, and industrial – are required to have coal-fired electrical generators within the building. Every building now has a coal bin and coal deliveries are ubiquitous. All […]
Several previous posts have focused on the realities I have encountered in Washington, DC in the three years that I have been here. Indeed, I feel like a stranger in a strange land. This arena is supposedly focused on providing the greatest value for the citizens of this country. More specifically, the goal is supposedly […]
I recently read about a passenger’s experience with American Airlines. A six-hour flight from Newark to San Francisco had evolved to a 53-hour trip. Due to several cancellations, American had suggested that the passenger buy a second ticket. He waited and eventually made it – two days later. Airlines ticket prices and fees continue to […]
Over the past couple of decades, I have invested my energies in understanding complex enterprises in terms of the multiple levels of phenomena that underlie corporations, cities, countries, and even climate. These levels include people, processes, organizations, and society, all of which both enable and constrain each other. Ignoring any of these levels risks devising […]
I have always been fiscally conservative and socially liberal which, when I lived in New England, meant that I was a moderate Republican aligned with the likes of Edward Brooke, John Chafee, Eliot Richardson, Nelson Rockefeller, and Margaret Chase Smith. I was a fan of Eisenhower, Kennedy, Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton 1, and Obama — […]
If you travel through Delaware to get from New Jersey to Maryland, or vice versa, it will take 240% more time per mile and cost 600% more per mile than in other states. These are pretty good reasons to avoid Delaware. It is 20 miles from the Maryland border to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. The […]
Stranger in a Strange Land is a 1961 science fiction novel by American author Robert A. Heinlein. I have borrowed his title as a lead in to reporting on my experiences of moving to Washington, DC, and paying much more attention to how the US government operates, including its role in the economy and society […]
Various pundits are projecting that by 2020 – just four years – the driving of cars and trucks will be completely automated. Vehicle services, whether for consumers or businesses, will be readily available for very reasonable prices. I will not need to own a personal vehicle and my business can dispense with its fleet of […]
Just watched this movie this week, after having read many of the books published on the Great Recession, as well as having served on a National Academy study committee of what happened. During this study, I had a chance to chat with the second most senior executive at one of the major banks involved, one […]
Over the past three years, my tax rate has increased to over 60% of my income. This includes Federal and State Income Taxes, Social Security Taxes, Workmen’s Compensation, Medicare Tax, Sales Tax, and Property Taxes. This tax rate, combined with the costs of living in an area where I earn a high enough income to […]
A few years ago, I co-chaired the National Academies Healthy America Initiative. The members of this committee came from both the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Engineering. Our assignment was to wrestle with issues surrounding the effectiveness and costs of healthcare delivery. However, we wanted to put this in a larger context. […]
There are many impediments to addressing and solving executives’ toughest problem – see my last post. Resource limitations – time, money, and people – can obviously be impediments. Less obvious, and often much more troublesome, are the stewards of the status quo. These stewards include people and organizations who are determined to keep everything as […]
It is difficult to transform a large enterprise. Leaders of many private sector enterprises have told me that their toughest job is managing the enterprise they have while trying to create the enterprise they want. Not surprisingly, the failure rate is very high, as illustrated by 200% turnover in the Fortune 500 in the past […]
