Month: November 2011

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Can governments innovate?

Among the many articles/blogs about Steve Jobs after his death were two in Governing Magazine last month.  One was by Robert Knisely, entitled “What Government Can (and Can’t) Learn From Steve Jobs”.  (See ttp://www.governing.com/blogs/bfc/steve-jobs-management-leadership-lessons-government.html .)

The other was by Ken Miller, entitled “Steve Jobs’ Legacy For Government” (http://www.governing.com/blogs/public-great/Steve-Jobs-Legacy-for-Government.html).  Miller argues that public leaders can adopt (adapt?) Jobs’ pattern of passion and his focus on user-centered design and simplicity.  (On a personal level, Miller suggests that public leaders adopt Jobs’ attitude to life.)

At the heart of this debate is whether government can innovate.  

First there is the assumption that public services are inherently boring.  As Miller writes:

“We don’t make shiny gadgets or deliver entertainment. Our stuff isn’t magical or sexy." 

Our public parks do deliver entertainment.  Everyday in public school rooms, many students are exposed to delightful experiences.  Even the creation of a water system or a highway can seem magical to those living outside big cities where these are now taken for granted, but weren’t even normal there not that long ago.

Then there is the assumption that public officials are inherently conservative.  It is true that they most often hear from the established parts of society – those who have been successful by whatever the rules have been, rather than those who are creating the new rules.  And the media does a good job of discouraging innovations by highlighting and exaggerating any failure, when some failures are a natural part of the innovation process.

Nevertheless, there is such a thing as innovation in public services and there is evidence of it, particularly at the sub-national level of government.  

Also, as politicians, public officials have the skills to accomplish dramatic organizational change if they put their minds to the task.  Indeed, they are much better organizational leaders than the typical business executive.

Today, with a majority of citizens connected via the Internet, the opportunities to be innovative in government are greater than at any time in the past.

So we should encourage public officials to innovate more.  And we should remind them of the words of perhaps America’s most successful politician, President Franklin Roosevelt:

"The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it: If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. .. We need enthusiasm, imagination …”

© 2011 Norman Jacknis

[http://njacknis.tumblr.com/post/12837174682/can-government-innovate]

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It Just Takes Some Imagination

I had the good fortune to be around Miami this past Saturday night as the city hosted Sleepless Night when the clocks were turned back for the end of daylight savings time.  This is part of the international Nuit Blanche network of cities celebrating the arts and culture.  

Of the more than 100 events in Miami Beach, one that attracted a very large crowd was the “vertical dancing” on the glass side of the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center, which houses the New World Symphony.  It was performed by Project Bandaloop as “Bound(less)” with Dana Leong.

I posted ten minutes of excerpts from this show at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRpAPPn0_xE.  (There’s a two minute version someone else posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJjV2aB0h-Y.)

Aside from noting how cool this is, as I was watching, I thought how straightforward this was – instead of letting the side of a building just provide a skin for the occupants, this transformed the side of the building into a dance floor.  (The other side of the building is a huge screen that lets people outside see and hear the concerts going on inside.)

It’s simple and, compared to lots of other civic events across the US, it is relatively inexpensive.  All it takes is some imagination to create this kind of Wow! experience in your city.

I realize, of course, that not every city has the large pool of artists, dancers, musicians, etc. that can be found in Miami.  So I’m not suggesting that every city imitate this particular event.  But every city has the potential for interesting experiences, which can be discovered with a little imagination.  

As the broadband-based video communications becomes more widespread and more of what we produce are intangible services and knowledge, there will be an increasing number of people who can make a living anywhere they choose to live.  What a city might have done to attract tourists in the past, it will have to do to retain and attract residents.  

Like SleepLess Night, give them a reason to be there.

© 2011 Norman Jacknis

[http://njacknis.tumblr.com/post/12468596258/it-just-takes-some-imagination]

Posted on

It Just Takes Some Imagination

I had the good fortune to be around Miami this past Saturday night as the city hosted Sleepless Night when the clocks were turned back for the end of daylight savings time.  This is part of the international Nuit Blanche network of cities celebrating the arts and culture.  

Of the more than 100 events in Miami Beach, one that attracted a very large crowd was the “vertical dancing” on the glass side of the Frank Gehry-designed New World Center, which houses the New World Symphony.  It was performed by Project Bandaloop as “Bound(less)” with Dana Leong.

I posted ten minutes of excerpts from this show at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRpAPPn0_xE .  (There’s a two minute version someone else posted at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJjV2aB0h-Y.)

Aside from noting how cool this is, as I was watching, I thought how straightforward this was – instead of letting the side of a building just provide a skin for the occupants, this transformed the side of the building into a dance floor.  (The other side of the building is a huge screen that lets people outside see and hear the concerts going on inside.)

It’s simple and, compared to lots of other civic events across the US, it is relatively inexpensive.  All it takes is some imagination to create this kind of Wow! experience in your city.

I realize, of course, that not every city has the large pool of artists, dancers, musicians, etc. that can be found in Miami.  So I’m not suggesting that every city imitate this particular event.  But every city has the potential for interesting experiences, which can be discovered with a little imagination.  

As the broadband-based video communications becomes more widespread and more of what we produce are intangible services and knowledge, there will be an increasing number of people who can make a living anywhere they choose to live.  What a city might have done to attract tourists in the past, it will have to do to retain and attract residents.  

Like SleepLess Night, give them a reason to be there.

© 2011 Norman Jacknis

[http://njacknis.tumblr.com/post/12467813473/it-just-takes-some-imagination-i-had-the-good]

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)