Managing Performance � The Governor�s Job: Governor Gregoire's Speech to Governing Magazine's 2006 Managing Performance Conference in Austin, Texas (As Written)
October 5, 2006
It�s gratifying to look out here, first of all, just to see how many of you there are. It�s wonderful to know that this many of you are so passionate about getting better results from government.
There�s no other conference quite like this, is there? This conference is a convergence of a really special segment of leaders in the public sector. Those of you, who, against all odds, have dedicated yourselves to this idea that government really must, and really can deliver results. That management really matters.
It makes me truly happy to see that there are this many of you, who, like me, find tremendous pride and challenge in the idea of accountability for delivering results that really matter to the people we serve.
Our shared commitment to high performance is gaining believers. And it�s about time. Because our world is changing so fast, and government has got to get ahead of the curve. Have any of you read a book by Thomas Friedman, called The Earth is Flat? I�ve been on three trade missions since I became Governor and next week I depart for South Korea and Taiwan.
I have come to accept without any question in my mind that the global economy is demanding that we compete at a higher level. Back home I tell folks it�s not good enough any more to compare ourselves to our sister states. The fact of the matter is that the world has changed fully and dramatically for all of us and even more for our children.
So this is our challenge: how do we ready ourselves and our children to participate in that global economy? I believe we have to � we don�t have any choice. We�re no longer isolated cities or counties or states � we have to operate more like a small nation, to rise above our local differences and look to our competitors in China and India and Ireland.
It�s that old adage, you either get with it � or you�re gone.
In the private sector, businesses of all sizes get more efficient every day. They�re competing globally, not locally. And to keep pace in the global economy, they�re re-examining how they operate. They�re collecting measurable performance results, and using them to increase productivity and efficiency.
UPS, for instance, knows the location of each of their packages at any given moment. They relentlessly track their performance. They understand in detail what they�re doing, and what they�re getting. And they use data to continually smooth out and modernize their operations.
If you ask a UPS employee if it bugs them to spend all this time tracking packages, they�ll tell you no � they understand it�s what they�ve got to do to stay competitive.
Now, I�m not one of those that believe government should be run totally like a business, because, as you know, our goal isn�t simply to maximize profit. I invite anyone in business to come in and take up the challenge of running a government.
In government, we define our bottom line in terms of justice, strong families, a vibrant economy, communities that are prepared for natural disasters and children who are safe and healthy and educated and ready to achieve their dreams in a new global economy.
These things resist easy measurement in dollars.
But I do believe we share the same commitment to accountability and measurable results as our colleagues in the private sector, because we are in fact competing in the same global economy as our colleagues in the private sector.
We can have all the best policies and ideas in the world, but they won�t amount to a hill of beans if we don�t have managers who are willing to really deliver results, to challenge ourselves just as vigorously as the private sector to streamline our operations and be as effective and as efficient as possible.
In Washington, we spend $30 billion dollars a year to make the state a great place to live and learn and work. How do we know if we are getting a good return on that investment, in terms of public value? How do you know, in each of your cities and counties and state and federal government � can you tell me, in short order, what your taxpayers are getting in return for their dollars?
It�s not good enough any more to say �well, it�s hard to measure what we do.� Or to say �we can�t really control the social and economic outcomes.� This is a cop out, and the public won�t stand for it anymore.
Some will say that we are experiencing a tax revolt, but I don�t believe that�s so. Citizens are in fact willing to pay taxes. They just want to know what they are getting for it. I think that what we�ve got on our hands is a �what-am-I-getting-in-return� revolt.
Let me give you an example that illustrates my point. In 2005, the Washington State Legislature passed a hefty tax on gasoline � 9.5 cents per gallon.
In our fair state we have an initiative process and a very active citizenry, and they put an initiative on the ballot to roll back that tax. They didn�t understand what they were going to get for it. But when we went out and showed them, in real, concrete terms, what a difference we were going to be able to make on their roads, in their home towns, in each community, to show them specifically how it was going to make a difference, the repeal of the gas tax did not pass.
This summer we went out on a Listening Tour to hear what the public really cares about.
We found that the public measures success in very definitive ways. They look to measurements like:
- Percentage of people with health insurance coverage
- Number of students per teacher
- Property and violent crime rate and types
- Commute time, length and cost by type
- Documented readiness to respond to emergencies and natural disasters.
- Percentage of individuals and families that move off social services assistance and achieve economic independence.
I�m out there listening to the citizens my friends, and, let me tell you, they are holding me accountable. Therefore I have to hold my agency directors accountable for clear, measurable results, and so on down the line to those front-line employees delivering service out there every day.
If those people on the front line don�t believe they can really make a difference, then we�re sunk. And it�s your job, as their managers and leaders, to show them how they can make a difference, to inspire them to achieve results. So that together, we can PROVE that government is, indeed, making a positive difference in people�s lives.
I want us to know if we�re meeting our goals, and if not, why not. We�ve got to understand why we�re getting the results we�re getting. And if we don�t like the results we�re getting, we�ve got to move quickly to change the course and get back on track. That is why I started the program I call �GMAP.�
GMAP stands for Government Management Accountability and Performance. At first people inside government rolled their eyes and made fun of the acronym. Just another management initiative. They�d been through enough of �em, and it was hard to point out anything really substantial came of it.
It�s not enough to just have performance measures. They have to be meaningful. They have to count for something, you�ve got to be able to show the guy on the street how government is working to make life better for all of us in real, concrete terms.
But we�ve been at it a little more than a year and everyone�s getting the message that change has come and it�s here to stay � and in fact it�s going to get even better.
They know that I understand what it means to be a public servant all my life. I started out as a Clerk Typist II back in 19... They also know that I�m Irish, and if they think they can wait me out, they�ve got another think comin�! We are in this for the long haul. We simply can�t afford not to.
So, what exactly is GMAP, and how is it different from the initiatives many of you have already got going in your own government?
First, I have to let you know that we did not come up with the original idea. Police Chief Bill Bratton and New York Mayor Rudy Guiliani launched COMPSTAT in New York City in the 90�s, and Mayor Martin O�Malley picked it up in Baltimore. But we are the first to try to do this on a state-wide level.
The idea of GMAP is very simple. You start with good solid facts, your performance measures. You get all the people in the room at the same time who can solve the problem.
Most importantly, you�ve got be willing to take a good hard look at your data � and you can�t let yourself ignore it when it�s showing you that things aren�t going well! You roll up your sleeves and you say, okay, what are we going to do about it?
We get in a room altogether, me and my agency directors and my management team, and we look at those facts, we ask ourselves �Why are we getting these results? What�s working, and what�s not?� And most importantly, we take action based on those facts. With the data squarely in front of us, we ask ourselves the really tough questions. Sometimes we have what I like to call an �a-ha� moment � when you see something pop out of the data that makes you say �a-ha! Now we see it!�
Let me give you an example, by sharing with you one of the very worst things about being governor. There are many wonderful things about being governor, but the worst thing is to come in to my desk in the morning and sitting there is a report about a child who has been abused or lost his or her life because of abuse and neglect. This is the worst part of my day. I worked as an attorney on too many of these cases, and there is nothing I feel more passionate about, that a child should not lose their life like this.
Looking at such a report, we call them �alerts,� I had to ask myself, isn�t there something we can do? We started drilling down and really analyzing how we were responding to reports of child abuse. By regulation we had to respond within ten days.
If you know anything about child abuse then you know that if you wait ten days, the bruises have faded, the stories have changed, and the evidence is gone. If you wait too long, the child can be re-abused. If you wait too long, you may have lost a life.
I�m lucky to have a very talented and committed DSHS Director, Robin Arnold-Williams and together we set a goal to get to those children at highest risk of abuse within 24 hours, and to get out there 7 days a week. We set ourselves a very ambitious goal, but no more audacious than when Guiliani and Bratton set about reducing homicides in New York City.
Let me tell you, it�s not easy. Especially since we had to start with no more resources than we already had. The agency didn�t have a reputation as a well-managed operation, and the legislature was reluctant to give more money. We had to prove ourselves with what we already had.
We studied the data every which way for clues that would lead to a better outcome. We drilled down to the response times in each individual region and office, and looked at the caseload distribution.
We found out two things: First of all, the caseloads were all out of whack in one region and the results were terrible. Second, it�s not enough to see the data, you�ve got to have an action plan and follow through if you want to see change!
I want to take a moment here to bring you inside the GMAP room, so you can get a sense of what these session are like. I�m going to show you a couple of very short video clips of the GMAP meetings where we were discovering how to make this work. You�ll see me and the Secretary of Social and Health Services and the head of the Children�s Administration, and you�ll also see my deputy chief of staff and head of personnel and finance and others around the table. Take a look.
CLIP (Please see video link below)
It may look like just another meeting to you, but I am here to tell you we are getting results. When we started out over a year ago, we were getting to those children at highest risk less within 24 hours less than 70% of the time. It didn�t come easy, we had to shift workers around, redeploy staff between regions and cause a lot of upheaval. But, a little over 6 months later, we started breaking the 90% barrier, and we have kept it up there for the past two quarters running.
I am incredibly proud of the social workers who have worked their tails off to make this happen � and wow, what a difference it has made. This is not just data on a piece of paper. Those are lives we have saved. That�s what we are here for. This is our mission.
GMAP is not to sit and think and cogitate and study and debate. We don�t create task forces or engage in further study or have more committee meetings or send around endless memos and e-mails. It is to take action and get results in a timely way. Important things are at stake, kids lives, adult lives, our health and our economic future and our quality of life.
I mentioned that sometimes we are asking the tough questions. I do know that sometimes this can make people feel uncomfortable. Here�s another short clip where we�re looking at some budget numbers.
CLIP (Please see video link below)
Let me make something very clear. GMAP is not about blame. It�s not about finger pointing or assigning blame. It is about identifying problems and solutions and moving forward.
No one ever gets in trouble because they bring forth the truth, and the truth ain�t pretty. They get in trouble if they don�t have an action plan for what we�re going to do about it!
The tough problems require more than one agency and more than one leader to tackle them. Too often this is where we have performance breakdowns � in the spaces between our little silos of accountability.
That�s why I�ve got all the agency directors in the room together, and I�ve got my directors of finance and human resources and information services and legislative relations all there, too.
In the video examples I just showed you, I called up the director of human resources to make it a priority to recruit social workers for the region that most needed help. And my director of finance and budget had to help the gentleman from the agency who found himself stuck in the same place he was the year before with his budget running over.
This problem solving spirit is absolutely key to GMAP�s success. Without it, GMAP would be in danger of becoming a blame game.
A leader is not someone who justs point out a problem someone else has created. A leader is someone who comes to the table with a creative solution and most importantly a willingness to take a calculated risk, to take action. A leader is someone who has the courage to say �I am accountable. I will help solve this problem.�
I walk the talk, and I expect my agency directors to do the same. I�m in there myself at 7:30 in the morning, right there with the team digging through all that data and getting to the heart of the matter.
If you want these kind of results, if you want to raise the challenge and raise the pride of public service, then you�ve got to be willing to step up to this level of accountability, too.
As a final peek into the GMAP room, let me reinforce how important it is to recognize achievement. And imagine, if you will, how powerfully motivating it is to be recognized for accomplishing something that truly matters, something that was a real challenge. Take a look here at the session where we finally broke through that 90% barrier.
CLIP (Please see video link below)
Leadership inspires leadership in the ranks. Accountability inspires better results. That is why I believe that �managing performance is the Governor�s job.�
You all have been in public service long enough to know that politics is part of the territory. You�re savvy enough to know that it�s not simple, there is no clear defining line between politics, policy, and the operational management on the ground delivering results. So you probably also know that this is true: no matter how grand the vision, how noble or innovative the policy is, it counts for nothing if the project isn�t well executed.
Managers are the unsung heroes of public service. Management matters, and performance management is what it takes to get real results.
Let me give you a couple other examples where we have seen success.
Congestion on Washington highways is a major headache to motorists and represents a large cost to businesses that need to move products to market. The �blocking incidents� that slow traffic to a crawl represent a serious challenge to the Department of Transportation and the Washington State Patrol.
Since 1997, the two agencies have worked together to reduce congestion by responding more quickly to incidents such as accidents and chemical spills.
Since the program was expanded in 2002, the state has been able to respond to far more incidents on state highways � an eight-fold increase. And the average time to clear an incident has dropped from 34 minutes in 2002 to 16 minutes in spring 2006.
We are now using GMAP reports to track ongoing performance and to identify areas where further improvement is required.
The Department of Revenue has dramatically increased its use of the Internet to serve customers more conveniently and to improve the accuracy of tax payments. By carefully analyzing the data, the department learned that people who file their taxes electronically make significantly fewer errors. The number of �e-filed� tax returns filed by taxpayers who report each month is expected to grow to at least 555,000 in 2007, and the error rate for those filings is declining. Moreover, 22% of tax returns are filed outside regular business hours, which shows the importance of offering service on a 24/7 basis.
GMAP affords us an opportunity to tell the public what we are doing, in concrete terms that are meaningful to them. You know there�s a lot of government bashing going on out there. What we have to counter with is a compelling story that we have to deliver.
No one is going to tell your story for you. If you don�t have the facts to back up your story, it�s worth nothing. In my opinion if we want to build back public trust in government, if we want to deliver that compelling story, we can do it only with real results, good data, measurable goals and proving that we can accomplish what we set out to achieve.
I hope that after this conference, you will return to your agencies with new ideas for how to measure that public value. I am asking you to please go back and tell your people that this is really something we can do to change the course of government.
That we can make ourselves the most respected public entities in the entire United States and even leaders in the world. That we can finally get the credit that we deserve for the work that we do to make our communities safer, to make sure our children are healthy, and to make our quality of life what we want it to be. We can achieve these results and we can earn the public�s trust, and we can feel proud of what we accomplish.
I know there are other jobs out there. For me personally it was President John F. Kennedy who inspired me to dedicate my life to public service. I encourage you to keep up the challenge, to make yourselves and you employees proud, let us go out and turn that skepticism around and let people know that they have a government of which they can be proud.
Thank you.
### Related Links:
- Video: GMAP in Washington
