Running the Government Like a Business

Well-run businesses continually review and upgrade their systems to ensure they do the best job possible efficiently meeting the needs of their customers.  Businesses that don't bother to stay abreast of the latest technologies find that they are paying far more than they need to while typically providing poor service.

Unfortunately, government agencies tend to rely on web sites and databases that may have been state-of-the-art many years ago, but are hopelessly outdated now.   Believe it or not, several Maryland state agencies are still using database software programs from the 1970s!

Lean government is the process of completely rethinking the systems governmental agencies use to streamline their workflow, cut costs and improve the services they provide to citizens.  Using lean processes, for example, allows Missouri to send tax refunds within two days and Iowa businesses to receive environmental permits 90% faster than before. 

In this time of severe budgetary cutbacks, implementing lean government principles should allow our agencies to do a better job meeting the needs of our citizens far less expensively.  To give an example of the type of savings that are possible, Make Maryland Great's President spent 2008 restructuring a real estate education company.  By completely revamping the systems the company was using to communicate with and meet the needs of their customers and employees, this company was able to cut their technology costs by 87%: 

                            Mentor Financial Group, LLC Technology Spending

                                                      * Projected