THEGovsRNoRsCENTERAT Durp UNrvERSrry
BOTTOM-LINE GOVERNMENT
Robert D. Behn
The Governors Center at Duke University
Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy
Box 90246, Durham, NC 27708-0246
I r 9 - 6 t 3 - 7 3 74
Copyright O 1994 by Robert D. Behn
BOTTOM-LINE GOVERNMENT
Robert D. Behn
"The
problem with govcrnntent is that it has no bottorn line." This criticism -- often offerecl
by exccutives frorn thc private sector -- is similar to the complaint that governmcnt executives
never havc to rneet a payroll. Governncnt does not make a profit. Government does not even try
to marke a profit. Rzrther, govcrnment just docs things ancl when it needs rnore money, it just
increases tarxes. Or, as the fecleral government has donet increasingly over the past decadc, itjust
irtcrezrses thc clebt.
Bu1 the absetrcc of :r governmental bottom linc is, in lirct, ntoret darnning than this
traclitional business critique. For it means that government clocs not know how wcll it is doing.
Withottt some kind of bottorn line, government cannot measurc progrcss. Withotrt a bottom linc,
government cannol motiverte employccs zrnclcitizcns to nrake progrcss. Witltclut a bottom line,
governntcnt cannot decicle what is broken and neecls to be fixcrl. Without zr botton-line
governntcnt ceunot enctollrage innovation. Without a bottom line, governmcnt cannot convincc
citizcns thart it is worthy of their strpport.
Thc'zrbsen<reof zrbottonr linc is r-rot,howcvcr, inhercnt to governrrrcnt. Sure: governrnent
does not lt:tl'e tu produce a bottorn line on its income-and-expense st:rtcrncnts or balance sheets.
Government cloes not try to makc n profit. And ccrtainly a gorrernrncnt does not go out of
business when, over scvcritl vc:rrs, expenditurcs hzrve consistentlv excccded reverrllcs.
Nevertheless, government does herveta rnultitucle ol warys Lo rrrcastrre progrcss. Sonre nre
tradition:rl finarnci:rl Irleasures that comc of[abalance shcct or an incomc-ar-rd-expensc stertcmcnt.
But othcr, morc important bottom lines measurc l"rowwcll a prrblic agencv is cloing in serwing thc
citizens. The challengc lacing government lcaders is not to invcnt crs:rtz, linancinl bottom lines
to mimic the private sector. Rather, Ll-tc challenge is to choose. li-onr anrong tl-re rnultitude of
existing bottorn lines, a few to use both to improve the perfornrnncc ol-prrblicr ngencies zurd to
increase thc faith of citizens in their govcrnmcnt.
Measuring
Progress -- in Business and in Government
'I'he
concept ol-a br.rsincss firm's bottom linc suggests thzrt thcrc is n single nurnbcr -- t/re
bottom line -- tl'rat tells whether thc firm is profitable or not -- rvhether it is cloin{ argoocl job or
not. ln lact, ltowcvcr, thcrc zrrc ar multitur.le of finanr:ial nreastrres tl'rat l'rclp re.veal r,vhether the
firrn has been profiterble in tl'tc past ancl, cvcn rnclrc irnporlarntly. rvhctl'rer it rvill bc prolitablc in
the future.
In evalutrting a lirm, :rn investor looks at urorc than what nriglrt be callccl the
'l'hc
traclitional bottonr line -- net prolit (revenues urinus e.xpclscs).
investor looks att arvnricty of
financial indicatclrs: gross sales. return on salcs, nrarket sharc, return on cqrrity, retainecl
carnings, thc debt-equity ratio. net wortl-r, and net wortl-r per share . Moreover, the inrrestor looks
at a number of iess easily-measurecl indicators, such :rs inrprovenrents in the quarlity of a service
clr the reliability of a product, the market potcntial of a new product line, or a shift in internationtrl
competilion. A business firm does not have one bottom line. It has many bottom lines.
Even when a firm's revenues drop below expenditures, the firm does not automatically go
out of business. It has several options. It, too, can borrow money (though also at higher interest
rates). It can file for bankruptcy -- seeking either to dissolve the business and pay off its creditors
or to protect itself from its creditors while reorganizing. Or it can seek a government subsidy. A
Copyright O 1994 by Robert D. Behn
Robert D. Bel'rn: Bottonr-l,ine Gorrernment
P:r{e 2
bottonr-line thilurc -- or merely a bottonr-line inaclcquacv -- suggcsts various fbrms of crtrrr:c'tivc
irction. Going otrt of blrsiness does not rnerely retler:t a f:rilurc of the bottor'r linc: rarther, it r-cflccts
a t:rilrrre to unclcrstancl {or eff-ectivelyrespond to) prior clcllcicncics in nrultiple bottour iincs.
'fhc
problern rvitl-r {o\rcrnnlcnt is not thart it ferils to itetrrcit bottonl line. Likc :r btrsiness.
'l'hc
problenr r',.itlr
:l goverrnnlent (or an incliviclual governrnent agcnt:y) hus rrrultiplc bottonr lincs.
{Io\/ernnrent is t}r;rt it lails to use thcse reaclily-availzrblc bottorn lincs to a<rhievethc aclvant:rgt:s
thzrt busincss clcrivcs frour its bottonr line s. Be<rzrusccrxnplct.c failurc zrlong multiple bottclnr lincs
ciocs not ilutclnraticirlly lbrcc ir gov()rnmcnt agencv to go out cll-busincss, thc irgerlcy ('i:lll irlrrorc
the signuls li'clrn thesc lrrcasrrrcs of pcrlirrnritnr:t: :rrtcl, instead, croncentratc on urc:rting a
c - o n s t i t t r r : n c _fvr r r i n c r e : r s i r r g n c x t y e : r r ' s b u c l g c t . A n c l t h i s c ' o n s t i t u c n c y n r a y c a r e : r b o u t a b o t t o n . r
linc that iras litlle to clorvit.h the argcncy's pt'rftlrnriulcc -- rvith its ability t.o:.rctually pro{lrrcc sonrr:
c i c - s i r c cpl r r b l i c - p o l i c y r c s r r l t s .
Ccrtainlv, sorrre governlnerrlt ?rgencics rlo crrcatc thcir own bottom lines to clc--tcrnrinclrou'
rvcll thcy arc cluing, to nreasure pro{ress. to rnotivitt.r:pcoplc, to cleternrinc whttt neecls to bc fixccl,
ancl to con."'ince citizcns that it is rvortl'ty ol-thcir support. I-ike zr busincss, these govcrnmcnt
a g e n c i e s h a v c t r s e c l t h c i r b c l t t o n r l i n e s t o i r n p r < l v ep e r l b r n t a n c c . I n 1 9 9 2 , t h e B r t r c a u c l l -M o l o r
Ecltriprnent of the Ncw York City Departrnent o1- Sarrilertion won one of tltc Forcl
'l'o
inrpror.e
Fotrnclation/Hnn arcl Univcrsity zuvnrclsfirr Innovation in Staic ancl l-octu.lGovcrnntent.
BME s ltcrlbrnriur<:r:in nrerintzriningernclrc1-iiriringtlr<nrsanclsctl.sanitat.iotrvchiclcs, tfrc lcatclcrship
cntployccl a rrarietv of ltottonr lincs including thc pcrcentagc ol-r,chic'lcs available for scn,icc, the
ltcrt'entnge ol-r,chicles lhat brcak clown cltrrirtg scnricc, ancl the t':ttio ol-IIME rttainten:tncct t'osts
to iclenticarl itrirraLc-scctor costs. Unlbrtunzrtcly, srrclr cxcrcisr:s of creutive public le:rdcrsl'tip are
uritke proclttctive ttse of a bottclnr
too rarr' -- so infrecilrcnt thzrt, whcn n governrnent :rgencv 11<lc's
linc, it iurtomaticerlly rvarrants itwe itlrcl pr:rise ^
Government's
Traditional
Measure of Success
"brtreattcrats"
bc nrclre
Whv clcln'twe hztvc more innovation in governnrcnt 2 W1ry tt'on't ottr
-arnclgovertrnrcnt bttrc:rucrats -- alu'ays lbllow the
c.rcativc? Whv clo governnlcnt bureaucracics
stanclurcl opcrating ltrocedurcs rather ttrarn try to rnzrkc c'reittivc ttsc of thostr rules to archicve thtt
rearl purp<lscs for rr,.lricl-tthc organizzttion was creartccl'/
'l'l'rc
ansg,cr, I think, is rerther obvious. It lirllorvs lionr thc systcnr clf rcr.verrcls:ttrcl
punishntents c'rrrrcntly built into govcrnrttcnt -- :r rcwttrcl systcrtr that rcsrrlts clircc:tly ll'ortt thc lack
of any rvcll csta.blisltccl bclttorn line.
\\4rat l-r:rppcns wl'rcrr 21governnrcnt cnrployce breaks it rttle'/ Whtrt happetrs whctr tr trivil
scrant tries tcl bc rtrctrt.ivc in an c[ftrrt to :rcr:onrplish sorrrc prlrpose lbr which thc itgt:ncy rvas
crcatcd'/ Mayltc notlring. But n.rnytrr, jrtst rtritybc, a jclurn:rlist, or a legislittor, or it political
'l'lte
"AgertcyViolatcs
"bcnding"
Ilttles."
lteacllineblares:
o{'tlrc nrk:s.
c'arlclidltc hears about this
"Wltcrl
arc yollr cnrployecs goitlg
Tlrc crusading lcgislator clcnranclsof the ernbattlccl agcncy hcacl:
'l'lrc
"lf
I ertrtcict'tecl, I cttt't ttssure
cancliclate pronrises:
to start followingyour own proceclures'/"
you, the Dcpartmcnt of Proccclures rvill stnrt obcyinS thc law." \Mto, thetr, cotnes to thc def'errst
of tl'rr: govcrnment crnployee who was, inrrrccliblv, .just trying to clo a l>ettcr job?
Maybe, whcn a cretrtivc civil scnrant trr.ro t<i lt,-'ip acrhicvc rvlrat hc or sl-tc thought rvlrs tire
'l-hc
otrt'e-t'rcitti', c
agcncy's purpose, nothing happens. But not inlicclttcntly, zrllltcll brt'aks loosc.
rrivil scrvant may not lose his job. fJtrt ]rt-'ancl erzeryoncclsc in thc itgcncv hztvc certaitrlv lcrrrtt'cl
"success": Alw:rys follorv the rules! You
cirn nc\rcr qet ill
an important lesson of bureaucratic
trouble by following the rules!
Robert D. Bcitn:
Page 3
Ilottom-l,ine Government
A task lbrcc (of rvhich I was a member) inlen iclved all thc top cleputies in a lzrrgc'
"How
does yoltr
goyerlment 2genc.y. Onc nrember of our group asked cvcry onc rlf the sc clerputies:
Sgcpc\' ]tt:itci cvalulrtc vorrr pe.rforrnirnce'/" It rvas it ntost ctttltarr:tssit-tg cluestion. Somtl avrlicic'cl
eve c.oltact rvilir tlrr:1lisk {irrcr.. Sortre sl'rtrlllecl tl'rcir lcet. Nctnc lttrd:r clear cxplanatititl of hrlu'
'fhe
best tlrert solne of thettr cotrlcl
of horvtheirperrlbmnance was ntcrzlsl.rrcrl.
tScv rverc er.erltrzrtecl,
ol|cr rvus: Wcll, I grress if I keep nrv nalnrc out o{ thc rtctvsplipcr, I'rn clrling e gcxlcljclb."
Is thlt llrr.' ltest wc catl tlcnrancl frorn govcrrtntent, liottr govcrtltltcttl crnpioyees, ertlclll-rlrlt
-- if yotr clo t-tot rtlilkt' lt
goyerlrlcllt
lciiclcls'/ If volr kccp yorrr nzII-Itcotrt o1't.lrc trt:r''u'sp:rl)clS
j0b'/
Lit.t.lcwonclcr thtrt {ov()rlllllcrllt crulllovees ilre ltot t'ct-t
nristake
Vou alrc cioing zr goocl
"'I'lrotr
'l'hc
s h e r l tn < l t r r t a k c a n r i s t i t k r ' '
t c n r . o r n n t u n ( l r t r c n t so f p r r b l i c s c r v i < ' cu r t : s i n r p l c :
creative.
'l'lrou
'fhou
Iror if you d<l nrerkc ii
nlist:rkc."
tnttke
a
sltalt. trot
shitlt 1ot trrlke :r uristakc.
g
e
t pttt'tishcrl.
y
o
t
l
t
h
c
r
u
l
c
s
pristirke
if-vou clo sotnctlring, anything. thzrt violatcs
13utstrpltoscyouacttritlly:rcconrplishsonrething'/ Whathitppelttswhctryrlttt:rkt:acrt-'illi\'('
step tow:rrcls ac:hieving urr] irgeltr:y's nrission'/ Nothing. Al1.cr all, ilow clo Vou krlow yoll \\'('l'('
srrppclsccl to ercccltnplish thzrt'/
W. Ecftvarcls Detning, tlrc ntan who Lerught thc ,,lap:utt:sc how trl bc Japelnese itncl. thir-tr
verlrs lzttcr, cnnre to bc rcvcrccl in his own country ars thc lathcr clf-totirl c1r-rirlitylllzllragcnl('llt.
auglecl that 85 perr.ent ol-the tiurc thc pcoplc nrc not tl'te problcrtt, thc systcrlr is the prclbletll. L)o
,rnt blor-1a,t5e crlltlt-ryt:cs who are unsll('('cssltrl in thcir cf-lilrts tcl trttrkc'a.n ltraclccluate svstt'tti
rvgrk, sariclDcrtring. Liiarne thc systcin. I3lartnetlltosc wiro t'reatccl thc systelut.
CerL:riply, tirat is trtrc in it bottorrr-linelcss guvernnlctrt. IIrlrv rvorllcl wc expect peolllt' trr
lbr violating t.he standard opcratirti
beh:u,e il-they r,vork in tr s-Vstcnrthat punishcs the irrcli'n'icluzrl
-rcgarclless ofhow nobler or inrport:rnt a pr:rp<-lsctttcy werc t.ryitrg tcl archicve lrrtl
proceclures
r'vhatt
llto-''
prccisely
arll
rlcl
rvrilrld
clocs 1ot rcwarcl thcnr lor uchieving arny such yrurpose? Wc
'l-r1-(by
ottt
kec'P
rule)
to
at
singlc
violtrling
not nraking a single nristtrkc, by not
clcputies clicl:
"lrcl
tt'r'
if
that
it.
Brrt
to
clo
rvay
bettcr
,ancs out ol'1he lcwspapcr. Maybc wc coulcl ligtrre out zr
"bettcr" r,veryrnakes us vulncrerble to criticistrt, rvhy bother'/ It ctttr otth
rvay violzrtes er1rlc, iI'thnt
get us in troublc.
With<tut a bclltotn line, withouL any way to gilugc l]orv tnttch a govcrnnlent a$etrct' ts
nlctt-it
:rccomplishisg, thcre is ncl wzry lo tcll rt'hether it hzrs achicvecl itn\/ success. Thcrr, the onlv
sllt-cil'it
rvitl'tottt
a
lirtet,
it
bclttont
Witltout
clf zrry .gency's perf<lnnanc'c is its ntrnrber t,rflailure s.
"'fltotr
,rr",,"L,." of progrcss, a governnrent trgency's de-fctclo, ol)etrittillg <'rccclllccotnes a sintplc:
shalt not nratkc er nristakc."
Motivating
Performance
N o r v : ; u p p o s c t l r a t L l r c { o r r r t r n n t c l l t a { c n ( ' } . ( i o t : s 1 l : t l ' ci l V e r J s l l e t ' i l i c b t l t t o t r l l i n e l . [ ' ' o t . . r
yearr. Fot.rL
s t a l e h i g h r v : r y d - p a r t i l r r : r r t , t h a t r n i { h t b c : l } r i n g 1 5 0 r t r t s a l c l l r i c l g c s r l p t t l t ' o c 1 tt:h i s
this vt'itt'
nrcitsles
ilgililhit
ytrt'st'ltoolcrs
5,OOO
city hc:rltl'r dcpartnrcrrt, that. nti{ht bc: frrrntr-rr-rizc
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w o r k f ' r t 6 a l a g e p c y h a v c a n t ( ) : 1 s u r co f s r r c c e s s
rclrcliii*
r , v h 0 r v o r - ki n t l r e r ti t g c t r C y- - n r i t . j r r s t t l r o s e tw l r < tr c i t a i r l t r i c l g t : s .i t r t n t r - l r t i z t r' l t i l c l r c n . t l r t t ' t t t r l . t
- , z r l l k n o v u r, v i t a t t t r c i i j c l b i s . E v c n i f 1 , < l rr-lro i r o t i r t ' t i r r l i v r e l t r r i r l t r i c l g c s , \ ' t x t t t t r r l t ' r s t t u r c lt i r i l l . i t ' :
irbilitr t'
tlis yeitr atlr1nvly, the pcr-lbrnrancrt'ol'vorrr organizatiotr is itrt'itsurctl by'\'tltrr t'tlllct'livc
n
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hilclrett:
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nrake lbO bridges saie. Even if'you clo noL actually
r:rtlle r'
art
rrr:rtlt
or
yor-t
if
tcac'tr
Evcn
who
clo.
those
arms, y.' undelstand that your job is to help
coDtributt's
that
way
in
a
thosc
subjects
to
tcach
than rcacling, you understancl ttrat you oughl
Robert D. Behn:
Bottom-Line Gorrernment
to your students' ability to read. A clear bottom line can have a major role in motivating
to achieve that purpose.
Page 4
people
At the Massachusctts Department of Public Welfare, the leadership team that created the
tr'f CHOICES program to help welfare rccipients become economically self-sufficient ernployercler
vcry clear bottonr line: 5O,OOOjob placcments over fivc years. 1-his fivc-year bottom line w:ts
clivicled into annual bottonr lines, which, in turn, rvere clivided into rnonthly bottom lines for each
of over tifty local vu'clfare ofliccs. Thus, earcl-twcllhrc ollice haci a n'ror-rthly bottom line: place fiver
'lhe
department kept and
(or ten or twcntv) rvclfarc rccipients in .jobs dr-rring thart tnonth.
publicizecl thc clata incliczrting r,vhich locarlolTiccsnrct thcir rnontl'tly bottom line zrnclwhich did not.^
Ancl those local offices thart achievecl thcir :rnnttzrl bottont line were publicly praised with
cerernonies, plaques, and press attentiotr.
Crcating Lhat sirnpie bottom line for zrlocal rvclftrrc office changccl completely the inccntives
fortheclircctorofthatolfice erndforeveryonewhorvorkedthere. Nort'thereexisteclzrnindicatrlr
of slccess (erchieving thc annual goal of placir-rga specitic numbcr of rvelfare recipicnts in jobs)
tl-rat compctecl with the indicator of faih:rc (breaking a rulc). Morcover, tl-re cleparttncnt's
leerclersfiip nrndc it clear that this ncw bottom line ol'sucoess wels nlorc import:rnt th:rn tl'tc olcl
bottonr linc of f:rilure. In irclclition, tl-rc clepzrrt.mcnt'slcaclerslrip undertook to elimin:rte as rllany
of t.hc cllcllrles:rs possible -- particultrrly thc rulcs thut itinclerrccla local office's ability to ircl'tievc
SLICCCSS.
Aller all, tfie olcl rulcs werc not clesignecl tci ]rclp local olliccs fincl cmpltlynrcnt for wclf;rre
rccipien1s. Rather, the olcl rulcs were clesigncci to prcvcnt that olcl trio of govcrnnlcrllal c-vils:
No ortc worriccl that tltose rulcs got in the way of finding -jobs for
fi-:rtrcl.rv:rste, alcl abuse.
'l'h:rl
bottom line hacl not cvett cxistcd bclore. Incleecl, uo bottom linc l'rzrd
rvclt:trc rcctipicnts.
existccl belbre, so the rules coulcl not gcl in the rvav. El'l-ectivclv.tlte rulcs httd becn the llottont
linc: Tltou shzrlt not m:rkc a ntistake.
A new competing bottont linc ciicl, of coursc, confltsc sotttc ertrployces of thc dcpartmettt:
lorv long will tl'resc new leaclcrs lrrst'/ In tl're prcviotts cigltt 1'citrs, <tttr dcpartnrent tras had fivc
comrnissioncrs. Wrtn't this nern,crournrlssi<lnerattcl ltis lcaclership tcilru lc:t"'e soorl too? Ancl rvon't
t.heir new bottom line lcave I'u'iththcnr'/ Ancl besiclcs, ltttrv atre wc stlJ)llosecl tcl achieve this trcrv
bottom line anyway? Thcy het'"'en'ttold us /roru."
"l
'l-honrits
I'. Glynn, Barbarzr
Indeecl, the clcpartnrent's lezrclcrsl'tip- Cltarlcs N4. Alkins,
'l-hcy
'fatum,
werc rclyirlg tlpoll the ingetruitv
clirl not knor,v ltotl.
ancl Jolie Ilain Pillsbury
Btrrke
- to tigttrr'
of thc clepartmcnt's cmployees-- of thc lclc'alotfic'c rliret'tors trtrrl o1-thc social rvttrkers
(Flarlarcl
['ress)
lJnirrersily
, I he1'u'c
<rrrt lrotu. ln ltaclerslrrp Corrrrfs; k'ssnns-fitr l\ltlic Mantogers
it't fttct,
line.
Ancl,
clcscribecl in dcl:ril irourLhc dep:rrtnrcnt achievecl its o.'l'tr,st:lf:crezitccl,bottttul
itl thc
ol-nlanY
crclting the spccitic:, bottorn line of-job placenrr-nts tlicl entrrgizc thc creativity
clepartmcnt.
S o r l c r : r n p l o y c e s r e s i s t e c l l l t e r r c w , s u c ( ' L r s s - o l i t ' n t t t c lb o t t o r n l i n c . c l r t n g t o t l t e o l c l
'on-{aiir-rre dcfinition, zrncltrcr,'erslflnecl cln to Llre ner.r'role that t]re leaclersltip wtrs artlemptit'tg ttl
-- sornc rvillin{ly, others rvit}r :r littlc help. Brtt nr:rtrv
create for Lhe clepartmcnt. M:ury of thcse lcft
fopnd the ncw demancls placed upon them a charllengc ancl rverc pleasecl rvtren the agcllcy fbr
w1rich tlrey workecl reccivecl attcrrlion in thc prcss, nol firr firiling to cotnply $'i1h sorne rttle. iltll
for actrrally ac1rieving an aflilnrativc success. Irrrltlic' ernployecs rvho harr.lbeen ashtttrteci ttl saV
rvhcre they workecl werc now prclucl to clairn {even if they thcurselves dicl Irot plarcc rvcllhrt'
recipients in jobs) that they workecl tbr tl're Department of Public Welfare ernd thc trT CHOICES
program.
Robert D. Behn:
Pagt' L
Bottom-Line Government
Neutralizin$
the Overhead Bureaucrats
-- the "burealtc'rlttt
But rvhat zr.boutthose people whose only job is to cntbrce the rules
personnel? Will not tht't'
who work in the orrerhead agcncies of buclget, procllrenlent, atrcl
necessary to:rt'llr'
creativity
the
inhibit
line
bottom
keepers of the traditional, no-ntistakes
will not the ovelt'llt'i''
or
diffcrent.
ncrw
do
something
to
wants
success.? When ilre line nranager
"That's against the rules"? Even if ther ncw or differcnt something i-s tr'
manager flatly stzrte:
overhcad managcr ilr(rr'
really againsi the law (or even tl're formal regulations), will nttt the
'/
'Thai not the way it is done. You c:rn't do it Lhat wzry bec:zruse-- well -- j lrst be causc'
s
an argLllll('1.'
ccrtzrinly, theywill try. Butnowit is a lair iight. Nowthe linc nlzrnagcrhzrs
hard tht: oI r.
tnzrnzrgcrs
overhead
the
Ilefore,
nlanager.
orrcrheacl
il-rc
with
with rvl-rich to clo battie
-- on their sidc. Anytliing that broke thc mlcs - irlrit'L :
measllre ot'success -- non-fa.ilure
-- was to be stopped. Now. ht)\\'r"'' :
anything that could possibly be criticizecl for brcaking a rule
"That
rule is preventing us frorn accomplishing our p1lrl)os("
the line manager cor',.,,.rgr.i"'
j':'l'hc
rule is stupid ancl shoulcl be changed, or at lcast waivcci in t
achieving our 6ottom line.
rI
t
Slrt'
go talk with our rntltu:rl boss'
case. Ancl if you won't aruthorize such a moclificartion, lct's
lll"'
nlle prevcnts us liom cloirlq
r'e that lny agencv's job is tcl achieve this bottonr linc. Yolrr
botlom line, or your nrlc lrrli'nry
of
importancel
the
about
nrind
hcr
lf our boss has ch:ur.ied
Norv."
priority over my bottorn line, I need to learn that. Direcllv frrlm hcr.
'
rvlto enltlrce rulcs tlllrt Gclvernment cloes not. hnrrc :r monopoly ort ot'crhelaclnlittrtu{crs
'
tllso cotltplain, lbr cxamlllc' rtlr'
in the rvay of purposes. Liner nrzrnagers fronr thc privatc st-ctor
, , b e n nc o u n t e r s " i n t h e i r b r r c l g e ti n c i f i n a n c c u n i L s w l l c l t : t t t t ' , ' t : t ot l ' t t rs p c r t d i n g ( i ' e' , i r N ' c s t l r l ' : '
the
lirnr tolcl trbottt thc budget pcolllt't'l
clec.isio's o1 line marlergers. Sci,eral man:rgers tiom onc
lorcc lltlt thctr spertt si\ ttt"r'': a u t h o r i z e c l t h e h i r i n g o 1 ' t \ v o , h t , n c l r c c ln e r , vp c o p l c l b r t h e s t t l c s
ncw salt-'spcrsclnnel neccie(l tr t t i t' ' "'
deciding wherther to purchase the 2oo autclniobiies thzrt thesc
thcir sales calls.
"Tltzrt's stupicl -i'i'
arglle:
Itr the private sector, horvever, thc line melnagerrcan aiways
.
litrc is gross salcs, clr rcturn oll ctllrit\
decision lrtrrts onrbottonr line." Whether the bottom
tt't':;
ill
linc llltlnager can al'uvilysargLle
some othcr nleasure ot'sur:cess tl"rat thc firnr is using, tlte
'
ahv:rys win' Bttt at least in iurt' lit:
not
clo
mertlagcrs
line
the
of that bottont line. In business,
casc: 1'heir contpany's botttlttt lirr'
they always have awick'ly acceptecl basis lbr makinS thcir
precisely because therc is 11i1ll.lt' :'
In govcrnnrcnt, overhc:rcl manargers arc so po',verlhl
bccause therc is no bottom litte rrll:' :
line. ln government, the overhead rules arc so clomin:rnt
rules. only by crcilting il nc\v' l)o:111
than not making the mistakc of breaking oll€r o1 tirose
to achicve ancl thzrt tltc lloiitr' '
bottom line --:r specilicr goirl that the agcncy is attcnrptinq
' t
es(rapc lionr the conlining overheilrl r.L:
leadership ,.rppn.iu -- celr] lhe linc manzrgers'hope to
that prevent ttrem from accornplislring anythitrg'
Goals:
The Moral Equivalent
of War
For cx:rmple, when $oVCrllIllt':.'
Gorrernment is not always inefficient and ineffectivc.
:r lot of energr a,nd intelligence \'( :decides to launch a war, it can mobilize ancl concentrate
--- the bottom line
is very clear. Wren the Unilecl Strtl'
quickly. Wry.i Because the objective
t'
tlrt'
suddenly,
disappeared.
decicled to go to war with traq, att the bureaucratic obtuscation
"Does this action violate a rule?" to L)'' liom
dramatically
shlfted
of whether to clo something
employee had a very clear bottoru lrrr'
'
this action trelp win the wai?' Suddenly, each gbvernmcnt
government employees dici a I
,,W1at
can I do to be st 6elp win tl-re war?' tn the war with lraq,
Tons of mzrterial ald thousarlcl> :
of things very qurckly, very efficiently, and very effectively.
Pttgc 6
Robert D. Behtr: Bottom-Line Governtnent
people were nrovecl half-rvay around tl"re globe itr a matter of rveeks. Why?
essential to tl-tc very cle:Lr goal clf winning tlte rvarr.
Because this rvas
"War
"War
'Ihat
on Drllgs.'
tltr Prlverty" or a
is rvfiy politic:rl icarders c]'roosc t.o lzrtrnch zt
'fltey',v1pt
But
sirnply
rlelclrtring
intclligcnce.
trncl
cllcrgy
thc
s:rme
to nrobilizc zrnclc.onccntratc
hzN'tt
to clellncl
is.
Yol,l
r'vhat'"vitrnil'tg
clc{lnc
hzrvc
to
You
enough.
1\vAr o1 porrcrtv <lr clnrgs is nclt
"War
Rcagan
and
Gcorg('
llclnerlcl
ancl
I)o'"'ertY"
ott
win
his
to
lailccl
arbottonr lirrc-. Lynclon,Johrrson
"War
it' goirl
to
definc
a
specif
prcsiclcnts
failccl
thersc
bcczruse
on
I)ntgs"
IlrrsS ftrilccl to rvil tl'reir
tltcv
lbr
dcciding
whzrt
tlasis
u<l
c'lear
-,vafrriors
it:rcl
rvttrriors
tl"tcir
rcsrrlt,
As
n
tcl zrchicvc.
fclr their
<'oulcl
victclrics
tl'tcy
rn'irt,
zttty
tlrcv
coulcl
erny
bat.tles
itzrvc
rvarriors
sl-roukl do. Neiilrcr clicl thcse
cleclare. Withclut clczrr gozrls, it rvzrsclifficult trl nrcasrrrc suCcctssrlr to rnrtbilize ancl c:rlrl<lcrttr:rtcl
peoplc's ctnergics ancl intelligencc on nchieving thztt sttt.r'css.
Thc sanre was trtre lilr thc warr in Victnanr -- lhe rnilitary equivalcnt clf thc War on [rovcrtv
or thc Warr o1 D1rgs. Wl13t exactly wits thc mission'/ Winning thc hettrts and rninds of tilc
pcoplc? Whnt cxitc:tly wcrc thc gonls we used to rttcitsure progress towards tl-ris
Vietllmesc
1'Irc bgcly ggrrpt'/ ht traclitionul wars, progrcss is ntcastrrccl by land tlzrpturcd. If your
r'issiol'/
front movcs fonv:rrcl voll alretrvinning; if yrntr liont ntoves tralt.kwarcls vott al'e losing. Very sinrplc.
l]rrt in Vietniun tlterc rvas n<t liont. So it was clil-flc:ultto rncttsttre progress. Tl-tus, itt an ellilrl trr
sorncr waly to clcnrortstrlrte tlttrl ttur militerry wzrs tttrtkirlg
prorriclc soltrc ltrczrsrrrc of s1(.ccss
,
c'orrnl. No u'onclcr Scnzrtor Aikcn suggcstecl th:lt rve sinlllly
boclv
thc
invcntccl
somLrorrLr
progrcss
no onc hacl clcl'incc1rvhzrt vitttculrrvrltrlcl be, it rvortlcl llc
Ilcr':rusrlrornc.
.1.,.i,ar" rrictory:urcl conrc
v i ( ' t o n ' h a c l n c v c r b c c n c l c f i n e c l ,i t w i t s c q u a l l y l o g i c ' a l
g
i
v
c
n
t
h
a
t
I
r
i
t
l
c
e
c
l
,
qritc easy to ilcclirrc it..
tlt'llievccl.
bcctr
to oroclarinr tltat it lrtr.cl
Mission and Goals: Choosing a Bottom
Line
.fhc
spccific irrclex of srrcctcsstcl ltr: rrsecl as ir ltottorn linc is lcss import:rnt tharr trctrlailv
bc
choosing somc inclex ,- inclcccl, almost arry inck'-r. Alicr iLll, the ltclttont linc can trlrvzrys
pcrnriulellt'
its
oll-jectivcs
keeps
Il('\'cr
llutl
busittcss
A
be
chnngecl.
cltalgeci. I1 lnct, it. shoulcl
collcctccl.
A government .gen(:)r shoulcl not clo su r:ithr:r. As I)rogl'css is trtatlc ittrcl rtcrv itrforrrtatitltr
'
btltlonr
lirie
thcir
nrodily
ngency lcacletrsr'vili neccl to
-- sortre kirlcl
Still, you have to starrt sonrcrvht:re. So y<trrnri.qht lrs $'cll c'liOos0sotlcthing
Fixiltg l50
of goal -- tSrit is relnti1,criy,rasy to acl'ricvc anrl t'ill nt:tkc sctts(' to il lot ol-lleo1lle.
p
o
illts:rrt'irll
l
l
y
2
5
s
(
'
o
r
c
s
r
t
'
l
t
c
l
i
t
t
{
r
u
i
s
i
n
{
<
:
h
i
l
c
l
r
c
n
,
p
r
c
s
c
:
h
o
o
l
5
O
O
O
rr's.le briclgcs,ilrnrulizilg
g
tlals rlright
o
t
h
c
r
S
t
r
r
c
:
c
l
t
r
i
t
t
'
c
l
o
t
r
l
l
l
t
'
)
.
l
o
o
k
a
t
l
c
i
t
s
t
,
(
a
r
n
c
l
t
w
o
.
l
l
r
s
t
g
o
a
l
s
t
h
c
perfcctly r.is,lnble
inrPror''ing
kicls,
tlr
inutttttrizittq
lrriclgcs.
rrnsirli'
fixinrl
<lppost'
will
who
But
i,r.rr" r, 5igler prigrity.
trolllesrtc'h
aSi-rinst
t<t
clo
battlc
u'rttrt.
rtot
rvill
nran:rilcr
ovcrlrczrcl
triclc-bouncl
rc^cli.g. br,"1 ll-rc
public pllrposcs.
ttcxt
A f t c r t l - r cs t a L e l r a t r s p g r t z t t i < t nc k : p a r . t n r c r rtti r t ' s t l r o s c 1 5 0 L l r i c l g c s ,w l r a t s l t o t t l t l i t c l o
il-tht'
\vhilc.
a
allcr
llrrt
tltc
statc.
in
lrririgcs
rrrrsirllst
l50
nexl
ther
llx
it
sl-rclulcl
'c:rr./ Maybc
ptadcrs of the transprtrtatiol clcpsrtnrcnt rtre altlc to cortt'ittcrcpcrttlllt:that rrnsale briclgt:s llrc a
thc tle<'t'sstln'
nr:tjclr problcrn ,- iithcy are altlc tcl getntratc llrc rrt'r'cssilly rcsollrccs trtrclntobilizc
dLll)cli(ls
zrtrsrver
Tltc
do
thcrr'/
they
slrouicl
,wlrat
briclgcs.
of
urrsal'c
out
nrn
will
they
pe-ison'el
problenrs
arc.
its
biggest
rvhat
tttlcl
clcpttrtrtrcnt
trzrnsportution
t5e
cll
itpol lhe rnission
s
F-ixing rrnsirfe briclgcs 1rlkcs sensc ltr:r'zrtrscpart ol- thc transpclrtution clt:llitrttttt'trt
l)i.qll\\'iivs'
'rission is to eltsure that. thc citizens of thc sttrtc arc safe wllile trar,'cllin{ olr thcir
rtttsitli'
Vt'rt'
<lf
nttnrber
largc
hers
a
state
if
the
Ancl
this.
about
controvrtrsy
nruch
not
There is
it'sorll('olr(briclges, and, particularly, if orie of tlicse briclges has colla.psed recently, ancl. r'ertainly,
Robert D. Behn:
l:':tgt' ,
Bottom-Line Government
died as a result of this collapse, the leaders of the transportation department will not face it v.r-,
large challenge in nrobilizing the resources and people necessary to fix all these unsaf-c britlt, Alter thc bridges are all flxed, however, there may exist no new crisis -- no obvious litrlr::'
that meshes rn'ellwith an uncontroversial aspect of the department's mission and thtts tll;tt t ,,: .
jr:-'
be usecl to rlobilize resourcres and energies. But perhaps therc is a clue herer. Maybc
tl.'
A
n
c
l
m
a
y
b
e
j
u
s
t
m
a
y
b
c
a
l
o
t
o
l
n r e r y b e - - s a f e t y i s t l - r e k e y .W 1 ' r o c a n b e a g a i n s t s a f e t y ?
Maybc
rtlttki:.r
name
of
safcty.
in
thc
be
llxcd
deficicncies of the state's transport.artion system can
rural roacls safer will zrlso give farrmcrs better acccss to markets. Maybe making major ill-l('t..,
highways safer will :rlso give thc state's rnanufncturcrs better access to thcir tnarkcts. Nlrr"'
{ :
metking local streets sal-erwill improve the state's cclmntunitics and rerise real cstzrte 11211111':
,,1
.'atspclt
on
the
economic-development
to
focus
nraybc the transportation dcpartrnent ought
purstri'
|;r,::
c:tn
simultaneously
department
mission. Or ma1'be the leardcrsof the transportation
salcty ald cconomic devclopment. Regarcllcss of the aspect (clraspects) of thcir nlission rltl ri']ltr :.
-- against utit ]r '
tftey cftoose to focus, they will necd to select a bottom line -- a specific goal
measllre progress.
Convcrsely, the bottom line hets to relatc to the mission. The mission of any pttblir' :lq('lr( .
is icleslistic. lL is clcsigned to inspirc. And thus it will also bc vaguc ancl ephemcretl. Mort'or, :
'
it will not nccessarily bet obvious how to achicve it; incleed, it rnay bc irnpclssible to ever it<'ltlt
it. Thartisrvhy:rbottomlineisrcquired--anannuillbottomline,pcrhapscvcnzrmontlth'lrrt11,::.
lile. For that is thc only w:ry that the agcncy c:ln nteasllrc progress. Ilut that prclgrt'ss llrr:-'
erlways be clcarly clirected towarcls achieving the missiot-t.
Using the body count as ttrc botton linc irr Vietnirnt iv:ts il firilttrc lloth to tl-rink tlttoll-:
t6e mission arnd to clevclop a proper goal. What cx:rctly rvtrs t.lte tnission of Unitccl Staltt's lrrl t
.
rtttl,'
itllcl
hczrrl.s
to
win
the
trying
we
rcally
Werc
in Vietnam'i What \L/crewc trying Lo alhicve'/
s
I
.
i
'
progress
1,r.,'11111
goocl
to
nlcastlre
way
u
of the Vietnanrese pe oplc'/ If so, was tl-rcbocly corrrtt
goal/
Clcarly not. Because it wirs difficult frrr occiclcntais to clistinguish belwectr \i,:':
Vigtnamcse ancl South Victnarlcse, bctween Vict Cclnfl ernclsolcliers of the Republic of \/it'ttt,':r.
thcre'uvcre many obvicxrs u'arys to increasc thc bocly cottnt while sinrultaneously hr.rrtutrl ll.'
nrission.
Was winning ttre ire:rrts ancl nrincls ol-the Victnamese pcople thc right rlrissiotl Iirr'':
'
United States rnilitary'/ | do nol know. IJuL if this u'tts the propcr nlission, I tlo ktrow tllitl l:
body count was not a uscful wily to neasure progress towtrrds archicving that n-rissitnt. For l:.
nrilita.ry in Vietnam, thc body count was not an appropriate bottonr litre.
I-ittle woncler that General Colin L. Powcll, Jr., forrncr chtrirnran of thc.loint chiet! ol.s1.r::
'
wants the nation's political lcarclership to establish a clcar goal belorc conrmitting the' ntilitrrrr
combat. If the nrilita.ry is going to fight, f'crwell wants iL to lig]rt a reral wiu- rvith il s1)('(r:.
measurable objectivc -- not sonre kincl of ersatz war like tt Watr cln l'overty.
'lhis "Powell
-- itr li't lt r ,
Rule" sl"roulclapply to clomestic policy as wcll: If a pr.rblic agt'ncy
(
statc, or loczrl government -- is askecl to arttatcka pa.rticular problcnr, it ought to be givctr li l(.,:
t"'.,
tllt'
victories
along
intcnnecliatte
sorne
what
are
is,
ancl
goal; it ought to know what winning
l:.'
agetrc'r.
goal
the
for
:r
to
cstzrblish
ftrils
cxecutive
electecl
if tn" legislative branch or thc
--one.
publicly
announce
and
create
agency's appointcd leaclership sl-rould
Adjusting
the Bottom
Line
Achieving a simple, first-year bottom line of, for example, fixing l50 unsafe bridge's lrL:'''
time with which to produce more significant accomplishments. In the private sector, change' t.tk'
Robert D. Behn:
Bottom-Line Government
Page B
time -- a long time. Corporations do not remake themselves overnight -- even over a year.
Sonretimes it takes a decacle -- or decades. In the public sector, by contrast, the demand is for
instantaneous results. If the highways are unsafe we want them fixed -- now, today, certainly this
vear. We clo not want to wait. We do not want any more people killed. We want safe highways.
Norv!
That, of course, is inrpossible. (Andwe all knorvit.) Ourpolitic:ll rhetoric aside, whatu'e
"Show
us some progress. Prove that yoll can do it. Making sonre
rvould really like is progress:
"
progress this year suggests that your agency can make more next year. So fixing I 5O briclges this
yenr buys tl-re time necessary to do sornething more significzrnt -- to really figure out how to reduce
traffic deaths.
Fixing unsafe briclges is, of course, not an end in itself. We want the bridges fixed because
rve believe that ii they are not fixed someone or some group may get seriously hurt or killed at one
or nlore of these bridges. We cannot be sure that, if the bridges are not fixed, someone will be
killecl. We cannot be surc that, if the briclges are fixed, no one will be killed. We want the br:iclges
m:rde saf-er because we think that will reduce the chzrnces that someone is kille d. F ixing uns:tfe
briclges is just an input for producing the output of prevcnling deaths.
Initially, however, Lhinking about prcventing dcaths may be too big a step for an organization that has become erccustonrecl to following, crarefully, all the civil-engineering rules.
Consequently, fixing unszrl-c bridges m:ry be an important first step, {or it zrccomplishes tvu'o
organizational purposes. First, it gcts pcople ir-r the orgzrnization accustomed to thinkir-rg arr-rcl
producing in terms of a bott.om line. Ser:oncl.it gets thenr thinking that somehow that bottonr line
ought to be associatecl with szrf'ety.(Jf course, all tl-rosecivil-cngineering rules were based, at letrst
in part, on safety considcrations. But tl-tosc considerations about safety were buried uncler thc
rules. Achieving safety was not important. Following the rules wars.
trventually, the leaclership of the highway department will want to connect lts bottont line
tnorc clirectly to its mission. Somc timc in the future, it will want its bottom line to bc: Ncxt year,
keep highway fatalities under 9OO.
Whenever thc le adership of a gor.'ernrnentagcncy initi:rtes bottom-line management, it r,vill
rvernt to start with somcthing sinrplc -- something thzrt catr be zrchieved. Il will rvant to follow Karl
"stralegy
of srrrall rvins": Pick a gr-raland erchierreit. Lcatrn from that achievenretrt:rrlcl
Weick's
creatc a sense of nccornplislrurent. Then pick a slightly tottgher zrnd morc signilicant goal; zrchievc:
it. Learn more and build the psycl-rologl of accomplishrnent. Continue the cyclc. Ancl move tht-goal closer to the org:rnization's rcal purpose, its rcal rnission.
Bottom-Line
Government
Requires
Leadership
Kceping highway cleaths unclcr 9OO is clearly a rnucl-r more ambitious bottonr lir-re. Norv
fixing unsafe bridges, dangerous curves, ancl blind intersections will not autornaticzrlly trchicve tl-rcr
bottom line. Civil cnginecring will not nccessarily :rchicve the nerr,'bottonr linc. Because al
rcccssion increases the consunption t-rfalcohol -- and thus increases tlte number of drunk clrirrers
on the highways -- the civil-enginecring improvements may acconrplish little. Higl-rway clcatl'rs
uray still go up (or at least not go down).
Thus, shifting the transportation department's annual bottom line lronr'lix l50 ttnserfe
'
"keep
highway fatalities undcr 9OO" changes the basic nature of the organizartion trnd
bridges to
needed
to make the org:rnization successful. Civil engineering is still necessern':
the kind of skills
dangerous
curves, and blind intersections still need to be reclesigned :rnd lirecl.
trnsafe bridges,
Robert D. Behn:
Bottom-Line Government
But civil engineering is no longer sufficient.
they only help achieve the bottom line'
i '-
Engineering fixes are no longer the bottonr litr'
'
: ' "'"
t,t: ' ."' If next year's bottom line for the transportation department is to keep highu'av
-$-r'. :. '
-- indeed, the entire department's pcrsonnel
belowgOO, thedepartment's leadership
to think differentlY.
\ ' '
Even when wearing their civil engineering hat, they will have to think clifferentlr'
''
(or thc highway cuclt-:l -.'
engineering question no longer is: What bridges do the text books
:
;:.
r:onclitiritthighway
unsafest
the
are
What
be:
must
unsafe? Now the engineering question
'.
:
it:'
last
vcil|
deaths
most
to
the
-that
contributed
what are the highway conditions
state
-- and how can we modifu t'hese coltcliti :'likely to contribute to the nrirst cleaths this year
and the highway codes have nothitri :
textbooks
If
the
reduce the probability of dcath?
'
int.crsection ovcr thc last rlci'rirl'
particular
a
at
about why lhere havl been nine deaths
'
"We'vc done everything"
Now even'r)ll(' ::'
transportation departrnent can no longer say,
.'-''
-will be c:har{t''l
clepartrnent -- from the planning division to the local district workers
intersection.
that
cleveloping icleas for reducing cleaths at
nine cleiiti civil engineering, however, may not provide tlte answer. Maybe those
-- after high-school footballl games. Maybe the way to pr.' ' :
occurred latc on fall Friiay nights
':
night gamcs (botlr Ir"
those clcaths is to post a tretffic cop irt that intersection after arll Friday
the interserltion aftcr 1r'
and basketball) . Maybe the vu,:lyto prevent those deaths is to close
'leaving thc pitrkrr:trafic
the
reroute
to
is
deaths
games. Maybe the way to prcvent ihose
-,
is to tightly cnforcc tlrt'
after t5ose football gori,"". Maybe the way to prcvent Lhose deaths
interse ction erftcr itll i': . : '
rat
tl
and
stadium
football
limit along the strcich of roarclbetwcen the
prevent thosc cleatlr- :- :'
can
clepartment
Maybe the rvay that the transportation
night gu-"".
.
-governillcllt rri':'
another
perhaps
else
by-cloilg something itself but by getting someone
-- to do something.
plrfraps sonte privite inclivicluals or organizations
line for the tratlslltrtl '' :
Establishing the number of highway cleaths as a bottom
tl-rat they do not irrI' : .:
things
for
rcsponsiblc
clepartrne.t holcls thc letrclcrs of that department
Getting the cirril etl{illt ':': '
not clirectly control. Thus, it requires them tocxercise leadership.
line is connectccl to its I :.
right is no lolgcr aclequarte. The more directly the agency's bottom
line all by itself'
bottom
its
realize
to
able
be
overall mission, the less thc agency will
fatalitics. it rvrll : '
If Lhe transportation department's bottom line is to recluce highway
police departments to $ellcriltr
to work with the state highwzry patrol and with local
may have to work with ltlc'itl -' :. '
They
a
deterrent.
of
enforcement activities that are more
-'
Drunk Driving to improve tllt' L::
officials and private organizations such as Mothers Against
They may have to $',t'k ' "'
to eclucate teenagers ibout the consequences of drunk clriving.
--- both public and privatc
to reduce the dysfunctiotr'iL :l
social-scrvice organizations
They may have to work $'iti'
accident-prone behavior that results from job layoffs.
manufacturersofautonrobilestoimprovethesafetyofsuchvehiclesorlobbythelegislatttrt':
thc data about the c'rttt:'.quire more safety devices. They will certainly have to analyze
not merely the cicllt'it':'
identify
to
seeking
perspective-highway accidents from a different
contributors to lli-::"'' '
bipgest
the
are
that
factors
the
but
ln'nignways that cause acciclents
leadership will have to figurc otrl "r'
accidents whatever they may be. Then, the clepartment's
'l
department, ctlll {t'i
is best able to ch:rnge tirose factors and how they, in the transportation
key people to make ihose key changes. That requires leadership.
Robert D. Behn:
page lO
Bottom-Line Government
Bottom-Line
Management
Is Unfair
But holding an organization and its leaders responsible for something that can only be
achieved by others is, the public manager will argue, untair: "Horv can I, as the head of the state
transportation department be held accountable for the actions (or non-actions) of the state policc,
scl-toolprinciples, private social-service agencies, automobile manufacturers, and the legislature?"
All bottom lines are unfair. The chief executive officer of a widget firm is held accountable
not only for the elliciency of the firm's own manufacturing
plants.
That CEO is also hclcl
zrccountable for the clevcrness of the firm's advcrtising agency, for the competence of the firm's
transportation contractors, and for the placement choices of thousands of independent ret:rilers
across the country who actuarlly sell the firm's proclucts. The firnr only makes the widgets. It cloes
not advertise them, tralsport them to mzrrket, or aclually sell thenr to consumers. Ncvertheless,
the firm's bottom linc -- the bottom line forwhich the CtrO is responsible -- depends not just on
manufacturing; it also depends upon aclvertising, transportation, and rctailing, none of which tl-re
CEO (or anyone in the firm) controls directly.
If the advertising :rgency produces a serics of
commercials that fail to interest consuners in wiclgcts, the CEO can always fire thzrt ad agcncv
and get a new one. But meanwhile, it terkes two years for the firm's bottr-rm line to recovcr from
these disastrous commercials; for that, thc CEO is held directly responsiblc.
The man:rger of :r McDonald's franchisc is held responsible for the cle:rnlincss of his
rcstaurant. He is also held responsible for the clczrnliness of his pzrrking lot ancl of the sidcw:rlk
in front of his restaurant. The manager of a McDonalcl's franchise is even held responsible lbr tl-re
cleanliness of the sidewalk of the entirc block on which his restaurant is located. McDonalcl's has
concluded that the guarantee of cleanliness (ancl, tl-rus, indirectly of safety) helps persuacle pe<-rplc
-- particularly, people with small children -- that it is always perfcctly s:rfe to stop and eatt at an17
McDonald's.
Indeed, the bottom line for an individual McDonarld's restaurant is not its fina.nci:rl bottonr
line. If the regional office did its site-location analysis properly (zrr-rdMcDonald's docrs vc-ry
sophisticated site-location analysis), any rcstzrurant should achieve its finerncial targets il'it
achieves its othcr bottom lines, such as short waiting times, hot food itcrns, and friendly servir:e.
Moveover, if the managcr of the local franchise achieves thesc non-financial bottom lines, that
manager contributes to thc profit of not just his rcstaurantbut o[the entire McDonalcl's chzrin.
Consequently, a representalive from a McDonald's rcgional oflice who makes periodic inspcctions
rates the cleanliness of the inside of the restaurant, the cleanliness of the outsicle of tht:
restaurant, and the cleanliness of tl-re entire block.
All bott<,rm lines irre unfair. Rcal bottorn lincs -- thosc most clirectly connected to ttrc
mission of the organization -- cannot be achievcd by the organization alone. That is r,vhy
bottom-line government requires leadership.
The Ethics
of Choosing
a Bottom
Line
kadership
is also required in selecting the bottom line. For any government agencv, rvhzrt
this year's bottom line should be is not obvious. The agency's legislative mandate may of-fer sonrc
guidance. Usually, however, the preamble to an agency's authorizing legislation is ambiguous anci
contradictory.
Indeed, this is necessarily so. To get the legislature to enact the authorizin{
lcgislation -- to put together a majority coalition willing to vote for the legislation -- requires
c'ompromise. Some legislators and some constituents want to accomplish one purpose. Other
legislators and other constituents seek a different purpose. Still others want to pursue otirer
purposes. These purposes may not have all been directly contradictory. But they were diffcrent.
furd choosing among these purposes -- even establishing a hierarchy of these purposes -- can
Robert D. tsehn: FSottom-Line Govertlment
l:" :'" ='\' -'
cause defectionsliom ttre legisl:rtivecoalition. Consequently'to creill('
-- and certainly tht' i'"' :'' -' r :-i:r rI
legislative leerriersi-lipsleavs the exact purposes
:"{-' h{trr;:*
purposes -- p,-,rpur..iirllyvague. Then, all legislators voting for the le'gisl'rl:'.'.':
:r*r{
legisl:rtiott
the
tl-r:rt
constituents
Fr.-r
rcspective
not clisl.ro'"ittvi rcport to tlreir
thcir pirrticttlltt' cottstilllcnts' pllrposcs'
' : r "h
The resulting legislation, however, will hardly provide dcfinitive $uicl;rrrr
zrsk the agctl( "
Fl
manrlger. with so -nt'ry purposes to pursue, the manager nlay
"
l^
'
r
mrlt
with
*
purpose
particttlar
no
pursue
will
the m, rvhich nleauts tn:ri ttre agerlcy
'':-'i
-t't't.l
but
nothing'
not
maybc
rvell,
up
doing
encls
to clo errcrything, the agency
-orchestrate a PI-(( ' \'i
Thus. the task of the agency's leaclership is to clccicle rlr
''
-- what its bottom linc rvill be. As suggcstcr(l attove, artrirlititrl bottonr line ougllt t'
simple ancl nonconrrovcrsial: {ixing l50 trrtsatcbrirlgcs: ilrtrtturtizin{u:999ti:;tt)]::.' :,
s('or('slrr,25 points. Wl.rorur.nbc ttsainstthese goals/ Clerl-r-::hil,.'J",;;i"ira,.oaisg
.
c
c o u l d b e q u e s t i o n s o f p r i o r i t i c s : S h o t t l c l u ' c f i x t r n s z r l - e b r i d g c s : . . , " : a l " . $'t
t l 1iiil:
l i . i _:] f t . l l l l ' : , .
percenlzrgc of lo$'-birtll
we vaccinate chilclreri aglirrst nrcarsles or recluce the
c
o
n
c
l
u
c
l i n g t l r a t t l ' r c i r l i t i l t l l-llo' 1t t o r t t l i l l ' . - t : ' - ; r f l
Shouldweraisercaclingi"u.,'rornrathscorcs?
l' t lr''rr' I ' :"i-€
be simple and 'oncontror.crsi:rl ciocsnot preclude a dcl;irtc'ovt'r 1lt'itlt'llit's
' " ::": ' ':"''
-thirn lo{it '\i'lllt "'l ''
b o t t o m l i n e s w i l l l l c t r r b i t r a t . r ' i l t t s e c lo n v a l u e s r e r t h e r
actlttrllr'llit'kitt1 "::'
agcncy shoulcl t[, t0 lrclricl'c is lcss inlportant than
y e t , i s t h c c l r o i c c 0 l ' t h c b o t t o m l i n e f o r e r s t z r t e t r i l l l s p o r t i l l l ( t l l . , - ' l - '"
-- So open to itrllttt'ltt t' : ''
clepartmcnt, of 2l st'}t()O1rt-allv so arbitrary
the accompall!'iIl{ llollr':l: ^::
organiz:rtion,s lcsclcrship'7 ls not the mission zrnd
e r I l ' V z r i l lo f G e o r g e \ \ ' i t s l t t t l ' i " : : ' : " : ' ' : : t ' : - '
I r r l t i s l r r t r l k . J l c t r t c r - q i rat g- sa P e r f o r m t r g A r t , " pPeer tm
ancnt white watcr'" Nlrlst 1lt'r'lt't 1-"'.' :
w r i t e s : r b ' r . r t t h c r . l r a r l l c r t g co i ' r : i n . g i n g t h r o u g h
is like canoeing otl a lerkt' .tl ll'r: "'' :" 1
mzr.nurgenrert.rlrqges Varill, ersstrtnethal r,t,.r.,:ig"ttt"nt
tilt' tttrlltllt:'''
- - w i t l - r o r l ' o ( . c z r s r o ' a r il n t c r r u p t i o n s o f t u r b u l c n c e . l n r e i l l i t y , h e a r g u e s ,
in nn interrtrnticlnztlec'tltrottlr" 'r:'::.
pervasive. certainly, tl-ris is trub forbusiness manelgcnrcnt
:
c a n n o t s i r n p l ' c t c ' c l o p i t s p r o d u c t l i n e , s e t u p i t s m a n u t a c t r r r i n g f a t l i l i t i c s ' a n d o p t ' r i l t . r 'ol
1 "t'r:r
: : --'
lorrlt
thc
in
permanrnt rvhitc rvater
reckoning for il-rc next clecade. Rather, Lhe firm faces
ancl chcap oversetls ('ollll)t'iill :.
technoltlgies,
Ifew
preferences,
'r'
shocks. <therngcsin consunler
watLtr els ncrw environntental probicrtls ll
Similzrrly, ptrblic managcrs lerce permanent whitc
trrrbuletrce for Lhc public agency'
econonric sh<lcks, trnd nc'uvcitizcn clenrancls creatc
,,winning iS tl"re only thin{ r
writes Vaill'
Arrd, ir.r this world of permanent white water,
t':'
winning? Does .ot whomever has the higl-tcst st
think wi.ning is." But is not winning simply
winning:
is not easy to define
win? Yet, even lbr ar sports team, a,rgues Vaill, it
rne th:rt one of the coacl-t's key
A former college baskctball coach once told
in thc strnle wily' For some'
problems is tolet all the plaryers to clefi'e'wi'ning'
winning"o'',.',"o,.alwaysbeingwillingtoplayhurt;|orothers.itcannlean
in starting I:rst and hanging
never playing hurt. where one ptoy"t may believe
game trnd go all out at the cnd' For
on, another will take it easy eilrly-in the
challenge; for anothcr' the
one, each game can be zrn individual freeitancling
challengeisaseriesofgames,orevenawlroleSeason.sonreplayersregardall
zrre ntrtch tnore import:rnt thatr
opponents equally; for 6thers, some opponeuts
'winning"'
others isn't really
other opponents,-and winning against one of the
Robert D. Behn:
Bottoqll-ltre
Government
Page 12
If the definition of winning can slide around in the minds of the
members of a sports team, this is nothing compared to the diversity of thinking
one can find in a typical work organization.
'the
Indeecl, if
definition of winning is open" for a sports team, how unsettled is the definition
u.inning -- the definition of success -- for a public agency?
of
Consequently, the task of leadership is to get everyone using the same definition of
'getting
u,.inning -- the same bottom line. Leadership, Vaill writes. is
everybody on the same wavc
length regarding what winning is going to nrean for the team and keeping them there." This is
'thinks
winninq is drives action on a
bcr:ause, continues Vzrill, what an organization
"
nrinute-to-minute basis.
It is not unfair, presumptuous, or unethical for the leaders of a public agency to choose
a particular definition of winning. Rathcr, il is essential. Getting thc agency to define a specific
ltottom line, and keeping the agency focused on achieving it, is a necessary task of public
leadership.
The Bottom Line and Organizational
Culture
Internally, the leaclershipseeksto createan organizationalculture -- a culture that reflects
pursues
the organization'smission and associtrtedbottom line. Any:rgency's top managers
zrnd
job themselves. They czrnnotachievcthc ergency's
mission singlehandeclly.Nor cnn
the
cannot do
what
Rzrthcr,
they need to do -- what their
bottom
linc
by
themselves.
realize
the
agency's
tl'rcy
intcrnal leadership is all about -- is to get everyonewithin the organization thinking erboutl-tow
they and their unit can best help the agency achieve its spccific bottom line and rcalize its
mission.
At the Massachusetts Deparrtmentof Revenue,Commissioner lra Jackson defined a very
specific bottom line for the clivision thirt proccsscd tax returns. In January 1985, on the front
page of the state's 1984 income t:rx fomr, Jackson's letter statcd:
If we owe you a refund, please do yourself a favor and get your return in
as soon as possible. Early filers get quicker refunds. It's your money and we
want to get it back in to your hands just as soon as possible. Here'sour pledge:
if you send us an error-free return by early March -- we will rcfund the money
we owe you in four weeks or less.
Th:rt bottom line was certainly not written into the revenuc dep:rrttnent's authorizing legislalion.
Yet it was clearly within the spirit of agency's mandate.
Moreover, that bottom line was simple and achievable. How cliclJackson know that l'tis
atgency could achieve the four-week turn-around? He did not know for sure. There was no
analysis available to tell him what the processing division could do. In fact, there was not even
enough data around from previous years to do such an emalysis. So, Jackson simply asked
George Osganian how fast his division could turn around the refunds. Osganian replied: fcrur
rveeks until mid-March. So that was the bottom line that went on the tax forms.
Creating the bottom line of a four-week refund accomplished a lot of internal purposcs.
First, it motivated the people who worked for the processing division. Here was an organizatiotr
that was only recognized when it made mistakes -- when it lost a tax returrr, sent back the \\'rong
refund, or violated some rule. Now the processing division actually had something positive to
achieve -- a bottom line to meet. For two-and-a-half months, the processing division rvas the
Page 13
Robert D. Behn:
c e n t e r o f t l , r e c l e p z r r t . m e - n t ' s a l t e n t i o n . s u d d e n l y , t h e l , ' \ \ ' Ls=
- .r C ,i{"i:l:
rJ r. , r (- i--- -..t:':i4 :. r. r
",
praise in the-pre '
ll ;:-' r ' ' Deoplervho rvere earning the clepartment
':t"::"
:::':
lhi
rvh^t
of
proud because
il'ri";o.1",'-,"r.,f or n"""nue, you were
accomPlishing
:}-* ':":'''
beyortcl $'i:'': :: crd h
important
was
relund
Br.rt t'e {bur-week
[8 ..it . '.
im- d
111,J;1.-:
agency 1y21.s,
his
for
nission
Jacksotr's
"treert titrp'I\'t':t 'rs r-tld
(ffiir
reputzrtion arrcl morale.
clbjectives was to
tration,,, and one ot his subsidierry
lr ;r:i..
5
rit.;-...:ffi
tllat objective. lndeed, rvhetr thc
four-week refund rcenlbrced
announC]eIrrentsaucltrtlrorvnrernyfotri-weckreftrndsitlrzrrl"]'l:1l1i']::]:::.1*'q;':
iii':iiH:r':ff'#:::;:l''...':,..":;9;';'''.Usirrgt'hefclur-u,et'krt'il::::i.a:l*$:r:
:'i'\}-ftilI|ill-]
of thc revenue ilepartment lo tr('ill
reorient the organrz-aunn.r culture
What Is Broken?
ift*
What Needs Fixing?
How.does it clcciclcl:ll'l]-.'l '
How does a governrncnt agency improve?
itlr'i''' llne, it is impossible to conduc'tartrtnccclsfidng? Witno|t. clear botiom
or effectiveness'
lnouta clo to improve its cfficiency
;;;"y
gor't'l.IlI]]' :.. .. .. ' :*.r -.',r'
Sophisticated bottonr lirrtls.
By creating erseries of suctlceclingly
' :' r --:--?rF
learn arnclimpr.r'c. r\rr iriil''.
ttre orglnizntio' .,or.,.
r
l
r
l
l
'
'
:
'
:
"
'
create an environmci.rt i' rv'ich
thinkirl{
trnsafe uriclges)starts the orgatrization
botton llne (e.s.. Iixing 15O
F u r t h e r , i t p r o v i d e s t r b a s i s f o r c o l l e c t i n g d a t a i r n d .dccrease
e v a l u a t i rat
r $ t'c
t l t t t r150
. t l r tlrrrti*'
t t ' - , I l ]- ' .". - ' 1'
. _ ;Y:r
r..4r
y"ore'biatn"y
go
down'-ti"
r":
re:rlly
r--'
lr.
('ilr
ir"'
r'r'
\\-('
accidents and deaths
uridgesz what
unfixect
and
l5o.rtrrir"
at
' '\ t:
fixed? Dicl thcv arso clecrcase
next ycirr'/ Sh.trltl "r'.r i
should our bottotn line be for
1
:
.
.
.
first year's bottom r,ri"z wr.ot
or speleclirr{.,,()l-\i)1,' - ...
intersections, or sclrool CroSSir}gS,
: : :' :
unsafe briclges, or unsafc
our highway safi'tV S\'\1r'ill :clriving, oi'wnatz What about
rnile-per-l-rour zones, or clru'k
ancl needs fixing?
B t r t t h c a n a l y s i s i s r r o t c l o n e s o l c l y | r o m a b s t r orgernization
a c t d a t a o r s o to
l e l yarcrriel'f
b y t l r e i tirS
t l l tltr.,'
l r . t l - ::i 1 . .".:
"pon the eiforts of thc
:
the arnalysr" o.o.*'rilrrrf
illitnilg('rr1('i.'
t'e
fecl back into
'
of 1t-,ut u'r,.tlrir "." quickly
irt'lrrr'"
t.
Moreover, lhe implications
the types oiarctivitics it uncrcrtarkes
iirr"lrira
__
ti.ewbotto',
into
organization
*-itlr tll( ::' -'
be clcl.e by a'arlysts'uvorki.g
nc-crcssarily,
must.
analysis
some of 'ris
*'lrtt'1r irr':-'most dangerous
oeclair-rj*rrl"r-, briclgcs arc
trctrris 'r- "i '
aud
comprehcn"i,re aaia avaiiaulc.
u.riily"". of past accidents
"ffirsticateo
-"o-"
requires
shoulcl be fixcd rirst
as of bridge characteristics'
fixirrq tht' i'rr-r'1-'ficld by thc peroplcwho erreactr.rzrily
the
irr
clone
are
analyses
Ifut other
and narrow [artrclthtts tirr>'ri
this'ld
."pu.t uocr. tnai-tr]ey "o'-' briirg
They may, ro. ""-rpi'",
zrlthough tilc t1('('i(it':':
not eliminate accidents' For
"ray
'"puit"
".t"t
tr
tt'toL
:
U.it
bridge up to cocle,
by the sharp curves otr eit'tr
appear, lniact' to be causecl
occur at the bridge, theywould
ofthebridge.Donotjustwiclenthebridge,theyargue;straightentlreroadtoo'
Eventhoseenployeeswtroarefixirrgthebrirlgesrre
e d t o u nup
c l et.r s tmodern
a r r d w h y .civil-engitreert::*
Thevl](.t.(l
briclge
'trris^year's
job is ,rot "1-pry-io ilr-g,tiie
line may rvell l''
understand that. their
bottom
" th" uridge sate.
mnt
to
ls
real;ob
their
st^tt'standards. Rather,
p# of a larger mission: making the
il;;;;"ilr
only to l'''
to repair tso unsafe bridges. B"t
t."t "portation iepartment need not
"-t.t"
the
of
i;;;aders
;;
to be explairrirrhighways safe.
ortni" year,sbottom line; ihey also need
reminding everyonein the departmeni
Robert D. Behn:
Bottom-Line Government
Page 14
thc underlying mission -- the real purpose of improving safety that the organization is seeking to
:rchieve. For both the specific goals and overall mission provide a basis for deciding which of all
the clepartrnent's ac'tivities, from arnongst all the things that are broken or worn out, most need
to be fixecl.
Indeecl, one of the things that muy nrost neecl to be fixed is the goirl. What are the most
inrportant tl-rings to clo to improve safety? The answer to this question requires all kinds ol-clatir
-- nlore than the annu:rl statistics on l'righway fatalitics, more than the clisaggyegated statistics
on highway l:rtalities. Sclccting next ycnr's safcty goal rcquircs feedback lrom this year's safety
efforts. What works ancl what does not'/ What a.re the biggest causes of accidcnts? Should rr'e
trttack these? Or arc thcre sonre big problems for which our efforts have been dramaticzr.lly
Llrlslrccessful, suggcsting that, for ncxt yczrr zrt Ieast, we ought to focus on sonle smaller problcrns
ilgainst rvhich we cern rnake progress whilc rve try to learn morc about the big problems?
"nranagement
by groping zrlong." Do the cloable firsl. Set some simplc,
I have callecl this
'fhen,
as
ezrrly t.argets. Get tl-re program up and n.rnning. Try to leam fronr these initial efforts.
you nrzrke progrcss, set new goals arnd try to achieve them. Learn tlorn this revised effort.
Reacljust your goals (and naybe your mission too) and again pursue your ncw target. Continue
setting ncw goais, inrproving organizational performance, and reacllusting goals so as to
continuously increasc your ability to achieve your mission.
Management by groping along requires a bottom line. Without a tnission eud witltout
goals, public leaclcrs cannot decicle in wl-rich dircction to grope. Without a bottom line, these
leaders cernnot decicle rvhich gropes have proven liuitltl and which have trot. Without a bottom
line, public agcncies czrnnot nrakc progress. Without zrbottom line, political leaders cannot prove
that thery havc improvcd the perfonnzrnce ol-govcrnnrent agencics.
What It Takes To Make Bottom-Line
Government
Work
Under what circunrstances can t.l.rchcacl ol-a ptrblic agency usc bottom-line maneulerlt(lnt
to intprovc the agcncy's perlormance? ln perrticular, cern this bottom linc approach be eft-ectivc
only if thc agency hcad clirectly managcs thc people ancl units producing the agency's serlice'/
Can
After all, many public scr-vices arc actually providcci by privertc or nonprofit organizations.
this bottom-line approerch work in situations that require indircct mantrgcmcnt?
To use botton-line mana{.icnlernt to inrprovc t}re perlbrmance of prrblic agcncies, public
leaclers must be able to clo tirrcc tlrinfls. Tlrcy rutrst huvc (or tte trblc to r:reate) nreasurtrble,
legitirnate gr,rerlsth:rt :rrc rclerteclto thcir orgzrnizulion s nrission. Thcv must be able to publicize
widely rvhich units are achieving their goals ancl r,r'hicl-tzrre trot. And tl'rey nrust be ablc to otl'ct'
direct assistance to units that are not meeting their goals, providing lltem bclth with the tecrhnitral
assistance and the resources necessary to improve pcrfornlance.
Goals: First, bottom-linc government requires some kind of bottom line -- some kinci ttfexplicit goal against which to mcasure progress. Such goals must be not only measurable btrt
also legitirnate. The perople who must r.vork to achieve an agency's goals, tl-re people rvho uill
benefit from the achievement of thc goals, and citizens and taxp:iyers, rvho have an indircc't stakc
in the goals, must all think that the goals are justifiable, fair, legal, valid, and reasolrablc.
Otherwise, people will seek to undermine the goals rather than achieve them.
Further, the goals must be directly related to the organization's nlission; achier.'ing the
goals must move the agency closer to achieving its mission. Unfortunatelv, it is ttsuallv impossible to speci$r any agency's ultimate mission in terms of one, measurable goal. That is rvltr'
annual adjustments are necessary. Each year, in achieving its goals, the agency should make
-
Page lir
Robert D. Bel'rn:
p:os,:":.!nU:U,.1'f:':::'il':#:;:f"rf*:,",:t"1":Jlilill*,3,T1il:'iJ
-- ol
changc its goal
mission'
be clirectly relatcd to that
I { t l r c a $ c t r c 1 , ' s i r t r t l r t l r i z i r r g l e g i s l a t i o r r o r a p p r o p r i a t i r lis
n strre
b i l l dclutv.f
o e s n o tthe
e s t :agcncy's
i b l i s h s u cleaclcrslrtr
hrirr;L]t
has'noi au." ro ei'ier, tiri:'it
g.:tls tr':
ne'
derrelop
er'cr if *re :rge.r.y h";:i;lr;;,
laril,res'
ltom sur:cesses zr.cl
learning
a'cl,
*rrt
vc.r
tir"
lor
to clcvclop goals
future Ycurrs.
P u b l i c i t y : S c c r l r r c l , b o t t o n r - l i t r c n l e r n a r g e n r e nfor-t'e
t ^ d c p e rtop
r c l serxccutive'
o n i n d i r e c t -the
- n o tinfluence
c l i r e c t - - i nth^t
l l u c ' ttl::rt.'
organizatio.*;;;t.ijrectly
thc
in
trven if evcrryone
is strictly inclirect'
t ottom-tinc leacler excrcises
R a t h e r t l r e u r s e c k i l r g t o c c l t r t r t l l t h e b t l l r z r r , i c l r o'r^nirger
f t h e l p e o seeks
p l e a r rto
c l motivate
u r r i t s r e l sbcrra'r.r'
p o n s i l l l t ' l ::
gnni, the bottom-liner
,.rra
missio'
il:'
bott.'r
elgency,s
erchie'ing the
for'the efr-er:Livencssof
w'o.g ki'd of mcchanisr.,
the
r: *
preciscry
pr.clrr
's
the scr-vices,
fact. .ontror
wit' crelivering
tt,,.-"r"^ti"i;;;;f i!r,o" "r-,"rgecr
':.
{ov.*nrent a"p"rr,t=,rpo'
r,rr.',.gcmcrltutirizesthe ven'hrirr
b.ttornjlir-r.,
tr-r'.stcncl,
gont.
tl-re
''
:
""'
rlchiervirg
goverrrnrclll
the rcsr.rlts,arld
',l,.r",
rrbility to n'rirkebotto'r-linc
.
.he
iry onc,s-peers.
well cront'rrri:
cresireto be respeclercr
visiblr 1r"", npprnrr.l forrv.rk
togcner^te
lcacler
orthe
Jiirtv
thc
up..
clcperncls
whcn goals ^rc not met'
cliszrppror''al
peer
;;;;a"
.' ' t
nrrtstbe :rblc to nrttkc cltt'li i ll
lrelacl
agency
trrr
rrt,
nlaniueilte
("r( lr r: '
Tlrtts, to tttiliztl btltttlrrr_line
,f'. bott.o'r-rine'ra'agr:r rr,,,sLbc-^ble to e.s'rc tll'rl
g':rls 'isible :
t'llt'ir r::.'
Drogressrrgerinstits
'lltel bottour-litrc rtlilrt:rgerulttst bc ablc to elrrsttrctirat
rilrl'
cloing'
ii
b.
it
m'st
i.t-t,,r"thorv rvell
A'ci t'e llotto'r-lint: nr.nager
i"tg
^r"
u.i1s
t'c..ther
.11
krrorvs how *,ell
ensllrcttrateir..irr',r',,.k,,u*,'thartallthetlthcrtrrritsknowltowrvelliLiscloing.
. l . i l : r t , c l o c s t . t o t - r c c l t t i r e l c l i r c c t n r a l r a g c n r c r r t . A l l i , t , l c c l u i r e s i s s c l n rsotnt'titii'-.
t'publici|yvehiclt'\':..
ancl tlte progrcs::f ttt"T^p,"ers'
'
awalr-:,or!f"ll:,;;;i,grcss
'rivo
-way to make cYcryone
lists onc listi'g all tit.t'
mtrc'than:rcreqrrntc.
is onen
raireclto'r.l<. tltt'it simprc :rs :, ru.ntirly'cwsletter
the other listi'l all t'os.'"vho
r,-rnr-rtt-r-orra
prcvior_rs
lt'.r"
marde*re gn,.rtu.
and peoplt: to irction'
__ciln clo u,oncierslirr rnoving units, m?rnagerrs,
"
or{atrizltli.tl
.fhircl, t'e bottrr'-li'e nranirgernrust be able to olfbr thc
Assistance:
ttlrclrcsources'
-- kDrx'vlcc1gc
to inrprtlvc pcrlilrtrliln(le
inrportant kincls o1itssiStertrce
fir. s.rrrt'{Lrr'l:
its go.ls ot1e. 'crrcislittler'r'rc
:rchicv.
Lo
strtrggli'g
is
rrrat
A unit
rt-t,.,,oti.nr,rirrc rlran^{cr necclr'. 'crs.rrallv lllt't t: '
rr""rirl,,*rrr,rr.
r-rnr],:
ir''trt lrorv t. clo it rr ::'
frrm t'ose *no
n'i,r.,r. I' l^ct, t'c 'icssilge
..,r,rit
.a
acrl.ricvc
to
rrow
Trrrrs'rlrrc i'rprt.t'rll' :
experlisc zr'out
bOSsbut lro'r zrsrrc'cr.ssr.r'ecr'
thc:
lr..m
nut
,,,,rner
if
to-<rrcatctltt:cititttistr:pcrs'asirrc *,n."rr
p..r,.i" r,",t;1rl1ltlli's transler.'
to
i,
lnanagcr
of thc bottorn,rirle
stiirgglirrgcr.lrc.gucs. Such'r.t'iirrt:t' sh.rc t'cir sccretswit'thcir
peer rcc(xr:riitirrl
suc.csslul n'?rnergcrs
*r.us peer atter-rtiir'-r iurcl tlrus
thcy
fbr
.r-suc.ess,
criniate
rrelp crcirte a
pcrlplc'
successittl utrits :rncl sttcct:sslul
Allttriswillbeinel-fcctive,however,i[therrr-ritsscckirrgtoart-lricr,ctlleirftrtilsl.r,^
'l'lrrrs,
n e c c s s a r y , " . ' . , . , , . . " ' . ' | l r i s i s o " , . i , 1 g " . , " 1me^ns
r , 1 1 ' 1t,,,,"trr.l,rJtrr.s.
i . : . , ' . 1 . - , . ' ' { ( ) i rgoals.
l S : I n a l ] a g c r.r1cr
s s c cestrrirli-:
kgolrlsltlt..''
pcoplc'the
their
give
*rrr to
fail
then
i'r'e'ti'crvit'
pcoplcbut
cxperi're.t
rr'rits
As
r"rou.c,.,r.
tlr"
procluc.e
to be t''1''
?r goar, tr,reteadcr _.r:t
to gct there' thc lezrclertreecls
report Uu"X t"ii"t they t-tecd
ancl
goals
ir
the
achieving
inventivelnassemblingttrenecessaryresourCcS.
Robert D. Behn:
Bottom-Line Government
Peoe
I A
Bottont-line government cloes not depend upon direct management. Rather, all it requires
is that the leader har.e the ability {l) to create legitimate, measurable goals relatecl to t}rc
organizaliotr's tlission, (2) to publicize who is achieving and rvho is not achieving their goals, nnd
{3) to provicle all rtt-tits rr,'it.hthc krtowleclge and resources necessary to ac,hicve their goals.
Building
Faith in Government:
the Role of the Bottom
Line
I J r t s i t t t ' s s l t a s l e . r r t t c : c tl " h a l .n r e r c l y t c l l i n g c u s t o n r c r s t h a t i t s p r c l c l u c t s a r e e x c c l l e n t o r
s i r t t p l y i t s s c r t i t t g t l t i r t i t s s t ' r l i c ' t ' i s s r - t p c r i o r i s n o t e n o u g h . C o n s c q t r c t r t l y , l t u s i r - r e s s e sg u a r i t n t e e
t l t c i r p r o c l t t t ' t s r t t t c l t l r t ' r r s c r l i c ' c . l - . L . f l c : r n w a s a p i o n e e r ri n ' L h c n r a i l - o r c l e r l t u s i n c s s b e c a u s c o f
its lifc-tirtrc {uilrillltc('. Il., at arr-ytintc, lrir ilny rcason. yoLt wcrc clissatisliecl with your I-. I.. llezrn
produc:t, yott coulcl rctrlrll it. If, :rl1cr twenty ycerrs, yotrr M:rine hunting boot lcakcd, yotr coulcl
gct yottr nronr)v irut'k or olcl Leon hinrscll- (or so it seenrcd) would repair iL free of chargc.
'l'oclay,
irt irrt cl'lirrt tcl crotrvitrce tircir customers that they prclvicle exccllent proclucls or
superior sen'ict:, nlarrv lirurs ofl'er new fornrs <-rl'guzrr:rntees.Sonrc rct.ailerrs,if they lail to give yoll
a receipt, rvill givc \'oll,\'orlr clrclerrfi-eer.Sorne banks give you $5.00 il-vorr h:ivc to stancl ir-rline fbr
'l-hc
ntore than scvcll tttiltrttcs.
C)ldsnrobilc clirrision of General Motors lcts you return yollr llc\v
Oldsnrobile fitr itttothcr rnoclel, no qtrcstions asked. If you arc unhappy with thc tcntprtr:rrv
ernploycc pror,'iclcclbv Mar-rpower Inc., you do not h:rve to pay the bill.
Sttch grratritntecs are. of crotlrse, costly. Tcn pcrcent of thc procluc:ts orclercd liour l-. L.
I]catn ztrc rctrrrncd. Ncrrcrt.l-tclcss,by mzrking such a clrarmaticstarlcrncnt of its willingness t.clstancl
behincl its products, erbusiness seeks to convincc corrsullrcrs that its procltrcts and scn'iccs nrust,
indced, be of the higl-rest quality.
'l-he
concept of a guarantee is beginning to czrtch on in the public sector as well. Irr ol,cr
hall-ii rlozcn states, school svstems erretguaranteeing tlre skills of their graduertes. If arn cmploycr
or anclthcr cclucartional institutiou fincls thc grach,rat.cclcficient in m:rth, or rcarding, or writing, thc
sc'lrool systcm will provicle the remedial education li-ce of chargc.
More importantly, by making:r guarantcc - by agrceing to zx'hieve a spccific bottorrr lirrc
prrblic lcaclcrs nra.y be able to gcncr;rte the resources nccessirry to aclriuve thtrt bottonr lint:.
Il'r't'ntl.r,', lbr cxzrrnplc, American pharnraceutical ntartufnc:trrrcrs ancl the Foocl nrrcl Drtr{
..\rirrrirristr:rtionrvorkccl otrtzrn intcrcsLirtg agrccmcnt. 1-ltc corttptrrricswanted FDAto trpprclvc thcir
nr'\\' ])r('s('r'ilrtirui clrllgs fzrr nrore quir:kly. IrDA wantecl a lzrrger buclgct so th:rt it could do a bettcr
I
il:rt tlrr' rlnrq firnrs fc:arcd that nc-w nroney woulcl simply go inlo thc fcclererlgovernmcnt's
.- . : , :' ::rri ll r-r'rlu<'t'tlrc clcficil.whilc approvzrls clf nerv phzrrmitceuticals woulcl not be inrprovecl.
' -:-.
r' :
i ) t . r ' ( l r ' rrl t ' s o r r r C c s .t o t - l c t1 . l r cc l n r g t ' < l m p a n i e st o a g r e L rt o p a y i l u s e r f e e , t h c . F I ) A
. r l u i u - : i r i t ( ' ( ' : I 1 ' , r ' i l lr c r l u c c t l t c t i r t t c r c c l r r i r c c lt r l a p l t r o v c i l n c w c l n r g l i ' t l r r r
'
. - . 1 rI . i r t - r ' r r k l l t t ' o u { l ot r ' l i f i ' - s i r v i r r q "t l r u g s , F D A r v i l l t ' u t t h c a p p r u v a l t i r r r t '
^ : : . - ( ) r r l v t l t t ' r rr l i r l t l t t ' r ' o r t t p r r r t i ci sr { r r ' ( )t o p a y u s c r c h a r g e s . i r r c l r r c l i r r q
, : r . l r . i ' . r r , nl.l l l r t u ' i l l p t ' r ' r r r i t[ : l ) ' \ t o l r i t ' t ' ( j ( ) O r u o r c t ' n r p l o y c e ' s . - f l r c r r c s '
: . ' . i , : . . ' \ : . : r : I : 1 , . t : : r l , ' i 1 t ' . t ' \ ' ( ' . u - > . : lri,trtl l : i ) . . \ l t r i l s t o r r r ' I r i t ' t ' t ' i t s n c r v L l o t t r t n r l i r r t . . t l r t '
( i l - l l l ( / r i : l i ) . t l ) i ( > ( l i r l . L ,i i . , r ' . r ' i { | I ) . r v l l 1 - 1 } i , ' t t t i t c l t ' r t t l r l t ' : . ( ' t a ' i (( '
. \ t t l t t ' t ' n i l o l l l t t ' 1 r , . ' t t t t t t ' t i t t ' t t t t t t . r ' .l l t t ' . \ r t t t ' r r t , r r t l r L r l t l i c i s t ' x t r c t n c l r r r t n h t r l t l t v r . i ' i t l i t l i
p c t . l o r t n i u r c t ' o l i t : t o \ ' r ' r - n n l ( ' n t . \ ' o t t ' r - s l r t ' l i t ' , , t ' 1 i ] . r tt l i c i r t . i . \ f : ' l r r c t o o l r i { i r i i r r c l t h i r t t l r t ' r l r i r r i l i ' ,
r i f { o v e r r t r n c n t s ( ' l a i ( t ' s i : t o o l t x r ' . l r t 1 9 8 7 . f i r r t ' r i u n i r l r ' . t l r c O p i n i o n l l c s c l r r < ' l r f ' o t . 1 , , ) l . . i i tl ,r
c t ; r r c i u t ' t c c li l s u i \ ' r ' , \ ' 1 o t l e t c r l t t i t t e l t r , r r vt h c p l r b l i t ' r i t t t ' c l t l t c c l r r : r l i t yo l - t l t c l i - c l t ' r : r {l o v t l ' , r i l i r ' r } 1 . l i r t '
r c s p o n s e s w e r e : a v e l ' i i g e o r e x c e l l e n t , l 5 p e r c c r t t ; a v c r a g e , 3 9 p e r < : e n t . :b e l o n ' i l v r ' l ' i r { ( ' r t r 1 t o o r . - i , = r
perccnt.
Other pc-rlls produce sirnilar resulls.
- - -
-
Robert D. Behn:
. | o c h a l l g e t l r i s p e r c c p t i o n o f . g o v e r n r n e n t ,"a
t h e N a t i c n a l C pertbrrnal.)-c'c
o m m i s s i o n o n t l rMost
e P u b of
l i c Sit.e n ' i t ' t '
culture of
of
;;;;l;
rh"
,,rg"a
strengthenlllt
(the v''ke, cnrrr.,rtJriorr)
,naking puy "nt'p"titi'e '
ttris 'ew ltrlturc in'ol'e.l
creating
ror
recommencra.ior-rs
n*}*$,'i,llli+tiit:}?Fill*ill
r,"'*'1';;rr{"".#l;;i1;;i"T*:tlff
:'1*ffi
'fhe conrnrtss
so as I'
rvork.
shoirlcl give ol11.fewer iro.trscs
(:'ttt
ilui,rrr-r""t
itt t t t
shoulcl
thrcc arcconlpanying reco'u'cncl,.ror,r","ii,.p_erform"r-* ' itr" government
t;;lrigl,'est
."
zrssi-r
rcso'rccs
should
co'ccntr:rte s.zlrce brrclgct
.f l.ers...er Mirnirgemcnt
,gr.ii,rn^;i.g
; a'cl .h" i;,il;;,i dffi.,.,
rvith
to experi're.t "0"'tu"i'*:;';;p;;tttl
:rncl proclr'rctiviLy iurprovctnent.''
ergencies .,r-t
"trulture
t'
Y e t w i t h o t r t a . r r y n r c c l r a n i s n t o l c r c l r s a t t ' c r r t i ocreatir-rg
r r o n r e a l pthe
c r f odcsirecl
r n r i r n t ' c . - w i t h o uof
t a nperformzrtlt
ybolttllt:
to*ur,t,
r:
progrc",
any
cuiturc
a
To create
to'g"t''
line _- it is clifllcult toi.nake
nlc.sLrrecl ztgainr;t '""1
lllr
rcsirlts
con'irce
real
'",,r.,
perlbr.ra'c"
Similerrly' to
'
will I'ravc to achic'tr *p""tr" [""1s'
in governnrcnt will hrtt
work
perlirrmar.c", gnu.rrir',"-* agertctiet'
who
qualltl" tl'rosc
.,in'gtt
rir'''
which
fr.r.,*t.-l.'i
st^nclarcls against
voti.g public th"t iil;;o
;;;,;t;";
the public vnlues.'pc,rforma'""
tl.rat
o,.,tcom.,s
linc'
to:rchieve
a bottonr
f)erfcrrnrarncerequircs
perfonnance ctLll b;;;tt=ttrca'
or tlrt'ti:
t uclo
Irrlrislgg2tlarrrperigntbrthcU.S.Senatc,ReprcsentativcLesA
C oai ncl:urn
s a i c l :thing
' . V c l t ef r s t l l t t i ^
;;, J.t+
wzrshinglo"
in
Unlortunzrtclr ' 1' :
:ttt -t]t:::.,";ao"tt"t
real tro'blc"
therc is a rulingl ctrrss
"sh.'v rcal rcsttltt
I tlii.k I ctrtr, vo":'"-ut
ancl
r.sults,
.,,,,.,
tr
U.less vou cirn ,'r,*
,-,r"i.t-r"rl nicur-rg..,tr
in govcnr'rert ,j;;iir,"l"^t
clifticult
is
it
Atrcoi',
'.to sltr )\\'l l :
brarnc't or in arbusirrcss
execrtti'u,c
t.lrc
in
tll' '
arr irrclividual
In |act, iI is clill]cttlt lbr
t"ttrlt Olincliviclu:rl efforts:
a business ilrc '-t"i itt"
of
au-.rri'
setrvicesbuilt
ancl
still be
resr:lts.,, The procltrr:ts
trr.,", o.r. cconomy rvotrlcl
te.ms. If *r.t were not
tinrr_,
groupr,
from
restrlt
-i"rr""qrrc'tly,
l u c t s a n c l s e r v i c e s p r c l cany
r u c ccffort
c r b y gtoo revaluatc
' ' c r n n r e nrcal
t s a r govertrtrtt':.
cthct-t':'r'
c o t t a g e r n c t u s t r i e s . S i n r i r a r l y , t h e p r o c"iiorir.
t",.or
perlb'rrrrr'
but
of
culture
zr
perlormer.ces
solo
dreati'g
not of
o' o.g,.rrrrotiunal pcrforn-r-or-r"i,.
of irrga.rzarti.nal pcrfo"irr.
performance must foctrs
opploirrrrs but tn., afprairal
performorr""
.^.,,rires not ircrividual
t"oturement'
ilt.i' .Jt;l;cs a bottont-litt"
sigtrificantly the crccli.llrl..
-' tr specific, bottomlinc ctrn c-n}rtrncc
1'
-Ma.s-sachusetts lbr r
Creat'irrg :rncl achievilrg
r,oa.rr"",-r trorking in
I
rtr''
cHol#;'irng.,.r.
peoplttf
the
of
Aft,;-ilr"
'85
of governme't.
po'" Joy trt"t 86 pcrcent
':
reilr;:;i'l;ilt"
staff
percc't of tltc pco'lt'
ycars, tne go.rernrrf "j.'i"r.i
o"utl-t"' li/tt" tt't"'"
c,r;r
;;;.-'-t""-'"
t'sertrcl ll'''
progr?rnr.
ta'or of u.I-,our welfarc
n"p"'tt'J"t-nl lt"t'""t'"ir.clertook "'fhe tatx
rrlassa'tlt"""t"
ttt"
wi-r.,ri
1lt't':
wr-otci. antwentc't:
in fav'r of wclt:rre?'
i'Jr. *""r.r, o.e citizerr
within
returns
refun.s u, ..rr.rrlir"e
'lhe'f liccl' I got mine in two weeks'"
promise tot" *""ki ftt i"ft""as'
Toitrrprclvethccitizens,|aithitrgtlvernnrcnt,ptrblicleaclcrsneecltodellncandtlrerrat'}l:'
liue'
thcir bclt.tc-rm
TheDilemmaofMakinganUp-FrontCommitment
:rppointecl rt!' :
lfbottom-linegovernnentappcarstclhave,n,ll:}"yirclvantages.-ancli|itsirrrplenl(-lll.ii
--.rtfti, .fo not nrore."t:::"i clt;"f cxJctttiT.:1"d
Tittt'
stratel5r'
seeilrs to be so straighttbrward
goals i-sir well-tested rrl.ntrgerial
crcatin!u'"lt't"
arll,
perlbrmatrt'c
"sig'itit:a'tlv
,q?t".
iucreased
murnagersrr., ,ti
l'ras
found th.i ;;J;itt"g
Icleaso'f Nlanagemerltr'l'
creit
again, ."="o."h"r, ir;""
i" I "tt'ay;iit"
Al".;;;'
"r
that rt't.
University
Jack Dunc.r'r, oiltr"
"^,' "o*" close to duplicating
,No other motivational tecr,nlque known to clate
that
to achieving managerial success.
Visible goor= *;";niiat
i i r i r r ' r i i ) . i j t . l r n : I J ( ) n o n l - l _ i n (G, o \ . r , r n r n c n t
i .r-, . r
L .I l l b r t t t t r : l t e l r ' . r ' t s i b l e g r t a l s t r l s o p r o v i c l e t h c b a s i s f o r p r r t v i n q r r r l r r i r { r , r r i t l f t r r l r r r c .
Br.
( ' r c i l t i l l { l l v i s i l l l c { o : } 1 .a p t r b l i c l e a c l e rg i v e s v o t c r s . j o t r r n : t l i s t s , a n c l p g l i t i i , l i ( } l J I ) . ' ( , ' t \
.r.l...rr
s t i t l t c l : r r ctl o t t s e t o r l e - c ' l a r tr 1c - r el e a d e r ' s f a i l u r e . T h a t i s u ' h v o n c g o v c r n o r s u c . c L r c t l r . i n s t n r c . t c c l
his
"Ncver
ilqencv ireacis:
put a nunrber zrnd a clate in the serrnescnrcnce.
The dilernrtra of bottom-line government is that without specific goals, it is clifficult for
sonleone to prove that you have failed. At the same time, without specific goals, it is difficult
to
accomplish very much. If you do not put a date ancl a numbcr together -- i" tt-re same sentence
-- you will never be able to achieve or cleclare
much success.
To get crcclit for an accomplishrnent, you neecl to declare up front that you will do it. If L.
L. Bean quietly proviclecl a no-qucstions-askecl refund or exchange, it would reap no benefit
from
that guaratrtee. Simil:rrly. if thc Massachusetts Department of Revcnue had not promised
:r
four-weck relirncl lbr crror-liee rcturns, it rvould have gained nothing frorn this :rccomplishment.
In ftrct, er.lthough thc data available to the department was almost pon existe't, its leadership
concluc-lcclthalt nlost of the previotts yctrr's refund chccks hard, inclecd, bcen mailcd within lbur
weeks. Bttt tlrat iiccomplishntent went conrpletcly unnoticccl nncl unapprcciatecl.
Still. llrost govern[]ent lt:adcrs arc trnwilling, :ts one agcncy heacl put it, to',play
visiblc-r'l:rinls g:lnter." Yct wl-rat is u'rong with such visible claims'/ 'l-Wothings:
the
First, otlcct you make a claim to having achicved a vcry/ visible result, vou will bc expected
to itcllicvc othcr, tnorc visiblc -- or at least mclre significant -- rcsults. 'fhe visiblc-clainrs g:rme
is n nt:ut:lgerial treadmill; once you get on it, yotr can ncvcr get off. 'l-he prrblic always rvants to
knorv: \Vhat have you done frtr rrs l:rtely?"
This leads to tl"rc second problem witl'r the visiblc clitinrs gzrnlc. In :rn cllort to answcr the
"Wllat
rlrtestion,
have yott clone for us lzrLely?",thc zrgcncy's lcar]ersl1ip may bc tenptccl to in'ernt
itt'tother Visible zrncl achicvarble bottom linc simply so thzrt it cern nchicve it.. Tl'r:rt is. once :l'
illlull('v st:rrts playing tl-rc visiblc-claims g?rlne, it rtrity lte tcnrptecl to continue pletying it
illclcpcnclently of its rcal rnission. After nll, the mission ancl tlrc golls arc po1 (in f;rct, cnn irot) be
'fl'tus,
icictrticitl.
thc trgency may well be cranking otrt sorne vcry visible successes while making
littlc progress trlrvarcls zrchieving its real rnission.
Still, if they rcally want tct accomplish something, ptrblir: leaders will neecl to stick their
tttc'ks out. 1-l'reywill have to make a public commitmcnt -- whcther it is to fincl jobs tbr 50,OOO
wt'lfilre rccipients Or to produce refuncls on crror-frcc'tax rcturns witl-rin fourwceks -- nncl thc--'
1lt'rlclttceit. The bcst way to get an organization to proclucc results, rcvetrls research on ntan
1:r('lllt'llt. is to crezrt.ea goal that is very visible and explir:it -- ernclto clo th:rt gp liolt. Morecx,er.
' :.' lrtst
lv:ry to get credit for achieving that goal is also to nrukc it vcry r,isiblc and explicit -- :rgaip,
.:
: : - /r l l l .
\ t ' r ' t ' r t h c l c s s , t h e c l i l e m n t a i n h c r e n t i n b o t t o r r r l i r r c rg o v c r n n r e n t i s c l e a r . M a v i t c t l r c
:':.::I i'r rI (or the :rgcncy) will not zrchicveits goarl. 'l'hcr r what lvill herppcn? Will the orgairizatiprr
.'r .r'.iclt'l-sbc act:usccl of fzrilure'/ Or will thcy bc given an A lbr eflclrt? Will they
.gct r.rcclil
:..i.a tltrtrlc'significant progress against a tough go:rl? Or will they be clislrissccl lrs
::.: '':i':tl tor liriling to make such a sinrple bottom line?
: ) ' . r \ i l l t ' s s ,b o t t o m - l i n e m a n a g e m e n t i s n o t f o r t h e l - a i n t h e a r t e d . S i m i l e r r l y , b o t t o n t - l i r r c
:l t\ ()nlv fitr the reSolute.
Robert D. Behn: uottom-Line Government
Page 19
Creating a Box Score for Government
cubs fan' reports that
George will, political commentator, columnist and chicago
of the U's' House ol
speaker
o'Neill, then
Hall-of-Fantepitcher, warren spahn, once said to Tip
Representatives:
Mr.Speaker,baseballisagameoffailure.Eventhebestbattersfailabout65
today [spahn' 363
percent of the time. The two Hall of Fame pitchers here
wins'245losses;BobGibson,25lwins,lT4losses]lostmoregamesthana
teamplaysinafullseason.IjusthopeyoufellowsinCongresshavemore
success than baseball players have'
-- an opportunity to remark on the lack of
will, of course, could not resist a commentary
governmental success:
ThefellowsinCongressdon.t[havemoresuccess]andthe,vknowit.
the game of
no .4OO hitters in Washington. And players in
are
There
governmentaresparedt.hesortofremorselesslyobjectivemeasurenrentoftheir
see in box scores every day'
f,crformance thaf ball players
to wakc up in the morning knowing that
Indcecl, those who work in government do not have
'l-hosc who work in g.r'0 lor 5 ycsterclay'
everyonc in thc country is icacling tliat they went
thelt cveryone irl the country is rezrclin{
ernment clo not havc to rvzrketrp in the monr-ing knowing
thirttlrcir.sitlesitttltt'lirstqtritrterrlr.rrllpc<||j|lcerrperct'nt.
'fhcv
sonething like that to happen'
want
should
government
in
lcaclers
Nevcrthcless,
their box scorc in the morning papcr' Thcr'
shcluld want arll their agency's personnel to rczrd
in the nrclrnin$ papcr. furd they shoulcl rvattt
shoulcl want arllthe citizens to reaclthese box scrorcs
citizens are reacling their box scores in tht'
all tl-reir agcncy's pcrsonnel to know th:rt arll the
morning Paper.
own box score' It needs some helplirl
Government neecls its own boltom line, its
--how wcll it did yesterclay' how well it dicl last
performance indicators that tell it and everyone
leaclcrs neecl to choose thc perforrnall('('
quarter, how weII it clicl la.st sczrson. Govcrnmcnt
government leaclcrs
thcir own box scorc cl21n
indicators fcrrtheir own bottom line. Only by crcating
-importantll' -mclst
ancl
it,
fix
.nd
is brokcn
measurc progress, motivate pcople, cleciclc'wl-rat
is cloing tr goocl job a.d is worthy of tScir
convi'ce citizens and taxpayers thaf gou.-.,t"t"']t
supPort.
Dtlke UniversitY and director of its Govcntors
Robert D. Behn is pro{-essorof public oolicv at
itl
I-essons-fbr hrb\ic M antacters (Htrn'ard Univers
Center. He is thc author of Ieaderstip Courits;
Press|.
The Governors Center at Duke University
Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy
Box90246, Durham, NC 27708-0246
919-613-7374