Each Month, The Public Manager reviews a recent title that should be on every federal leader’s book shelf. Here’s a look at three top reads.
Edited by Jim Nussle and Peter Orszag
Results for America—an organization dedicated to "improving outcomes for young people, their families, and communities by shifting public resources toward practices, policies, and programs that use evidence and data to improve quality and get better results," according to its website—released Moneyball for Government. This book of essays from politicians, government leaders, and others discussed the importance of the government using data to best inform its policy and funding decisions. Read More
By Harry Hutson and Martha Johnson
Many leaders are prepared to tackle day-to-day problems that crop up—and that's great. But even the best training could be put to the test when a leader is in the midst of a sudden crisis and needs to respond without wasting any time. Navigating an Organizational Crisis: When Leadership Matters Most, by Harry Hutson and Martha Johnson (who served as the head of the General Services Administration), provides clear ways for leaders to respond to crises, buoyed by research and examples. Read More
By Beth Simone Noveck
The world is changing, and changing fast—and old-school bureaucratic government isn't cutting it anymore. In her book Smart Citizens, Smarter State: The Technologies of Expertise and the Future of Governing, Beth Simone Noveck attacks that issue head-on, arguing that we're past the point where such a monolithic body can operate insularly. In an age of complex issues, government should use the knowledge and expertise of the people in an open and collaborative way—citizens should be actively brought into the fold to help solve problems. It should go "beyond mere transparency and passive citizenship to a world in which citizenship is active and institutions are "open by default,'" Noveck writes. The end goal, simply, is to make government work better. Read More
