We hear all the time, “government should operate more like a business”. After consulting with government agencies now for nearly 20 years we are convinced of one thing – those who say this, are the first to back away from it when the opportunity to function like a business arises.

But there is one area where government can function like a business and when it does magic happens. This is in the area of measuring and scorecarding. We just completed a project for a large county in central Oregon. Good people running the County. Strong and improving economy. The project focused on the revenues into the Community Development Department, developing a 5 year financial plan, and creating a Balanced Scorecard to help them manage the department by fact and result.

The results are early but the opportunities are clear: managers are using data to manage people, quality, and workloads. The Commissioners, upon seeing the scorecard and early results “excited”.

This is an exciting area for Praxis Solutions and one where are experience in scorecarding, performance management, and lean can have a real impact