Audits tell part of the story and so does strong management which not only holds those accountable but is in fact in trenches leadership. Take a hard look at, "Undercover Boss" and ask yourself if the leadership of the VA had been in the trenches could things have been any different. Clearly the Administrator of the VA was fighting an uphill battle of liars, cheats, and more. But "Undercover Boss" makes the point: get out of the office and get into the trenches for a reality check. Now let's see if our USDOJ follows the Veterans Administration IG's report and starts the most necessary criminal investigations to clean the VA once and for all so that our war heros finally get what they deserve - the best health care known to man.
We talk much in this blog about management and boards of directors. As we should. Organizations depend on these fine men and women to do the impossible, to be supermen and women. But the days of hands off management are long gone. Whether you are in government or the private sector if you haven't gotten that message its high time you did. Get out of the office and learn the reality of what is going on in the workplace.
We heard much this week about out dated technology and "scheduling". We worry, is this a sign of times to come in government run healthcare? Well, those of us in technology know all too well that technology does a backflip and ten steps forward about every 60-90 days. So if you're thinking of saving money and leveraging your entire corporation and/or government run agency on shoestring that has a one time techology budget - in the immortal words from Brooklyn, NY - forget about it.
Technology is in the worst case an infant, with an appetite that rivals most young U.S. Marines in boot camp. Belly up to the table because this infant is going to need your undying attention, your understanding and your coddling every single day of the week. Budgeting and planning for the unexpected are just another great aspect which many who are so quick to adopt technology and outsourcing with an expectation of saving millions may want to slow down and take a deep breath. Technology implementations are expensive and those seeking to cut to shortcuts are only doing a royal disservice to their companies and agencies and fooling themselves. While the passing of timely and accurate information is exciting and used correctly can help you turn on a dime....it comes with a fairly large investment and huge reality check on expectations - but not on the information delivered, but on the intense care and ongoing maintainence to systems, controls and people.
Take a hard look at the Veterans Administration of today and ask yourself Mr/Mrs CEO or Agency head...could this be me? Do I even have a clue? We hope this as in any number of cases we bring to your attention help you focus not just on security but the fundermentals of leadership and management.
If you need a trusted source and friendly but well grounded reality check give us a call. We would like your business, but we're not willing to suffer our reputation just to make a buck.
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