Leadership Speaker Series Remarks (As Written)

June 8, 2006

Good morning and welcome to the first presentation of the new quarterly Leadership Speaker Series.

The goal of the Leadership Speaker Series is to give you, agency leaders, the opportunity to learn from nationally recognized experts in management and performance accountability.

My hope is that you are inspired by what you learn here today.

And that you take back what you learn and apply it.

Now, more than ever, with the complexity of the problems we face and the challenges of getting enough resources, we need inspired leaders who have the knowledge and tools to effectively serve the people of this state.

Today, I�d like to share what I believe are some of the challenges we face today and my vision for the future of Washington.

For those of you who attended the Leadership Conference two weeks ago, you get to hear me reiterate what I told you then.

Because my vision hasn�t changed, and I doubt this will be the last time you hear it.

We will get there, folks.

You've heard me talk about Thomas Friedman and his book, The World is Flat.

Well, the Freidman thesis applies to every aspect of leadership, the public and the private sector.

Every week -- every day in fact -- I�m reminded that Washington is racing headlong into a new, global era.

It�s something I never imagined when I was growing up in rural Auburn in the 1950s and 60s.

Back then we all spoke about a national economy--and our competitors were other states like California and Michigan.

Today we�re in a global economy competing with nations around the world.

The world economy is flat and getting flatter every day.

That�s our challenge; here is my vision.

I�m committed to doing everything in my power to ensure that Washington remains the most globally competitive state in the country, with the best-trained and best-educated workforce anywhere.

I often say, we�re like a small nation, rather than a state, and President Fox's visit to Washington simply reaffirms that.

I believe that when we assess our government-management system, we shouldn�t compare ourselves to other states.

When we do, we�re comparing ourselves to a mediocre system.

We should embrace the "World is Flat" credo and go head-to head with countries like Japan, Singapore, Germany, and Ireland--and that requires re-assessing where and how we compare in a �flat� world.

Under my vision, I believe the results we have to achieve are clear:

We must build a world class educational system. We need to ready ourselves and our children to participate in the global economy. Our goal should be to have the best educated, best-trained workforce in the world. Our presence in China, our ability to negotiate economics with other countries, confirms that we are a small nation, not just a state;

Create good, family-wage jobs;

Competitive health care that is affordable and accessible;

Protect our most vulnerable citizens;

Protect our environment. Our quality of life is more than a local issue � it�s a business driver for our state. It�s a reason companies choose to locate in Washington. Consider China: their top two priorities are energy and the environment;

Deliver transportation projects on-time and on budget;

And be accountable to the citizens.

Each of you has a role in helping achieve this vision.

And each person who works for you has a role � it�s your job as leaders to show them how they can contribute.

After all, we don�t inspire our workforce with money, we inspire them with the vision that they can make a difference.

Together, we are having success in achieving our vision for Washington.

Consider, for instance, our successes from last session.

This year after 25 years of failure we passed the Civil Rights bill to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination in their daily lives.

After decades of stalemate we were able to craft a Columbia River water bill to protect water for farmers, fish and cities in Eastern Washington and we provided money for increased storage and conservation for our future water needs.

Following the very divisive initiative campaign of last year between doctors and trial lawyers we passed significant Medical Malpractice reforms providing for better patient safety, and insurance and tort reform.

The always-vexing problem of Unemployment Insurance for our seasonal workers and their employers was tackled and both employers and those unemployed through no fault of their own are better off after several sessions of partisan bickering.

Eliminate children�s premiums/co-pays - HB 2376 passed House 74-24; passed Sen. 34-11; signed 3/9

We created a new Department of Early Learning to assure that all our day care, head start and early childhood programs work together with the private sector and providers for the good of our youngest learners and their parents and loved ones.

In addition, following on the success of Running Start in our high schools and community colleges we created a new Running Start for the trades program so our supply of skilled craftsmen and women is maintained and increased.

We created a Bio-diesel loan program and established performance standards for alternative fuels to begin the move away from our dependence on foreign oil.

We are attacking our own health care costs by encouraging significant improvement in medical records technology and developing a program for centralized evidence-based medicine in our state.


These have been great policy advances, but let�s turn our attention now to our management challenges.

Good management enables policy development and service delivery.

It is overly simplistic to say that government should run like a business because our bottom line�justice, strong families, a vibrant economy, safe and healthy kid�isn�t measured by the price of our company stock.

Nevertheless, just like our partners in the business community, government must have a competitive edge�we must be able to demonstrate, in measurable terms, that we are delivering public value.

Just like our business partners competing in a global economy, we�ve also got to harness our information and use it to increase productivity and efficiency.

As managers, we�ve got to understand in detail what we�re spending, what we�re doing, and what we�re getting for it.

That�s why we have GMAP.

And by the way, GMAP is not going away in case some of you think you can wait it out.

Let me tell you some of my GMAP experiences and why I think it is working and is essential to get a competitive edge.

I have found GMAP uncovers hidden trends.

Let me explain.

We looked at data that showed highway deaths declining.

But when the State Patrol, Licensing and Traffic Safety Commission got together to analyze the data, they found, hidden within the good news, a disturbing trend.

Fatalities for motorcyclists have risen dramatically since 2003.

We know why, it is those grey-haired boomers who are buying shiny, big new Harleys and thinking they are 30 years younger.

Those three agencies are now developing strategies to reduce motorcycle fatalities.

Bottom line: drilling down in the data helps us see trends that are not apparent on the surface.

If we use data well, we can get ahead of the curve � hopefully before the media points it out to us � and that, my friends, is government with a competitive edge.

I have also found GMAP helps us get better results.

Here is a story from Revenue.

Their data showed that of all the taxes, there was one tax that had the highest rate of non-compliance.

Instead of assuming it was simply the result of tax avoidance, Revenue used another GMAP principle � they decided to ask their customers directly.

They found out it was their own confusing forms and letters, so they rewrote them under Plain Talk principles.

The results: Response rate tripled and revenues increased by more than $2.5 million.

GMAP helps us deliver results in areas citizens really care about.

When we were starting GMAP, data showed we were taking too long to respond to reports of child abuse.

We set a target of responding within 24 hours.

This time last year we met that target only 70 percent of the time.

Today, thanks to the great work of Robin Arnold Williams and our social workers, we are beating our target and getting there 95 percent of the time.

I am not here to tell you it has been easy. We have worked hard � together � to make this happen.

I add that caveat for an important reason.

GMAP is not about blame or putting the onus solely on the agency.

It is about working together to remove barriers that stand in your way of achieving results.

Along the way we had to:

Redistribute caseworkers between regions;

Make a case to the Legislature to invest money;

And try to keep up morale and motivation in the face of a tough challenge.

We aren�t saying we are done � we keep our eye on the results and keep solving any problems that come up.

GMAP makes us responsive, nimble and it gets results that matter.

It helps us measure our performance and demonstrate accountability to the citizens of Washington.

I know you will enjoy today�s Speaker, Mr. Mark Samuel, the President and founder of the consulting firm IMPAQ.

I hope you will learn at least one concept�one best-practice�that you can take back to your organizations and apply.

We have many exciting challenges ahead of us.

But I am convinced that with a clear vision, and a commitment to manage for results, we will achieve great things.

Thank you!

# # #