Managing in the Public Sector

• Published in: The Public manager (Potomac, Md.) Vol. 36; no. 4; p. 78
• Main Author: Hobby, Paul W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Alexandria Association for Talent Development 01.12.2007
• Subjects: Best practice; Democracy; Hobby, Paul W; Political behavior; Political leadership; Politics; Professions; Public administration; Public sector; United States > US
• ISSN: 1061-7639

A speech given by Paul W. Hobby, CEO, Alpheus Communications of Houston, is presented. One of the unique aspects of managing public programs is that success is often more difficult to measure as compared to the private sector, because it is often harder for public managers to identify exactly who their customer is, and then necessarily to generate constructive feedback from that customer. Government is factual, and politics is perception; government is the administration of public affairs; and politics is the manipulation of public opinion. In most professions you need credentials or specific experience in order to be relevant or impactful. Not so in government. You can make a bunch of money and decide that you are going to go get yourself elected, and fix everything overnight through force of your singular brilliance. It is true that government functions often seem less than the sum of their parts.