Fireman

When I was in college, taking a business administration class, I distinctly remember the professor mentioning the “firefighting school of management.” Most of us have worked for an outfit that subscribed to that school of management thought. You know the ones, they go from putting out one fire to the next fire and never seem to have time to prevent the fires.

George W. Bush went to a different school than I did. He learned a different trick somewhere along the line. Instead of putting out fires he lights them. Here’s a thought for you to keep in mind as you read the article I’m about to mention and for others you might read in the future.

It’s really hard to get anything done -- and it’s very expensive -- when you’re busy fighting fires that somebody else set. That goes for government agencies as well as unions.

Go read “ Fighting Fire With the Wrong Sector?” by Stephen Barr of The Washington Post.

”The Government Accountability Office faulted outsourcing projects at the Forest Service in a report released yesterday, prompting renewed calls for more scrutiny of the Bush administration's effort to contract out federal jobs, a plan known as competitive sourcing. “

Don Brown
February 22, 2008