Colorado’s John Hickenlooper this week relinquishes his post as the nation’s lead governor, leaving behind a blueprint on one his top issues: good government.
The Democrat spent his year as chairman of the bipartisan National Governors Association convening meetings with experts and officials from 28 states to develop a guide on how to recruit and hire, formulate efficient regulations and use data to drive results in government.
“These are three pretty powerful legs of any table … for making sure an enterprise is successful,” Hickenlooper said in an interview. “We put them all in one place. … At least to my knowledge, this is first time it’s been done at this level for a national organization.”
Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, a Republican, will replace Hickenlooper as chairman when his term ends Saturday.
Hickenlooper’s initiative, dubbed “Delivering Results,” diverges from the association’s leaders select as a focus.
His predecessor, Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, looked at education and training for 21st century jobs. The year before, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell developed strategies to employ people with disabilities.
Hickenlooper said his effort — which he presents Friday at the in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. — pulls from his business background and work in Colorado to make government operations more akin to the private sector.
“One of the reasons I ran for public office — and I think it’s true for many governors — is the frustration that government doesn’t seem to use common sense, doesn’t seem to use some of the … fundamental techniques of operating a business,” he said.
Peter Hutchinson, a government strategy consultant at Accenture who helped consult on the initiative, said the topic is key to addressing the public’s dismal view of government.
“That stuff isn’t sexy, but it’s absolutely essential,” he said. “We have to do these fundamental things extremely well to earn back the trust and confidence of the people.”
The “least sexy but most important” element, Hutchinson said, is formulating strategies in state government to hire talent as the current generation of workers prepares to retire.
In the private sector, 30 percent of workers are young millennials, while it’s only 14 percent in government. “We are already behind,” he said.
The report highlights Hickenlooper’s effort in Colorado to eliminate unnecessary government regulations, a process the governor called and pulls together examples from other states.
