SHEER SIZE

One of the things that is challenging and frustrating about government work is the sheer size of the problems it tackles.  Not to say that there is not complexity in the for-profit and non-profit sectors.  But at the end of the day, people look to government to respond to our biggest challenges: protecting our homeland, protecting our abused children, protecting our citizens before and after natural disasters. 

 

I cannot yet get my head around how to even think about formulating an effective response to such daunting tasks, let alone take action.  You're talking about coordinating massive amounts of money, huge bureaucracies, and fuzzy and oftentimes conflicting goals.  For-profits can focus on making money, and if they're somewhat enlightened, consider other important angles, like environmental impact and social justice and community improvement.  Non-rpfots can focus on important social ends, and if they're somewhat enlightened, consider the financial and operational and managerial ramifications of their actions.

 

But governments have to consider all of these goals and more.  These goals are often hazily defined, and they mean different things to different people.  And what needs to be done often requires the graceful nimbleness of a ballerina and the brute force of an elephant, and ballerina elephants are hard to come by.

 

These are challenges that energize me and frustrations that discourage me.  And I'm just a thinker now.  Just wait until I start becoming a doer!