E-gov initiatives spark change management challenge

The 24 e-government initiatives identified by the Office of Management and Budget last fall represent the largest change management model that exists, federal Chief Technology Officer Norman Lorentz said at an e-government conference in Washington April 2.

Lorentz, former CTO at the U.S. Postal Service, likened his work there to turning an aircraft carrier, and his work as federal CTO to turning the whole fleet.

The process shouldn't be easy, he told government and industry participants in the Council for Excellence in Government program.

"Prepare yourself to be uncomfortable," he said. "Because if you're not uncomfortable, then it means that you are not doing anything different. In my life, generally speaking, my greatest growth experiences have been painful."

The managing partners of the 24 initiatives and their agency partners must decide what needs to be done and why, and the outcomes they will measure to ensure the plans are being carried out. The technology will follow, enabling the outcomes, he said.

Most of the initiatives ? which include a searchable database of recreation areas nationwide and integration of personnel records across government ? have progressed to the point where they have clear direction and the agencies are beginning to identify and align resources, Lorentz said.

A year from now e-government initiatives will probably look 50 percent different than the outlook for them today, Lorentz said.

"But we will be 50 percent down the road," he said. "We are going to learn so much about plug and play ... [and other] things that are done in the private sector. ... At least if you are trying to do something and you trip and fall, you are generally headed north, and that's a few steps you don't have to take the next time you try."