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Robert Behn

Robert D. Behn

Contributor

Robert Behn is a GOVERNING contributor. He is the faculty chair of the Harvard Kennedy School's Executive Education program on Driving Government Performance: Leadership Strategies that Produce Results.

Archive
What to Measure?
Usually, what we really want is an outcome, but all we can actually measure is an output, writes Robert D. Behn.
March 16, 2010
 · Robert D. Behn
Archive
The Tyranny of the Template
Electronic databases make some things easier. At the same time, writes Robert Behn, they have made some things impossible.
March 16, 2010
 · Robert D. Behn
Archive
The Replication Challenge
Unless someone can somehow determine how exactly an innovation is producing the benefit, this innovation is impossible to replicate.
March 16, 2010
 · Robert D. Behn
Archive
The Five Big Errors of PerformanceStat
Struck by how many "stat" programs fail to appreciate some of the core principles of the strategy, Robert D. Behn identifies the five big errors he routinely encounters in such programs.
March 16, 2010
 · Robert D. Behn
Archive
Public Purpose and Public Leadership
Unlike business executives, who need only think about how to achieve their organization's goals, public leaders have the added responsibility of discerning the "right" goals.
March 16, 2010
 · Robert D. Behn
Archive
Teams, Individuals and Rewards
Organizations hope for teamwork, but reward individual behavior. They hope for cooperation, but reward competition. What folly!
March 16, 2010
 · Robert D. Behn
Archive
Katrina Management
You don't have to be an emergency management specialist to manage FEMA. After all, you will quickly face a variety of emergencies.
March 16, 2010
 · Robert D. Behn
Archive
Replication (continued): It Takes a Nut
The challenge of replication is "going to scale." Sure, you can do it in the small. But can you do it in the large?
March 16, 2010
 · Robert D. Behn
Archive
Forced Ranking and Its Many Consequences
The all-too-human tendency is to be nice to people. For good or bad, ranking restrains this behavior.
March 16, 2010
 · Robert D. Behn
Archive
Beyond the GASB-GFOA Brawl
The case for standards in financial reporting is clear, writes Robert D. Behn. We need to know that government is using our tax dollars properly.
March 16, 2010
 · Robert D. Behn
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