What government can learn from the private sector - without becoming it

"Combined with the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, there's renewed pressure for government to operate more like the private sector. In theory, that might sound reasonable. But in practice, the comparison is not only unhelpful; it's often misleading. It ignores the fundamental difference between the two sectors: government missions are defined by mandates, not markets. To meet current mandates, the government and its industry partners need to reevaluate and redefine their partnerships."

"Government agencies don't choose their customers, and they don't operate with the same financial incentives or risk tolerance as private enterprises. A failed software rollout at a startup might cost market share, whereas a failed rollout at the Department of Veterans Affairs would affect healthcare access for millions of veterans. Federal technology environments reflect this reality - rooted in complexity, decades of legacy systems and layered compliance obligations. Ignoring these realities leads to solutions that sound good in PowerPoint presentations but fail in practice."

"Rather than treat government as a slow-to-modernize version of business, we should start by recognizing that government is operating under very different constraints - and the most effective support comes from those who understand and respect that context. The right role for a private-sector partner isn't to "transform government IT." It's to reduce friction, cost and risk. Rather than pushing bleeding-edge innovation for innovation's sake, partners should focus on execution."

The April executive order pushes agencies to adopt commercial-off-the-shelf solutions and encourages private-sector operating models, but government obligations differ fundamentally from market incentives. Government missions are defined by mandates rather than customer choice, producing different financial incentives and risk tolerances. Federal technology environments are complex, burdened by legacy systems and layered compliance, which increases execution risk and potential public harm from failed rollouts. Private-sector partners should prioritize reducing friction, cost, and risk, focusing on reliable execution and sustainment rather than bleeding-edge innovation. Partnerships must be reevaluated and redefined to align with mandate-driven operational realities.

Read at Nextgov.com