Thursday, October 25, 2012

How to Buy a Vision - Pt. 1

President Barack Obama appointed retired General Eric Shinseki as Secretary of Veterans Affairs in 2009.  The President charged this visionary with transforming the Veteran's Administration.   The Veterans Health Administration, VHA, is a major sector of that transformation.

General Shinseki has expressed his vision and ideals for that transformation.  In turn, this allowed the current RTLS initiative to come to the forefront.  

As he applies Be Know Do leadership principles to the environment, federal regulations outside his area to control present a problem for the end-result.  

First though, a comment about transformation: 
From Covering Your Assets by Exposing the Butt-Ugly Truth,  "The implementation of EAM and RTLS within one year didn’t mean just a quantum leap for us. It meant we successfully folded space to take a 30-year step from the 1980s into the 21st century, a relatively easy step at that."  
The book was specifically written for those managing a project like the VHA's RTLS project, transcendent, transforming, and very high risk.  The back cover clearly states this point.


About those federal regulations: one example is federal acquisition law.  I have noticed a significant governmental effort to address visibility, access, and to shift toward a problem-solving approach in these areas.  The VHA and the General Accounting Office have been responsive and professional in handling my inquiries. 

There are mandates and there is guidance in acquisition law.  Parts of the regulations have great guidance on the acquisition strategy and the structure of the request for proposal.  Other parts seem to have limiting mandates.  I believe the problem is such an emphasis on adherence to the regulations leads to guidance being treated like mandates - as to not cause any conflicts.  Writing an effective acquisition plan becomes a problem when buying a vision of the future.  Fair trade, fair play, and avoiding even the appearance of impropriety are very important.  But, being able to craft specific and creative approaches can't be lost in the process.  

How to Buy a Vision, Part 2.







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