But sometimes best practices migrate in the other direction. Increasingly, government agencies are the source of leading-edge innovation and best practices. Consider this report on the State Department’s approach to cybersecurity. Our colleagues at Infinitive Insight (who are cybersecurity experts) tell us this is a highly effective approach.

The agency built a strategy that centers on the continuous prioritization of threats, and developed its own software to monitor all its assets and computers. The focus is on known security gaps, through which the vast majority of attacks come. Each department or location within State receives regular reports about their existing vulnerabilities, which keeps the focus on the most serious vulnerabilities.Despite the huge challenges of safeguarding 400 embassies around the world, extensive data networks and highly sensitive information:

The program’s effectiveness … has made it an unexpected model for big firms looking to bolster computer security.

More than 40 companies have requested the software that runs the program, and Microsoft is among those companies who have modified the code for its own use. In other words, these firms are acting more like the government when it comes to securing key systems.

Perhaps most importantly, State’s security team recognizes that its systems aren’t perfect, and that the nature of threats changes constantly. Thus, it uses continuous monitoring to strengthen its program. Here again, the security pros at Infinitive Insight confirm that this is a step all types of business should take – and where they can emulate a government best practice.

Culture is like a circle, and great companies won’t even tolerate a superstar going outside the circle. I can have the greatest sales guy in the world, or the greatest marketing manager. If they go outside the circle … it is a direct threat to the cultural confidence you’re trying to build. And you can’t carry out a vision or go on a crusade without the total confidence of everybody who’s going on that mission with you.

If you really want to build something that’s going to be around for a very long time and be stable and grow, culture has to be paramount. People have to know how your culture operates and works. …. And that, to me, is one of the attributes of really great companies.

That’s why I think it’s easier in that kind of culture to introduce new products and new technologies or new services. When the culture breaks down, it’s real hard to be innovative. It is very difficult to be innovative because you’ve got built-up barriers to interpersonal communications and ….got barriers to new ideas.

In the realm of the Federal Government, we see culture change as the “X-Factor” in driving value, especially in technology implementations. Full interview here.

I like to think of the government as a big, complicated machine. We citizens are the users. What we’ve always lacked is a well-designed user interface. That’s not a surprise when you consider the era in which our system was invented.

In many ways, this is a good metaphor, though the rest of Adams’ tongue-in-cheek essay is about how to make it easier to “throw the bums out” through voting and campaign innovations. Still, the idea of a user interface is a powerful one, which is why many Federal agencies have embraced it as part of their customer relationship management (CRM) initiatives.

In fact, Executive Order 13571 specified the need for agencies to deliver improved service to their constituencies. Infinitive Federal partnered with Microsoft on the Improving Customer Service: Planning Guide to help agencies meet the requirements of the Executive Order.

In our experience working with a range of agencies, many are embracing change wholeheartedly and seeking to operate in full Government 2.0 fashion. (See our full take on Government 2.0 here.) For instance, the Department of Defense’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program has been transformed in the last few years. Processes have been standardized and streamlined so that all stakeholders and customers – including defense contractors, foreign governments, and many of our most important military allies – have a much better experience. Increased efficiency and lower costs are also part of the story.

On this initiative and many similar to it, program management offices (PMOs) play a central, enabling role in ensuring objectives are achieved. While PMOs are rarely customer facing, they can synchronize all the elements required to deliver a great customer experience. For example, PMOs are uniquely positioned to ensure that new technology implementations do not disrupt processes or make them more complex for different types of users. Let’s say contact center agents have a new tool to support their interactions with citizens. PMOs will ensure that proper training takes place so agents are familiar with the tools before deployment. That may sound like a small detail, but we have seen time and again how PMOs are difference makers when it comes to CRM and other complex initiatives.

Scott Adams may tell a good joke, like this one:

Ben Franklin wouldn’t be impressed by our pace of innovation. He invented the post office and showed us electricity, and it still took us 200 years to come up with email.

But what he doesn’t know is that many Federal leaders are working behind the scenes every day to help deliver an iPod-like customer experience.

In this blog, we’ll highlight some of the way that Federal leaders are meeting these challenges and succeeding in mission fulfillment – generating more value through operational excellence in customer-facing processes, effective cultural change management, strong leadership and robust program management.

We hope you enjoy the stories, big ideas and best practices we share and get back to us with your comments, suggestions and ideas.