There is a good piece in the Wall Street Journal on reinventing government.  Written by Louis Gerstner (a former CEO of IBM), it ties in nicely with what the Washington Roundtable and the Research Council are doing with our Thrive Washington series.  Gerstner’s recommendations for governments (at all levels) are:

• Do not impose “across-the-board” cost reductions.
• Focus on programs, not costs.
• Allow no exceptions.

That last is the most important, in my opinion.  And the most difficult, politically.