Why cutting government waste is tougher than it looks

Getting rid of unnecessary expenditures is one of those motherhood issues that makes great fodder for politicians. Who’s to argue? The problem is that these standard bearers for cutting waste tend to be people who have no idea of this entails. The big giveaway is that they tell us it’s easy – all you need is to be tough enough to make cuts.

The bad news for these folks is that waste in large organizations doesn’t show up in large chunks – instead, it is distributed throughout work processes in thousands of small increments. Furthermore, much of this is invisible – only workers who live with these processes on a day-to-day basis can actually see it. And finally, waste is a moving target. Every time there is a new product line, a new piece of machinery, or a new statute,  waste-removing measures have to be re-calibrated.

Waste removal involves lots of hard work, and a steady resolve. Would be waste cutters who are not up to this challenge are not leaders – they are just leading us on.