I'm the author of a historical novel, The Coming, which tells the story of the real-life Daytime Smoke, the Nez Perce son of William Clark (of Lewis and Clark fame)--and through him, the story of his people, from first contact to conquest. Kirkus Reviews called it "An epic story sure to be a hit with readers interested in the American western expansion." It won a Spur Award from the Western Writers of America as the best historical novel of the year.
But I've spent most of my career writing nonfiction. My most recent book is Reinventing America's Schools: Creating a 21st Century School System, which came out in September 2017. I've been a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute for a long time, where I now direct a project on Reinventing America’s Schools.
My other nonfiction books are The Price of Government: Getting the Results We Need in an Age of Permanent Fiscal Crisis (2004); The Reinventor's Fieldbook: Tools for Transforming Your Government (2000), Banishing Bureaucracy: The Five Strategies For Reinventing Government (1997), Reinventing Government (1992), and Laboratories of Democracy (1988). I've also written numerous articles for the Washington Post, the Atlantic, the New York Times Magazine, Harpers, The New Republic, Inc., Governing, Education Week, U.S. News, and other publications.
Reinventing Government, published in 1992, was a New York Times bestseller and has been translated into some 20 languages. It inspired President Clinton to create an eight-year effort to reinvent the federal bureaucracy, which was run by Vice President Al Gore. In 1993 I served as a senior advisor to Gore, to help create and run the initiative--then called the National Performance Review, later renamed the National Partnership for Reinventing Government. I was the chief author of its first report, which laid out the Clinton Administration’s reinvention agenda. I've always been proud that Time Magazine called it "the most readable federal document in memory." In 2000 I served as an advisor to Al Gore's presidential campaign.
From 1994 through 2014, I was a senior partner at The Public Strategies Group, a small consulting firm that helped public organizations improve their performance. I worked with governments large and small, from cities, counties, and school districts to states, federal agencies, and foreign governments. I also lectured widely around the globe and advised presidents, ministers, governors, mayors, city managers, and other leaders.
I serve as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, a Congressionally chartered organization similar to the National Academy of Sciences, and a member of the National Selection Committee for the Innovations in American Government Awards. From 1992 through 1997, I was founding chairman of the Alliance for Redesigning Government, a National Academy initiative to help public sector leaders learn more about public sector reinvention and redesign.
Much of my work, including two of my books, can be found at my web site, www.reinventgov.com. My more recent work on education can be found at www.progressivepolicy.org.
I have four grown children, and my wife and I live in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
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