num_pages: 288
description: Can we solve big public problems anymore? Yes we can. This provocative and inspiring book points the way.The huge challenges we face are daunting indeed: climate change crumbling infrastructure declining public education and social services. At the same time we've come to accept the sad notion that government can't do new things or solve tough problemsit's too big too slow and mired in bureaucracy.Not so says former public official now Harvard Business School professor Mitchell Weiss. The truth is entrepreneurial spirit and savvy in government are growing transforming the public sector's response to big problems at all levels. The key Weiss argues is a shift from a mindset of Probability Governmentoverly focused on safe solutions and mimicking so-called best practicesto Possibility Government. This means public leadership and management that's willing to boldly imagine new possibilities and to experiment.Weiss shares the three basic tenets of this new way of governing:Government that can imagine: Seeing problems as opportunities and involving citizens in designing solutionsGovernment that can try new things: Testing and experimentation as a regular part of solving public problemsGovernment that can scale: Harnessing platform techniques for innovation and growthThe lessons unfold in the timely episodes Weiss has seen and studied: the US Special Operations Command prototyping of a hoverboard for chasing pirates; a heroin hackathon in opioid-ravaged Cincinnati; a series of experiments in Singapore to rein in Covid-19; among many others.At a crucial moment in the evolution of government's role in our society We the Possibility provides inspiration and a positive model along with crucial guardrails to help shape progress for generations to come.
language: English
title: We the Possibility: Harnessing Public Entrepreneurship to Solve Our Most Urgent Problems
publisher: Harvard Business Review Press