Lessons From DOGE, Elon Musk & The Government's Retirement Mine

Unless you're living in the limestone Records Management mine that has recently made the news, you know that Elon Musk and the DOGE team made a very public example of the antiquated records management systems and processes used for handling retirement paperwork for government employees.  While that makes for some visceral pictures and videos as well as some interesting political fodder, there are some valuable lessons records managers (and perhaps the DOGE team) can learn by asking, "how did this happen" and more importantly, "what can we do about it?"  

Identify The Problem
First, recognize that all DOGE has done so far is identify a problem that literally hundreds of government workers already knew about.  That isn't terribly special or unique, however, the public acknowledgment of the issue is unique and a necessary first step in any change process.  Identifying and stating the problem within the organization is critical, but it also involves an important follow up step if we're actually going to fix the problem.  There must be agreement of what the problem is throughout the organization.  In many organizations, especially large organizations like the government, it becomes tempting to keep expanding the scope and definition of the problem to the point that it becomes too large to tackle.  It's critical to define the boundaries of what will be "fixed" and avoid scope creep in order to deliver a viable solution.  The problem has to be clearly identified with clear boundaries that have been purposefully set.

Define The Criteria For Success Quickly
The issue DOGE so publicly highlighted is not new.  In fact, it has been known for many years and a more modern solution was attempted in the not-too-distant past, but it was ultimately abandoned.  I don't know why it was abandoned, but like many big projects, I suspect it spiraled out of control in both time and expense as "the problem" got bigger and bigger.  Eventually, key stakeholders moved on, were pulled in other directions or just lost faith in the solution.  

Often low hanging fruit that's ripe for the picking is best to leave for someone else to pick.  While it would be tempting to include just one more thing that appears "easy" at first, it often ends up being more complex than anticipated, and in the end, it risks the success of the primary objective because time is our enemy.  The longer a project exists, the more opportunities it has for failure.  Think of it as wading across an icy river.  You have to take the shortest, fastest path to the other side and get there before hypothermia sets in.  You don't want to cross in a spot that's any wider than necessary and you don't care whether the bottom is covered in mud, rocks or weeds.  You just need to get to the other side.

As the definition for success continues to morph over time and the problem definition gets more convoluted for those involved, the river gets wider, and the solution will ultimately take longer to implement.  It's easy for team members to become distracted and overwhelmed by the increasing complexity and scope of the problem.  Over time people will eventually tend to gravitate back to what they know and just give up.  It's critically important to define criteria for success early on and focus with intensity on delivering the agreed upon definition of "success" with great urgency.

Identify Barriers To Success
With the problem identified and criteria for success defined, we can now start identifying things that are likely to prevent success.  These barriers to success are perhaps the most important part of delivering a solution.  For example, within the Government, there is a heavy reliance on DOD 5015.2 as the gold standard for records management.  Any change to the processes in the mine will run headfirst into records management standards, the Office of the Chief Records Officer for the U.S. Government, perhaps the National Archives and general records schedules.  What started out as merely improving a process now includes dealing with many other parts of the organization.  Suddenly discussions of compliance, certification issues, variances, internal processes, vendor selection, procurement and management processes and countless other things can all become barriers to success.  These barriers are often outside the control of the Records Manager.  Ultimately this results in meetings with other parts of the organization to encourage changes, but those parts of the organization may see no immediate value to their part of the organization, so the project stalls as other parts of the organization cannot or will not allocate time to improving a far reaching process which doesn't directly benefit them.

The Problem Is Not The Problem
It's important to point out that the elephant in the limestone mine is not that there is a problem.  Everyone with even casual knowledge of the situation would be able to tell you there's a problem just as DOGE and Musk have done.  The elephant in the mine is that there must be a plan with the authority to make changes necessary to address the problem.  That includes addressing the many tentacles from other parts of the organization which either purposely or accidently are contributing to the problem. 

The Stuck Records Manager 
Can the governmental records management team that operates the mine change the process even if they wanted to?  That's a very good question to ask.  They may operate the mine, but they have to comply with government standards.  If the government standards are antiquated, is there a framework for updating those standards quickly or at all?  Perhaps, but it requires buy in across the entirety of the Government and they likely don't have the authority to initiate such a change.  In effect they are stuck.  They can't change a process even though there are obvious changes they would love to make.

The Challenge For DOGE & Records Managers
Whether you're Elon Musk, a rocket scientist from X, or a Records Manager in any organization you may face the same problem.  Your records management problem is wrapped in a much larger organization that must also change if you are to be successful implementing a Modern Records Management solution.  While it's great to have modern software with the latest AI incorporated into your Records Management solution, it will never see the light of day unless it comes with a proven problem-solving approach for implementation. 

For big problems with far reaching implications like those identified by DOGE, it takes a focused and disciplined approach to problem solving and the ability to drive change, sell change and ultimately manage and deliver change across an organization.  If you are in a situation where your organization needs to change, reach out to TEAM IM and let's talk about how we can help you through your change processes and achieve a successful implementation of Modern Records Management.