I recently read "The Phoenix Project" by Gene Kim, a book about transforming IT processes by looking at it through the lens of how manufacturing and supply chains work. Lots of parables in that book ring true to me in these current times...(1)

As an exercise, I'll try to unpack some of the things that stand out to me now and relate them to the book's lessons. I'm going off memory and taking the surface level information we get from the news each day about #COVID19. Let's see how apolitical I can be: (2)

Re: availability of needed equipment / states having to find their own methods (Cuomo's Ebay Analogy). classic problem in the IT space, where the feudal lords (department heads) know that following the normal course of action means they will get left behind, so they improvise (3)

Other parties see this and do the same, throwing system into chaos, if there was even a system to begin with. Solution: a centralized, strict method for procurement. (IT ticketing system). If you ignore the rules, you dont get your stuff. Soon ppl will play ball (4)

But how does such a system come about? From the top down. Federal gov is uniquely positioned to create emergency rules and methods for procurement, or to at least assist in implementing one. Even if ppl disagree politically, most agree that the Feds have ultimate authority (5)

With a centralized system, you can then analyze to see where bottlenecks are, who is complying, and what future needs may be. This data can be made available to manufacturers and even used as leverage in negotiations. The market still determines who gets what and for how much (6)

For example, take the US military, one of the best at supply chain management. You can't go into patrol (let alone war) not knowing if you'll have enough bullets. There are contingencies for these scenarios, bc lives are at stake. They're at stake now as well. (7)

For the leadership, this takes objectivity and resolve to enact. When someone with resources (the IT guy / POTUS) starts playing anti-favorites (WA, MI govs) ppl know what they have to do: kiss up and do favors. As a former tech support guy I've seen this personally. (8)

That's a good segue to leadership. I'd love to see the org chart for the Fed #COVID19 response. Spoiler alert, there isn't one. What we have instead, which is also very typical for IT environments, is figureheads that represent a dept / software service, but don't "manage" (9)

Yes, Pence is "leading" the task force, but in name only. He is the "face" of the response. This is why @JoeBiden 's suggestion that he would appoint a military General to lead the response is brilliant #COVID19. A general knows how to lead AND be a face (10)

I was 6 years old during Desert Storm, but I still remember KNOWING that Schwarzkopf was in charge. Presence on the lines, AND in the press. How about Iraq with Petraeus? Who do we have now? Now it get's interesting... (11)

We have POTUS and VP, but the face of the response belongs to Fauci and Birx, who are LEGENDS. But: THEY ARE NOT GENERALS. cannot order "strikes". Don't have the authority. Fauci commented that he's surprised there isn't a fed lockdown order. Give him the power to enact one! (12)

Another hallmark of corporate IT mgmt has come into play - go with who you know. Now Kushner is in the mix. Should not be surprising to anyone, regardless of family relations. Mgrs rarely think outside the box when things are going south, tho its the perf time to (13)

If people are in the wrong spots, success is quite hard to achieve. we now see the mgmt style of this WH. Keep the circle close, and huddle over (literally, look at the press conferences) anyone from the outside - don't give them too much to do (bc they might be right) (14)

The necessary changes here requires a paradigm shift for mgmt, my fav part of the book. No fancy new tools (they use sticky notes on whiteboards at first). The shift was the real journey for the team, not new technology. What are the odds of Feds doing that w #COVID19 (Fin)