How to Run a Government: So That Citizens Benefit and Taxpayers Don't Go Crazy

by Michael Barber

Michael Barber shares the secrets of a successful government and provides suggestions for carrying out lasting improvements in public life

Billions of citizens around the world are frustrated with their governments. Political leaders struggle to honor their promises and officials find it near impossible to translate ideas into action, resulting in cynicism with the government and the political process. Why is this and how can this vicious spiral be reversed? In this groundbreaking book, Michael Barber draws on his wealth of experience working for and with government leaders the world over to present a blueprint for how to run a government. Using contemporary cases from every continent and classic examples from history, he makes a compelling case for a new approach. From Downing Street to Punjab, Charles I to Churchill, this book shows that the solution is less about ideology and more about clear priorities and meticulous planning.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Business, Economics, Philosophy, Government, Management

368 pages, Paperback

First published March 12, 2015

About the author

Sir Michael Barber is a leading educational reformer. Since May 2011, he has been the Chief Education Advisor at Pearson, the world's largest education company.

From 2001-2005 Sir Michael was the education advisor to the former British prime minister, Tony Blair. He then became the head of McKinsey's Global Education Practice.

Sir Michael has sought reform for school improvement, standards, performance, access to schools in developing countries, and access and funding in higher education.

Reviews

[Mike Peleah · Rating 5 out of 5]

In an old joke wise owl suggested mice to become hedgehogs in order to solve their problems. When asked "Good idea! But how?!", he retorted "I gave you strategy, implementation is not my issue".

This book is exactly about implementation of mouse-to-hedgehog strategy. It is filled with practical advice, case study references, and also some generalization and guiding principles. Some of the book is too UK specific, although principles and practicalities are applicable everywhere. At the same time, book is not overly prescriptive, and solutions could be easily adapted to specific circumstances.

[Wej · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful book written by a career bureaucrat. Michael Barber organised this book around 57 rules of governing, grouped into several themes. Many chapters contain examples of his own work with the Blair's government or in Pakistan where he was advising on educational reforms. The rules will seem fairly similar to anyone who had ever encountered literature on project management. However, here they are specifically designed for the higher echelons of the civil service/government. The examples and anecdotes were highly readable so this helped to make the book less dry.
PS: I cringed a couple of times while reading about the need for austerity.

The 57 Rules are:

I. PRIORITIES
1) HAVE AN AGENDA (even if, like Lord Salisbury, it is to do nothing)
2) DECIDE ON YOUR PRIORITIES (really decide)
3) BE UNREASONABLE (sometimes) AND USE THE MAP OF DELIVERY
4) SET A SMALL NUMBER OF WELL-DESIGNED TARGETS (but don’t call them targets if you don’t want to!)
5) APPLY THE SCIENCE TO TARGET-SETTING (but don’t depend on it)
6) CHECK FOR PERVERSE OR UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES (they may not happen)
7) CONSULT WITHOUT CONCEDING ON AMBITION (opposition is inevitable)
8) TARGETS ARE IMPORTANT BUT NOT THE POINT (state and restate the story about the moral purpose)

II. ORGANIZATION
9) REVIEW THE CAPACITY OF YOUR SYSTEM TO DELIVER THE AGREED GOALS (and do it quickly)
10) SET UP A DELIVERY UNIT (call it what you like, but separate it from strategy and policy)
11) THE DELIVERY UNIT NEEDS TO BE SMALL AND WELL LED (and excellent at building relationships)
12) CREATE A GUIDING COALITION FOR EACH PRIORITY (to increase clarity and speed)
13) BUILD THE CAPACITY TO DELIVER YOUR AGENDA (civil service reform for its own sake can be an energy drain)

III. STRATEGY
14) WORK FROM PRINCIPLES TO STRATEGY TO POLICY (and put a stake through the heart of initiatives)
15) TRUST AND ALTRUISM IS POPULAR BUT DOESN’T WORK (other than in unusual circumstances)
16) THE HIERARCHY AND TARGETS APPROACH WILL GET YOU FROM AWFUL TO ADEQUATE (if executed well)
17) CHOICE IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT IN PUBLIC SYSTEMS (it’s a good in itself)
18) TRANSPARENT PUBLIC RANKING WORKS (don’t flinch)
19) CONTRACTING OUT SERVICES BREAKS MONOPOLIES (but don’t think it relieves you from management responsibilities)
20) WELL-DESIGNED PRIVATIZATION CAN IMPROVE EFFICIENCY (it can also lead to smaller, more effective government)
21) A WELL-DESIGNED VOUCHER SCHEME EMPOWERS THE BENEFICIARIES (and can promote equity)
22) GOVERNMENT SHOULD TAKE ITS STEWARDSHIP RESPONSIBILITY SERIOUSLY; THAT INCLUDES STRATEGY, REGULATION AND THE SUPPLY OF SKILLED PROFESSIONALS

IV. PLANNING
23) UNDERSTAND IN YOUR HEAD (and feel in your heart) THE GAP BETWEEN YOUR ASPIRATION AND THE UNVARNISHED REALITY
24) UNDERSTAND THE POTENTIAL DRIVERS OF CHANGE (and base your plan on them)
25) PREPARE A PLAN TO IMPLEMENT YOUR STRATEGY THAT IS GOOD ENOUGH TO GET STARTED (and don’t make concessions for a quiet life)
26) STRENGTHEN THE DELIVERY CHAIN (don’t think you can get away without doing so)
27) NEVER GO ANYWHERE WITHOUT A TRAJECTORY (you’ll learn better, faster and deeper)
28) COLLECT DATA, ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS AND PRESENT THE ANSWERS BEAUTIFULLY (and don’t forget integrity)
29) DATA MAKES A JOB DO-ABLE (until then, all you can do is make excuses and hope for the best)

V. ROUTINES
30) DON’T BE SPOOKED BY THE DEAFENING SILENCE (but keep listening)
31) ANTICIPATE THE IMPLEMENTATION DIP (and demonstrate the leadership required to get through it)
32) DEAL WITH CRISES (but don’t use them as an excuse)
33) GOVERNMENT BY ROUTINE BEATS GOVERNMENT BY SPASM (it’s not even close)
34) PREPARE MONTHLY NOTES FOR THE LEADER (and make them ‘deeply interesting’)
35) ROUTINE MEETINGS OR STOCKTAKES CREATE FALSE DEADLINES (and solve problems before they become crises)
36) A FULL-SCALE REVIEW OF THE PROGRAMME AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR PROVIDES DEEP LEARNING (which can be acted on immediately)
37) UNDERSTAND THE WOOD AND THE TREES (and the view beyond)

VI. PROBLEM-SOLVING
38) CATEGORIZE PROBLEMS BY THEIR INTENSITY (and act accordingly)
39) DIAGNOSE PROBLEMS PRECISELY (and act accordingly)
40) TAKE ALL THE EXCUSES OFF THE TABLE
41) LEARN ACTIVELY FROM EXPERIENCE (failure is a great teacher)
42) NEGOTIATE ON THE BASIS OF PRINCIPLE (but don’t depend on it)
43) GUARD AGAINST FOLLY (it has been common throughout history)
VII. IRREVERSIBILITY
44) THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINED, DISCIPLINED POLITICAL LEADERSHIP
45) PERSIST (but don’t expect the credit)
46) LEARN THE LEARNABLE AND CONTROL THE CONTROLLABLE (obsessively)
47) INVEST DEEPLY AND CONTINUOUSLY IN SKILL AND CAPABILITY (commitment will follow)
48) THINK THROUGH THE POLITICS OF IRREVERSIBILITY (anticipate the future)
49) DRIFT IS THE ENEMY OF DELIVERY (momentum is its friend)
VII. (OTHER PEOPLE’S) MONEY
50) ‘MORE FOR LESS’ TRUMPS ‘INVESTMENT FOR REFORM’ (and may deliver more)
51) PERIODICALLY ADOPT A BOLD, CLEAN-SLATE APPROACH TO BUDGETING (to liberate resources)
52) MAKE PUBLIC SECTOR PRODUCTIVITY CENTRAL (a two-year budget cycle will make a big difference)
53) ANSWER THE QUESTION: ‘WHO IS YOUR EDMUND DUDLEY?’ (there is more to delivery than being loved)
54) FINANCE MINISTERS ARE UNDER HUGE PRESSURE (another reason for a delivery function)

VII CONCLUSION: THE FUTURE OF DELIVERY
55) BIG DATA AND TRANSPARENCY ARE COMING (prepare to make the most of them)
56) SUCCESSFUL MARKETS AND EFFECTIVE GOVERNMENT GO TOGETHER (avoid the false dichotomy)
57) PUBLIC AND SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT TO DELIVERING OUTCOMES (encourage it)

[Borislav Stefanov · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a very interesting book. Sir Michael Barber has a great first-hand experience with the public sector, both as a participant, an adviser, and a delivery expert – which seems to fall somewhere between strategy and implementation (whereas the strategy is thought of by someone else, the implementation falls on the army of public servants and the goal of the delivery unit is to make this process relatively manageable and measurable).

As someone who has spent years in the public sector, I enjoyed the practicality of this book. While usually senior government officers scorn implementation – they like to design grand strategies and think little of putting them in practice – this usually determines whether a prime minister, president, mayor or whatever else remains in history as a successful administrator or not. Therefore the book’s collection of matrices, step-by-step guidance on the execution of ideas and strategies in an efficient and organized way is certainly helpful (and serves the point that while the job is not so glorious as designing strategies, breaking it down into measureable and implementable tasks, will get it past the finish line). The book also provides a lot of examples from Sir Michael’s own career with the UK Delivery Unit and with the various governments and public entities that he has been involved with afterwards.

I am somewhat ambivalent about the book’s style. About halfway through the book I just lost momentum and somehow didn’t enjoy getting to the end of it, as I enjoyed the first chapters. The book was by no means a work of fiction, yet it felt a bit “dry” much of the time, although other sections were quite fun and easy to read.

[Tom Jarmyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone with a military background will recognise the wisdom and advice in this book. Sort out the facts. Identify the problem. Figure out the objective. Assign responsibilities. Hold yourself accountable. Easier said then done. However, Barber proposes a sound matrix to accomplish this.

[Єгор Домачук · Rating 2 out of 5]

Second book, which i've not finished.
I overestimated my desire to read politician books. So boring and a little bit interesting. Interesting conception of 47 rules, it makes book easier to remember main thesises

[Zak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much more management best practice than ideology/theory and does give the impression that all the world's ills would be solved if only McKinsey ran number 10. Not sure I agree...

But some helpful stuff and an insight into someone that has new labour in their veins.

[Sorin Hadârcă · Rating 3 out of 5]

To the founder of ‘deliverology’ one must point out that it isn’t a science after all. Pretentiousness aside, all boils down to having a body who is apt to get things done and isn’t ashamed to get his or her hands dirty. For fairness sake there are quite a number of strong points in the book and, all in one, it’s an useful reading.

[Shaun Major · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a convert - this is the road map for running anything that has a bureaucracy attached to it or in its heart!

[Zahra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Barber’s protracted CV. Perhaps a good editor could have got this down to two sides of A4. Good insight into Blair’s government nevertheless.

[Jakub Dovcik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably one of the best and most accessible books on public administration and management out there. I would recommend it to every civil servant or person aspiring to understand how change happens within government, or any large bureaucracy in general. But not as the one final truth, but rather as a solid book of advice on pushing vision through the reality of bureaucratic hurdles.

Michael Barber pioneered New Labour’s work on standards in education and later created the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit during the second Blair Premiership, which saw significant improvements in the quality of public service delivery (health, education, justice and transport). The DU model has since been applied to countless places and problems, and while Barber uses the term ‘Deliverology’ (which one cannot help but see as ironic), large parts of his principles are just good management and fact-based decision-making.

Probably the best parts of the book are the chapters on organisation of the DU, routines (stocktakes and delivery chain analysis) and one chart on the types of problems and the optimal reactions to them. Other bits are useful and are also interesting, like the chapter on strategy, which goes beyond the standard caricature that the New Public Management (somewhat unfairly associated with Barber’s targets) is being painted into. Barber stresses many times the importance of good quality relationships with the key stakeholders, but is also very adamant in not conceding one’s agenda to the stakeholders’ interests (in 2025 we would call this fight against ‘everythingism’).

Much of the book takes examples from just two places: Barber’s work in the UK, but also his work with the Chief Minister of the Pakistani province of Punjab (with the legendary chapter on his somewhat freakish determination in focus on education reform despite extreme floods). There are also good examples of the work of Andrew Adonis in the Blair/Brown governments and the work of Dalton McGuinty, the premier of Ontario between 2003 and 2013.

All this greatly supports Barber’s crucial point - that what matters for delivery is the agenda, determination, and then the focus of the political executive. In this sense, Barber was lucky to work with Tony Blair, who had almost an unparalleled focus on driving through his agenda of change for the British state and its public services. Delivery Units and their variations are merely tools to focus the executive authority on the agenda, but naturally, to do it well, there needs to be an agenda and an authority.

The final chapter on the future of delivery seems rather brief and basic, even for the mid-2010s, when it was written, completely omitting the work of the Government Digital Service during the Coalition government. He is also much more technocratic than his background suggests - there is a vague sense of 'better services' (and I like the pragmatism), but his calls for strong austerity sit with me somewhat uneasily. This supports my thesis that Barber’s work should be taken more as general good advice on competent public management, not as the ultimate solution to every policy issue.

Four stars because by the end, the repetition of assessments and frameworks (especially in the chapter on budgets and value on money) gets mind-numbingly tedious and throughout the book, there are a lot of folksy, pop-sci examples illustrating the points of the individual chapters, which are also at some points a bit annoying. Not to say that they are not useful in the illustrations of important points.

[Henne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand it's a perfectly sized, packaged, organised account of what it's really like to think about how to try and improve government. Penguin Books do know what they're doing when it comes to how to sell a book to people. On the other hand, it leaves so much out - but that's potentially because any kind of governing gets steadily more complex (and more weird) the further you stray into the weeds. I appreciated that the author had spent so much time among people who actually "got stuff done" in their time in power, mostly during the Blair years of the late 1990s and early 2000s. As an account of the priorities of that era then, this book is entirely successful. But with the COVID-19 pandemic rewriting all of the rules once again, from best practices to the expectations of citizens, there is so much in this book that is now unfortunately out of date already. But would I still recommend every civil servant I know (including me) to read it? Yes of course. It is however by no means the final word.

[Tyron Surmon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This book is effectively a detailed guide on how to implement a delivery unit in your government, dusted up slightly to become a marketable book. It is very dense, but worth reading through. There are lots of individual great examples (like the one-page progress chart on Blair's 23 different initiatives), and it gives a lot to think about on how to actually get things done in large, complex organizations.

That said, whilst a third of the book felt properly revelationary, the rest was much weaker. Barber is clearly very strong on the "treat the citizen like a consumer" mindset, but he never seriously challenges it. He also never engages fully with the notion, that creating a delivery unit and routines and capacity reports etc, may simply add to the bureaucracy and cause more problems than it solves. And particularly towards the end, some chapters felt like they were there more to increase the page numbers, rather than to say anything.

[Karina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Menarasikan tentang beberapa alternatif yang bisa dilakukan agar pemerintahan dapat bekerja lebih efektif dalam memberikan pelayanan publik. Memberikan contoh kepemimpinan Tony Blair di pemerintah inggris. Bagaimana pemerintah harus lebih fokus dalam menentukan prioritas, menggunakan data untuk dasar kebijakan, bertanggung jawab atas hasi dan dampak, bukan hanya sekedar pelaksanaannya saja. serta komitmen terhadap eksekusi kebijakan agar tetap mengawal proses dan menindaklanjuti feedback masalah yang terjadi dalam implementasi. Hal ini tentu muncul dari permasalahan birokrasi yang lamban, pejabat yang kurang bertanggungjawab serta resistensi terhadap perubahan dan lebih nyaman pada cara lama yang sudah jelas kurang efektif. Pentingnya peran pemimpin juga sangat memiliki andil dalam langkah langkah strategi dan politis keberhasilan kebijakan yang diinginkan.

[Books By Hala · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recommendation: Hmmm. The author wrote this book based on his experience working in the government of the UK. It is filled with great examples and cases on how decisions were made and how reform was achieved. I don't know if he thought his book would be useful to apply elsewhere because it definitely does not work in other contexts. I was asked to read this book as part of my job but I can say it is not very useful for Jordan. Not being my usual pessimistic self but I would comfortably say that you should only read this book if you work in the government of Japan or Sweden or Switzerland. Clear enough?

[Andrew Donnellan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading, the various frameworks that Barber presents in this book certainly look useful, and most governments could certainly take his advice to be more focused on successful delivery rather than neglecting it for strategy and policy. But be prepared for some unashamed Blairism - he seems to think the "science of delivery" is disconnected from political ideology.

(Also, his praise of Najib Razak as an effective modern political leader... hasn't aged well, for reasons that might well be completely unrelated to his practice of deliverology, but would certainly rule him out from ever being a positive case study in a future book.)

[Michael Macdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating focus on delivery

Michael Barber is a zealot, committed to driving improvements in public service. This book is a well written, concise manifesto for delivery as the failure to make good ideas work is fatal to Government. If these lessons were applied then maybe the current chaos over Brexit and fall would be avoided. The book also gives a deep insight into the ideology underpinning Blair and Brown: if they had followed the advice over legitimacy then their legacy might have endured.

[Graeme Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

At this point, I'm a bit of a Michael Barber devotee- his process of "deliverology" provides some concrete tools and ideas for getting government and public sector orgs to actually do the stuff they're supposed to do, with some sense of efficiency and accountability (this is a problem that I've spent most of my professional life puzzling about). This book is a distillation of his thinking - a bit more accessible and focussed than "Instruction to Deliver," although like his other books, drags a bit in the final quarter. Still, a provocative and engaging read.

[Rory Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting perspective into what goes into delivering policy in a government: the pitfalls, the requirements, strategy, and planning
Main takeaways are: have a goal (more audacious the better), have a way to track that goal (through data), pick a strategy (depending how bad the starting point is), and have regular syncs (weekly and monthly depending on the stakeholder).
It did feel like it glossed over a lot of detail, but to its credit as most readers won't run a government.

[Iryna K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Знайшла багато дуже корисних порад, і частина прочитаного ідеал но накладається на мій досвід роботи з освітньою реформою (переважно у форматі "Ага, ось чому це не вийшло!"). Але автор досить однобічно підбирає приклади і просуває свою ідеологію зменшення держави (ака "ринки завжди ефективніші), і це бісить.

[SRW03 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I worked through this book point by point, pulling out everything that could strengthen me in my new role leading student leadership. My challenge is delivery on a whole-school scale, and Barber’s tenets will guide my actions over the next 1–3 years as I sharpen my skills for senior leadership. Clear, practical, and worth returning to. I highly recommend it.

[Unnawut Leepaisalsuwanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically a short course to management for the public sector. Probably useful for public sector workers who're interested in adapting private sector's management practices into government functions but not the other way around.

[Jonathan Earl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend to anyone working in government. Good analysis, particularly around seeking clear priorities, accountability through data and embedding change. Perhaps slightly overstates the role of competition/markets as solution to most problems.

[David Simutowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A marvelous and insightful book shading light on the path of civic leaders to be effective rather than just being
rhetoric with empty promises which are never fulfilled due to lack of a clear road map on implementation of ideas into reality.

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This makes rather grandiloquent claims for the 'science' of delivery ('codified common sense' might be a more reasonable description?), but nevertheless there's lots of interesting stuff here, fluently put together.

[Martin Dubéci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dobré, ale asi zaujímavé len pre človeka, čo sa téme delivery v public sector chce naozaj venovať. Nie sú to žiadne anekdotky, ale v celku odborný text.

[Miroslav Beblavy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are very few practical and good books on public sector management for policy-makers. This is one of them.

[Gemma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m converted. Readable, insightful and with a unique clarity, this is an important read for any education professional.

[Taras Sluchyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Дуже практична та корисна книжка для тих хто займається трансформацією органів влади у будь якому форматі

[Peter Håkansson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant book about implementations, should be practiced by every government.

[Dingaan · Rating 3 out of 5]

the book offers a lot of common sense and practical wisdom...a breath of fresh air...