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We the Possibility: Harnessing Public Entrepreneurship to Solve Our Most Urgent Problems
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 problems—it'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 Government—overly focused on safe solutions and mimicking so-called best practices—to 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 growth
The 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.
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 problems—it'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 Government—overly focused on safe solutions and mimicking so-called best practices—to 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 growth
The 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.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published January 19, 2021
37 people are currently reading
367 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 5, 2025
One of the best books I’ve read. Recommended to me. Very spot on with my experience in the public sector thus far, and career interests/aspirations. A book that I will definitely read multiple times.
Quick read. HBS professor who teaches Public Entrepreneurship.
“We get the government we invent.”
“Possibility government” > “Probability government”
Possibility = things that MIGHT work, but probably won’t (70% of startups fail). This isn’t a new thing. Everything in gov was new at some point and had to be tested (e.g. taxes, voting practices).
Public officials that are opportunity driven > bureaucrats that are resource driven.
Best practices are good for the moment but don’t solve anything. “Best” at the moment, but not good enough.
Human design >
Watch the end users and learn from them. Observe “desire lines” of where people walk, how they use the tools designed for them, etc.
“Hackathons” can be a great way to bring people together that otherwise wouldn’t have collaborated, and to solve focused problems in new ways. Even idea competitions like when Netflix hosted a prize for an algorithm submission that enhanced recommended movies are great ways to get new perspectives.
Be impatient with old ideas and patient with new ideas. You need a lot of bad ideas to get a good idea. And sometimes it can take time mastering a new idea for it to become good.
Use Lean Startup (Eric Ries) approach (i.e. MVPs, pivots, surveys, testing) to reduce waste when solving public problems. Learn the most about your users/consumers while spending the least. “Try, test, learn.” “Build, measure, learn.” The difference between public and private sector is that build usually comes after all the Probability Government apparatus, but in the startup model build comes before. Risk is inherent in doing bold new things. “Build, measure, build” lets us resolve some of those risks without spending too much of the public’s money. This also allows public officials to be honest about running tests and failing, instead of lying. “We ran a test. We ran it without spending too much time and money. The test proved that either our idea or our execution was wrong. We’ll learn from the failure and move on.”
Identify key assumptions/uncertainties in projects and test them in minimally viable ways.
Experiment WITH the public, not ON the public.
If pilot programs are tests, describe them that way. Promise learning, not success. Candidly communicate results.
Using “Adaptive Partial Approval” is key to gain small victories in regulation. E.g. Boston approved autonomous vehicles but only in one neighborhood at first. If safety benchmarks were reached, the company could expand to other regions of Boston. Essentially a graduated testing program that allowed for increased or decreased approvals.
Platform thinking is the best way to scale. Users benefit from other users; there’s less value in being the sole user. “Network effects” from a network of users. Two types of platforms: (1) an innovation platform (e.g. iOS 16), and (2) a transaction platform where information or goods/services are shared.
Trisector athlete = public, private, and social sector experience. Builds connecting skills across all three. Rotates in and out of public service. Builds contextual intelligence and leverages relationships.
For GovTech entrepreneurs trying to sell new products and services, selling is buying. Learn to break down government buying and procurement methods.
Be careful of Possibility vs. Delusion. Keep an eye out for signs that you might be deluding yourself and the public (i.e. ignoring evidence and red flags that your idea won’t work). Identify correct motives and incentives. Also, make sure that the root cause is being addressed and not just a symptom of that cause.
Ideas with huge potential are quickly adopted, but then we see difficulty in the process as failure and give up on operationalizing that idea to reach its full potential. The “Competency Trap” is when organizations give up on new ideas they aren’t good at YET.
Government is the best suited in our society to take on risk. It can spread the cost of failure across the largest number of people. When government decides not to take on a challenge, it’s leaving that challenge with the people, who as individuals are least positioned to address it.
Government isn’t a bigger version of a startup (different incentives, accountability, culture, and systems). But can it act more like one?
Public officials are more likely to get blamed when things go wrong than praised for their successes. Public officials overlearn from their or others’ mistakes. Dissatisfied voters are more likely to turn up to vote than satisfied voters.
Organize public agencies for ambidexterity. One focus on current and established operations, and one focused on innovation. Keep these groups separate. Doing well on existing stuff grants the organization permission to work on new stuff, but don’t chase the future and forget the present.
Budget and buy for possibility in modest amounts of money and in stages, being as transparent and honest with the intention of learning being communicated to the public. Cut off funding from negative signals, and put more funding into positive signals. Using a portfolio of projects to “diversify” the risk is good. Don’t launch a pilot program and be hands off. Be responsive with funding, attention, and changes.
Show people, don’t convince them, that the following three narratives aren’t true: (1) change can’t happen, (2) change is not allowed, and (3) change will hurt me.
Michael Bloomberg: “Show me a politician who hasn’t failed, and I will show you a failure.”
Quick read. HBS professor who teaches Public Entrepreneurship.
“We get the government we invent.”
“Possibility government” > “Probability government”
Possibility = things that MIGHT work, but probably won’t (70% of startups fail). This isn’t a new thing. Everything in gov was new at some point and had to be tested (e.g. taxes, voting practices).
Public officials that are opportunity driven > bureaucrats that are resource driven.
Best practices are good for the moment but don’t solve anything. “Best” at the moment, but not good enough.
Human design >
Watch the end users and learn from them. Observe “desire lines” of where people walk, how they use the tools designed for them, etc.
“Hackathons” can be a great way to bring people together that otherwise wouldn’t have collaborated, and to solve focused problems in new ways. Even idea competitions like when Netflix hosted a prize for an algorithm submission that enhanced recommended movies are great ways to get new perspectives.
Be impatient with old ideas and patient with new ideas. You need a lot of bad ideas to get a good idea. And sometimes it can take time mastering a new idea for it to become good.
Use Lean Startup (Eric Ries) approach (i.e. MVPs, pivots, surveys, testing) to reduce waste when solving public problems. Learn the most about your users/consumers while spending the least. “Try, test, learn.” “Build, measure, learn.” The difference between public and private sector is that build usually comes after all the Probability Government apparatus, but in the startup model build comes before. Risk is inherent in doing bold new things. “Build, measure, build” lets us resolve some of those risks without spending too much of the public’s money. This also allows public officials to be honest about running tests and failing, instead of lying. “We ran a test. We ran it without spending too much time and money. The test proved that either our idea or our execution was wrong. We’ll learn from the failure and move on.”
Identify key assumptions/uncertainties in projects and test them in minimally viable ways.
Experiment WITH the public, not ON the public.
If pilot programs are tests, describe them that way. Promise learning, not success. Candidly communicate results.
Using “Adaptive Partial Approval” is key to gain small victories in regulation. E.g. Boston approved autonomous vehicles but only in one neighborhood at first. If safety benchmarks were reached, the company could expand to other regions of Boston. Essentially a graduated testing program that allowed for increased or decreased approvals.
Platform thinking is the best way to scale. Users benefit from other users; there’s less value in being the sole user. “Network effects” from a network of users. Two types of platforms: (1) an innovation platform (e.g. iOS 16), and (2) a transaction platform where information or goods/services are shared.
Trisector athlete = public, private, and social sector experience. Builds connecting skills across all three. Rotates in and out of public service. Builds contextual intelligence and leverages relationships.
For GovTech entrepreneurs trying to sell new products and services, selling is buying. Learn to break down government buying and procurement methods.
Be careful of Possibility vs. Delusion. Keep an eye out for signs that you might be deluding yourself and the public (i.e. ignoring evidence and red flags that your idea won’t work). Identify correct motives and incentives. Also, make sure that the root cause is being addressed and not just a symptom of that cause.
Ideas with huge potential are quickly adopted, but then we see difficulty in the process as failure and give up on operationalizing that idea to reach its full potential. The “Competency Trap” is when organizations give up on new ideas they aren’t good at YET.
Government is the best suited in our society to take on risk. It can spread the cost of failure across the largest number of people. When government decides not to take on a challenge, it’s leaving that challenge with the people, who as individuals are least positioned to address it.
Government isn’t a bigger version of a startup (different incentives, accountability, culture, and systems). But can it act more like one?
Public officials are more likely to get blamed when things go wrong than praised for their successes. Public officials overlearn from their or others’ mistakes. Dissatisfied voters are more likely to turn up to vote than satisfied voters.
Organize public agencies for ambidexterity. One focus on current and established operations, and one focused on innovation. Keep these groups separate. Doing well on existing stuff grants the organization permission to work on new stuff, but don’t chase the future and forget the present.
Budget and buy for possibility in modest amounts of money and in stages, being as transparent and honest with the intention of learning being communicated to the public. Cut off funding from negative signals, and put more funding into positive signals. Using a portfolio of projects to “diversify” the risk is good. Don’t launch a pilot program and be hands off. Be responsive with funding, attention, and changes.
Show people, don’t convince them, that the following three narratives aren’t true: (1) change can’t happen, (2) change is not allowed, and (3) change will hurt me.
Michael Bloomberg: “Show me a politician who hasn’t failed, and I will show you a failure.”
February 4, 2021
One of my chief complaints with nonfiction books is that they could be a lot shorter: they’re often one novel idea with many examples. This is not so with Mitch Weiss's We the Possibility, which explores the question of whether government can solve big problems anymore. He does so by presenting a core framework, adding nuggets of wisdom, then addressing potential objections to his ideas.
The book is organized around Weiss's framework for moving us beyond probability government to possibility government: imagine new solutions, try them, then scale the successes. With each major concept, he goes deep on just one or two examples.
Around the principles, there are plenty of nuggets of wisdom. Among them:
- "best isn't good enough" (don't copy best practices if they lead to mediocre outcomes)
- "status quo is often the less safe choice”
- government is the "ultimate risk manager" (it can and should take some risks)
- "ambidexterity” in leaders
Finally, he ends the book with an insightful conversation on major objections. Is this government-led innovation actually real? Instead of government, should philanthropy or the private sector take on the work of innovation? What are the risks of innovating in government? Just when I thought the book would wind down, these last couple of chapters were filled with lively debates.
The book is organized around Weiss's framework for moving us beyond probability government to possibility government: imagine new solutions, try them, then scale the successes. With each major concept, he goes deep on just one or two examples.
Around the principles, there are plenty of nuggets of wisdom. Among them:
- "best isn't good enough" (don't copy best practices if they lead to mediocre outcomes)
- "status quo is often the less safe choice”
- government is the "ultimate risk manager" (it can and should take some risks)
- "ambidexterity” in leaders
Finally, he ends the book with an insightful conversation on major objections. Is this government-led innovation actually real? Instead of government, should philanthropy or the private sector take on the work of innovation? What are the risks of innovating in government? Just when I thought the book would wind down, these last couple of chapters were filled with lively debates.
November 5, 2024
If you serve the public, then this book provides some good examples of how to be innovative, and solution-oriented. At times this comes off as “preachy.” The message is well received though.
January 4, 2021
I loved this book! We the Possibility is a ray of light at a time when we are in such need of fresh solutions and ways to tap into the power of government to create, test and scale them. Mitchell Weiss gives us a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at innovations that have taken hold not despite government but because of government's unique spark and ability to thoughtfully engage with new things. The way that the book deftly weaves so many threads together woke me up and gave me a new lens on cross-sector collaboration that can really make a difference at scale. Whether you are in government, business, entrepreneurship, or the social sector, or are a private citizen wondering how to think about the choices your elected officials are making for the future, I highly recommend this book.
February 6, 2021
This is a very timely book at a time when many people don’t trust the ability of the government to solve problems. The book is well-organized and full of real stories of public entrepreneurs on how they use the principles of Possibility Government to confront the issues in front of them.
This book is especially recommended to public officials to know an alternative framework and apply it to the solutions of their pressing problem.
For those who are not in government like me, this book is especially helpful in understanding how the challenges in public sphere can benefit from the lessons applied in private sector.
This book is especially recommended to public officials to know an alternative framework and apply it to the solutions of their pressing problem.
For those who are not in government like me, this book is especially helpful in understanding how the challenges in public sphere can benefit from the lessons applied in private sector.
February 17, 2021
There are a lot of reasons I liked this book. The initial sections of the book talk about projects and people I know, have followed, or look up to. With the focus of the book being on where innovation, creative thinking, and new ideas can come from to support government, I was already on board, but also was sold on this a long time ago. In the initial sections of the book, many of the examples were about people coming from outside government to create change - be it through a hackathon, a start up creating a useful tool, or maybe coming to work inside government (like me!). There are a lot of places where this has gone well, there are also troubling examples where it has not gone well. Sometimes there is also the perception that all we need is a set of new eyes on the problem with creative thinkers instead of bureaucrats, but generally that is not the solution, and can even be harmful if people don't understand the system and problem enough.
Though early on there are warnings about where these things can be problematic, I thought they were papered over a bit. I also kept wondering if the author would highlight folks who have always worked inside of government - this is where we always got the best ideas. So many staff just do their jobs every day but no one ever asks them how they might do things differently and they don't have an avenue to communicate opportunities for change or feel like it is too risky.
Finally, in the last section of the book, the author really hits a home run, calling out all of the exciting possibility of tapping internal staff resources, really making clear how these programs have to be set up to be impactful (use data and testing, be willing to shut down a failing program, have empathy, and more). I enjoyed the whole book, but if I were to assign a chapter to someone to read, it would be the final one.
If you're interested in innovation in government, this is a good one to put on your reading list.
Though early on there are warnings about where these things can be problematic, I thought they were papered over a bit. I also kept wondering if the author would highlight folks who have always worked inside of government - this is where we always got the best ideas. So many staff just do their jobs every day but no one ever asks them how they might do things differently and they don't have an avenue to communicate opportunities for change or feel like it is too risky.
Finally, in the last section of the book, the author really hits a home run, calling out all of the exciting possibility of tapping internal staff resources, really making clear how these programs have to be set up to be impactful (use data and testing, be willing to shut down a failing program, have empathy, and more). I enjoyed the whole book, but if I were to assign a chapter to someone to read, it would be the final one.
If you're interested in innovation in government, this is a good one to put on your reading list.
February 5, 2021
This is an exceptional book. Mitchell Weiss has laid out a vision for how entrepreneurial government can and should work that is different, and better, than what we have come to view as good or even ideal. We the Possibility is a great read and very well written, but it is much more than that. Nearly every page has some observation or insight that made me stop, think and question my own prior perspective on whatever problem is being considered. Professor Weiss is a truly original thinker, and I thoroughly enjoyed the process of seeing how he attacked a problem that is so in need of fresh insight. For anyone interested in how government can innovate to provide the best solutions to a host of difficult problems, or anyone who just likes to read and think, I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
March 2, 2021
This book is a great read for anyone looking to drive innovation in a large, complex organization, whether in the public or private sector. This book provided a much-needed dose of inspiration and was a reminder that government can find new ways of solving deeply entrenched problems. Many of the barriers that prevent public sector leaders from innovating (e.g. leaning on probability vs. possibility, limiting yourself based on resources controlled) also exist in large private sector organizations. We The Possibility is full of frameworks that pushed me to think differently and provides specific tools / examples that bring these ideas to life. If you want to be a change agent within your organization, I highly recommend this book!
February 9, 2021
Mitchell Weiss is insightful and provides guidance on how to help leaders work towards what is possible and not continue to recreate what is good. As someone that does not work in government, I found the book incredibly useful and it gave me tangible things to bring to work the next day. I would strongly recommend it for anyone that is currently a leader or an aspiring leader, whether in government, non-profit, schools, or more.
It will definitely live on my bookshelf in plain sight!
It will definitely live on my bookshelf in plain sight!
April 24, 2021
Loved this book! It helped me to think critically about how I can translate learnings from my time in the private sector into a future public sector career. Weiss provides practical advice for how to structure organizations that can innovate without shirking on their foundational responsibilities. This book left me energized, hopeful, and committed to playing a role in building a more inventive government.
July 27, 2021
The author makes the case for a government that is more open to the possibility of failure and that the government actually can scale I’d open to change. Governments should be concerned with getting a higher volume of good ideas, and taking risks on ideas that might work rather than on guarantees. The idea of “Trisector Entrepreneurs,” who build across the public, private and social sector is interesting. Not a bad read.
October 6, 2021
Mitch Weiss does a great job of weaving HBS case studies, research on public-sector entrepreneurial efforts across the globe, and personal experience as a former City Hall staffer during the Boston Marathon Bombing to describe how government can act quickly, solve problems and, ultimately, do good.
January 29, 2021
This book will inspire you to start thinking about how you can solve public problems in your own community. In this book, Mitch Weiss introduces us to innovative thinkers across the world who serve as a blueprint for what's possible.
February 18, 2021
Loved it. Practical how-to wrapped in vivid storytelling and passionate conviction. Confirms and expands my beliefs that sound principles and practices for innovation and problem-solving can be applied successfully anywhere to anything.
March 15, 2021
Audibled. All about solving public problems. Big problems. Excellent chapters around pandemic tracing work. Wrapped around the Boston Marathon bombing, the book points out we have work to do and provides a blueprint for doing so.
May 16, 2021
An excellent book and guide. This should be required reading for anyone going into civil service. It's also an excellent guide for anyone in the private sector who has a product or service that can help solve some of our more pressing problems.
March 18, 2022
Surprisingly more in-depth than I expected, and not a blog post. (Yay.) I was hoping for more examples of scale, though - the author makes the case for government as a platform without offering examples of this approach succeeding in more than experimental situations.
March 6, 2021
The book ends with, “we get the government we invent” — a timely read as I start my first full-time public sector role.
April 11, 2021
A glimpse into how innovation and government can come together through opening doors and accepting that failure is a key to success.
June 4, 2021
See my review here: https://theconnector.substack.com/p/c...
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews