Peter F. Drucker Boxed Set (8 Books) (The Drucker Library)

CHAPTER TEN

How to Guarantee Non-performance

I

NO ONE CAN GUARANTEE the performance of a public service program. But we know how to ensure non-performance with absolute certainty. Commit any two of the following common sins of public administration, and non-performance will inevitably follow. Indeed, to commit all six, as a good many public service agencies do, is quite unnecessary and overkill.

1. The first thing to do to make sure that a program will not have results is to have a lofty objective—“health care,” for instance, or “to aid the disadvantaged.” Such sentiments belong in the preamble. They explain why a specific program or agency is ...