In today’s fast paced world consumers are not used to delays, although many disruptions during the pandemic have caused all of us to expect and prepare for delays. The US government systems were designed for stability of service but with our additive approach to legislating, systems have grown in complexity causing delays in services. Leaders who want to protect long term positive relationships with citizens have mastered the skill set to effectively manage expectations during systems delays.

There are multiple types of system delays:  the predictable delays, the preventable delays, and the unpredictable delays. The ability to predict the delay in a system with some accuracy makes it easier for you to build a plan for the delay period. As a leader your ability to manage each one of these delays is critical and can save you and the citizens you serve a tremendous amount of time, stress and lost goodwill.

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We often only think about government when we pay taxes, attend jury duty, vote in an election or watch news about a new political conflict or something that has gone wrong. Government services are so much a part of our lives they often go unnoticed or unappreciated until they are not there. Let’s take a look at a day in the life of most Americans.

We wake up in our residence and we live where we do because of zoning laws that local governments establish for where residential and commercial buildings can be built and receive services (water, roads, trash removal, electricity, sewer and gas etc.).  Every act that we take throughout the day using; clean water to drink and bathe, electricity, eating the food in our cabinets, wearing clothes, using soap, riding in the car, train, ferries or bus, using the roads and sidewalks, are the result of laws which ensure the safety of the product or resource. Additionally, we have laws which protect the safety and well-being of the citizens who work in the production and delivery of these resources and products we depend on. 

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