On Leading the U.S. Coast Guard

August 4th, 2021, marked the Coast Guard’s 231st birthday. Created by Congress as the Revenue-Marine on August 4, 1790, at the request of Alexander Hamilton, the Coast Guard is the oldest continuously operating naval service of the United States. In 1915, the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the U.S. Lifesaving Service and became the modern U.S. Coast Guard. As one of the country’s six armed services, the U.S. Coast Guard has been deployed to support and fight every major U.S. war since 1790. In 2003, the Coast Guard found its current home as a component of the U.S.

Weekly Roundup: May 2-6, 2022

NEW REPORT: Optimizing Analytics for Policymaking and Governance. The federal government has long recognized the importance of deriving actionable insights from curated data to inform policy development, measure progress, and judge effectiveness of government programs.

Perspective on Leading through Uncertain Times

This essay and much more content about government leadership and management appears in The Business of Government magazine

My goal each week on The Business of Government Hour is straightforward: to interview key government executives and thought leaders who are tackling significant challenges and seizing opportunities to lead.

NEW MAGAZINE: The Business of Government 2022!

Events over the last couple of years have put a renewed emphasis on the importance of being resilient. Leaders and organizations have been walloped by the unforgiving realities of disruption and uncertainty. Often when responding to the unforeseen—doing all one can to operate, meeting expectations, following through on commitments, and delivering on missions—there is little time to reflect, take stock, or gain perspective. When faced with the unexpected, reflex and instinct seem to be what leaders and organizations alike rely on to weather the turbulence.

Emerge Stronger and More Resilient: Responding to COVID-19 and Preparing for Future Shocks

The response to the COVID-19 pandemic illustrates that stable and effective government action has been key to managing through the crisis and addressing its longer-term implications. Moreover, collective strategies have led to identification and resolution of challenges in way that brings together government leaders, scientists, data analysts, health care organizations, academic institutions, and industry. So, how can governments emerge stronger and better prepared for future shocks?

Improving AI Strategic Coordination

Since World War II, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been at the forefront of most of the groundbreaking and world changing revolutions in science and technology. Artificial intelligence (AI), including machine learning (ML), is an ideal tool for deriving new insights from analysis of very large data sets. AI becomes more useful as the speed and computational power of today’s supercomputers grows.

Weekly Roundup: April 4-8, 2022

A Government That Delivers. OMB is updating Performance.gov with information about the challenges and opportunities that inform the three PMA Priorities, as well as the goals and key success metrics developed by the Workforce and Customer Experience Priorities.

Weekly Roundup: March 28-April 1, 2022

Trust in Government: A Close Look at Public Perceptions of the Federal Government and Its Employees. America is experiencing a lack of trust in major institutions—particularly the federal government. Only 4 in 10 Americans say they trust the federal government to do what is right at least some of the time, according to a national survey conducted by the Partnership for Public Service and Freedman Consulting.

Weekly Roundup March 21-25, 2022

Blockchain: Emerging Technology Offers Benefits for Some Applications but Faces Challenges. NEW GAO Report: Blockchain combines several technologies to provide a tamper-resistant record of transactions between parties without a central authority, such as a bank. Although cryptocurrency is the best-known use, blockchain has potential non-financial uses. This report also highlights potential benefits and challenges of blockchain. GAO presents policy options for oversight, standard-setting, and more.

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Leadership Fellow & Host
IBM Center for The Business of Government
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Michael has two decades of experience with both the private and public sectors encompassing strategic planning, business process redesign, strategic communications and marketing, performance management, change management, executive and team coaching, and risk-financing.

Michael leads the IBM Center for The Business of Government's leadership research. As the Center’s Leadership Fellow, his work is at the nexus of the Center’s mission – connecting research to practice. My work at that the Center complements frontline experience of actual government executives with practical insights from thought leaders who produce Center reports – merging real-world experience with practical scholarship. The purpose is not to offer definitive solutions to the many management challenges facing executives, but to provide a resource from which to draw practical, actionable recommendations on how best to confront such issues. Michael also hosts and produces the IBM Center’s The Business of Government Hour. He has interviewed and profiled hundreds of senior government executives from all levels of government as well as recognized thought leaders focusing on a range of public management issues and trends. Over the last four years, Michael has expanded both the show’s format and reach – now broadcasting informational and educational conversations with dedicated public servants on two radio stations five times a week and anywhere at anytime over the web and at iTunes. Michael is also the managing editor of The Business of Government magazine, with a targeted audience of close to 14,000 government and non-government professionals. Additionally, he manages the Center’s bi-annual proposal review process that awards stipends to independent, third party researchers tackling a wide range of public management issues.

Prior to joining the Center, Michael worked as a senior managing consultant with IBM GBS (Global Business Services) and as a principle consultant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Washington Consulting Practice (WCP). He led projects in the private and federal civilian sectors including the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, FEMA, and the Veterans Health Administration. Before entering consulting, he worked in the private sector as product development manager at a New York City based risk financing firm.

Since 2003, Mr. Keegan has been a reviewer for Association of Government Accountant’s Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting (CEAR)© program, keeping abreast of the most recent developments in authoritative standards affecting federal accounting, financial reporting and performance measurement. He is also a member of APPAM, the NYU Alumni Association, and the Data Center & Cloud Talent, USA. He holds masters in public administration and management from New York University and was the founder of its DC alumni group as well as previous treasurer of the NYU graduate school’s alumni board.