The Limits of ‘Running Government Like a Business’

By Robert E. Rubin for The Wall Street Journal

Robert Rubin's latest Wall Street Journal piece cuts straight to the heart of a Washington perennial: the confident business executive who arrives in government convinced they can fix everything with corporate efficiency. Writing from hard-won experience—having left Goldman Sachs to serve as Clinton's economic adviser and Treasury Secretary—Bob recalls a telling moment from 1993 when a fellow private sector refugee declared they'd "show Washington how we did things in New York." It's a story that feels particularly relevant as another wave of CEOs prepares to enter the Trump administration.

The reality check Bob delivers is both generous and pointed. Yes, market experience proved invaluable during his government years, giving him insights that career civil servants couldn't provide. But government isn't Goldman Sachs writ large. Where businesses unite around profit, government must juggle competing ideologies and interests with no clear hierarchy of importance. Where CEOs can make decisions and expect execution, cabinet secretaries spend their days accommodating presidents, senators, representatives, and countless other power centers who answer to no one boss. And where business leaders might face tough press coverage, government officials operate under a microscope that turns every misstep into political ammunition.

Bob's prescription isn't to avoid public service—quite the opposite. He calls it personally fulfilling and essential for America, urging business leaders to take the leap. But he issues a warning wrapped in characteristic understatement: approach government with humility, or "have humility thrust upon you." It's advice that speaks to anyone who's ever thought running the country should be as straightforward as running a company.