We avoid ideological discussions with clients. We really don’t care about their political opinions – we care about them maintaining a solid infrastructure for government sales. They really don’t care about our political opinions – they care about our ability to generate government sales and support their continued growth in this market.

But this “government should run like a business” topic comes up in random conversations and in client discussions, often following a frustrating action on the part of a public agency. For example, we recently managed a proposal for a client and the solicitation was cancelled after the bids were submitted. This causes frustration and infuriation among the companies that submitted bids, including our team. We spent about 30 hours on that damn bid, and we had a very competitive offering.

But should government really operate like a business?

Before you jump to a decision, consider one important factor: keno pencils.

Yes, I said keno pencils. You know, those little golf-type pencils that people use to fill out their keno slips. During my time working for the Michigan Department of Management and Budget (DMB), those damn keno pencils cost me about a week of productive work time.

Clearly, you are curious. Read on.

DMB is the centralized procurement agency for the state of Michigan, and I ran business outreach and supplier diversity in 2005 and 2006. In 2005, DMB posted a solicitation for advertising and marketing services for the Michigan Department of Lottery. This seems like good business sense, by the way – the advertising contract ideally gets more people to play the Lottery. The solicitation was competitively bid, had multiple qualified bidders, and was evaluated through a Joint Evaluation Committee of end users and marketing experts. A recommendation for award is made, and the contract is executed. So far, everything is happy. The only ones that don’t like the process are the bidders that didn’t win. System works.

Enter a Detroit News columnist, sitting at a bar. (I’m not sure what bar, but in my story, it is seedy, dark and dirty.) The bartender is filling the keno pencils in the little plastic holder. (In my story, the bartender is smoking, with ashes falling off the cigarette onto the bar.) The end of the box says “Made in China.” Seeing the atrocity, the columnist decides this is news, and runs a story the next day about how Michigan buys keno pencils from China. Procurement chaos erupts.

Two side notes are relevant here.

1) The story doesn’t mention that the state didn’t actually buy the damn keno pencils at all. Instead, the state hired a competent, qualified contractor to run advertising for the Michigan Lottery. That contractor hired a subcontractor for promotional items, and the subcontractor bought keno pencils from China.

2) The story also does not mention that there is only one domestic manufacturer of pencils. They are not a Michigan company, and because they use global resources for the manufacturing, most pencil distributors will not claim them to be a product that is truly “Made in the USA.”

So even if the state bought keno pencils – which they do not – they cannot buy pencils that are made in the USA.

The story sounded the scandal alarm. So many Michiganders out of work and the evil empire of bureaucracy shows their apathy through procurement! We had legislators demanding explanations. Vendors complaining. Letters to the editor about the stupidity of government. Tax dollars squandered on Chinese manufacturing!

So, we spent time playing defense. We wrote talking points, conducted research, and responded to media, elected officials and contractors. The story kept rearing its ugly head, too – with the issue coming up in congressional and gubernatorial campaigns.

And none of this happens in private sector procurement. It just doesn’t. This is just one small – though clearly entertaining – story about how government and business are different. Public sector buyers work in a fishbowl of scrutiny. They are cautious, and they are risk averse.

Can’t blame ‘em.