By Scott Kupor, Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management

August 22, 2025

In 1977 Bert Lance, then Director of the Office of Management and Budget, coined the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Lance apparently – I say “apparently” because the source document no longer exists (or at least is not accessible in any web search that I have done) – was referring to calls for increasing the efficiency of government by streamlining bureaucracy. The meaning of the phrase – which pervades today – was to effect change where required, but not to re-invent the wheel by trying to improve areas that were functioning well.

Interestingly, the Carter Administration tried to overhaul the federal civil service – a topic that is front and center in today’s politics. Among other things, the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act sponsored by the Carter Administration established the Office of Personnel Management – that I now have the privilege to oversee – and introduced several reforms aimed at reducing government inefficiencies and increasing accountability of federal personnel. The administration’s track record was mixed at best, in part due to resistance from labor unions and from the federal employees themselves.

Unfortunately, the legacy of the Carter Administration’s attempts at reform may have in fact been Lance’s quote alone. Well meaning, no doubt – it seems perfectly logical we shouldn’t fix things that aren’t broken. And that is what the federal government has done – become a static organization that is perfectly comfortable with leaving good enough alone. That is something that is wrong with government today – Lance’s admonition has led to bloat, bureaucracy and a fixed mindset that makes innovation, efficiency and bold thinking anathema to the day-to-day operations of government.

Carol Dweck’s model – the opposite of Lance’s – is really what we should aspire for government to embrace: a growth mindset. Dweck describes a “growth mindset” as one in which an individual embraces challenges, shows persistence in the presence of setbacks, hones skills and intelligence through hard work and utilizing constructive feedback as a tool for growth, and is inspired by the success of others. In short, individuals with a growth mindset embrace change, innovation, experimentation, resilience, and a love of learning. In contrast, fixed mindset individuals avoid new challenges, embrace the status quo, and view setbacks or feedback as signs of failure versus opportunities for improvement.

Growth mindsets lead to true innovation and breakthroughs that improve society.

Cell phones were perfectly operational as mobile telephones in June 2007 when Apple introduced the iPhone. Why not just leave good enough alone? Instead, Steve Jobs changed how we think about a cell phone by combining telephony with applications to create a “smart phone” instead of just a non-landline communications device.

Did we really need a new online bookstore in July 1994 when Jeff Bezos launched Amazon? Barnes and Noble’s physical stores seemed perfectly fine for most bibliophiles. Why not just leave good enough alone? Instead, Bezos used online books as a wedge into creating what has become the world’s largest – and most convenient – “everything store.”

The examples are endless – hotels were perfectly functional in August 2008 when Brian Chesky, Joe Gebbia, and Nathan Blecharczyk invented Airbnb; taxis seemed like a great way to get across town when Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp founded Uber in March 2009; driving to the grocery store was how we all fed our families until Apoorva Mehta, Max Mullen and Brandon Leonardo started Instacart in June 2012. And the list goes on.

Each of these entrepreneurs could have just said: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Instead, they imagined a new world order that would bring value and efficiency to consumers.

Of course, government doesn’t – and shouldn’t – function like private entrepreneurship. We can’t shoot for the moon and embrace unbridled risk as do venture-backed startups. But government can embrace a growth mindset – not leaving good enough alone, but instead always thinking about ways in which we can improve operational efficiency, try new things, and embrace change.

Bert Lance no doubt probably thought that he was promoting efficiency by urging federal employees to focus on what was in fact broken. Perhaps unbeknownst to him, Lance instead engendered a fixed government mindset that has made operational efficiency a distant second-class citizen to stasis – don’t fix what ain’t broke. It’s time we in fact fix what is broken and give the American people what they want – a federal government that delivers for them at a cost that won’t bankrupt our children and grandchildren.