I successfully avoided government throughout the first 20 years of my
private sector career. But in 2003, after a career first in industry
and then as a road-warrior strategy consultant, I found myself as an
accidental bureaucrat in the public sector.
I never saw it coming. After a weak attempt at retirement, my wife wasn't in the market for a strategy consultant to advise on household operations. What I hoped would be a year at home to sort out options quickly became a not so subtle nudge out the door to find my next gig.
I naively raised my hand to the newly elected Governor of Rhode Island and the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) and asked how I could help. The next thing I knew I was at the RIEDC, first as the agency's lead for strategy and development, and then as a member of the Governor's Cabinet and Executive Director of the agency. I had become an accidental bureaucrat.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Confessions of an Accidental Bureaucrat - BusinessWeek
Author: Saul Kaplan
