About John
The shift in government from reaction-driven to results-driven gives public servants the power they need to make a difference.
“John Bernard has a magical ability to inspire, motivate, and lead organizations. He is the rare mentor we all seek, whether one-on-one or in front of a thousand people. He shows you how to see the gold nuggets in the muddy water of your business and gain astonishing productivity from the most average employee.” – Mark Cleveland, Serial Entrepreneur
“John is a teacher, but first he is a student. He has an uncanny knack for figuring stuff out, flipping it upside down, and making it work better, faster, and most importantly, producing results. I know. I hired him as a consultant many years ago at Nike.” – Bob Harold, Chief Financial Officer (retired), Nike
“To me there is nothing more critical than engaging our 120 talented dentists in creating extraordinary, patient-focused practice. John Bernard made it possible for us to achieve across the board results beyond anything we had imagined.” – Dr. John Snyder, CEO, Permanente Dental Associates (Kaiser Permanente)
LITTLE DID JOHN KNOW A PRESENTATION to the leadership team of the Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) in 2008 would alter the course of his life’s work. Today, nearly 10 years later, he has had the pleasure of meeting 22 governors, presenting to thousands of public servants, interviewing hundreds of agency leaders, and guiding and supporting the transformation work of five states and nearly 50 state agencies.
John Bernard is a widely recognized authority on Lean applied to the work of management. In the private sector, he led large-scale change initiatives for 30 years. In the most recent 10 years he has earned a national reputation as the leading authority on results-driven transformation of state government. John has served as an advisor to four governors.
John’s best-selling book, BUSINESS AT THE SPEED OF NOW, was published by Wiley in 2012. His second book, GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS, THE RESULTS REVOLUTION IN THE STATES, was released in 2015 at the National Governors’ Association meeting. Governors Rick Snyder of Michigan and Martin O’Malley of Maryland wrote the forewords, and Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber endorsed the book.
Serving on the team that led the first documented large-scale implementation of Lean in the U.S. at Omark Industries in 1981, John believes the concepts and values of Lean must first be applied to management’s practices before it can succeed broadly in an organization. John believes an organization’s management system must effectively integrate leadership development, performance management, strategic planning, scorecards, customer focus, employee engagement, employee development, business reviews and process improvement.
John’s integrated system of management is the system of choice for many state agencies in Oregon, Washington, Tennessee, Michigan and Arizona. It is in use through the company he founded, Mass Ingenuity, by human services, health authority, corrections, youth authority, environmental quality, retirement systems, administrative services, human resources and others. The work in Oregon led to Governor Jay Inslee asking John to serve on the design team of RESULTS WASHINGTON, one of the nation’s most highly regarded efforts. Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona made GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS mandatory reading for leadership in his state. John serves as a senior fellow for GOVERNING INSTITUTE and a columnist for GOVERNING.
