Learning the Ropes

Mark A. Abramson is Executive Director of the IBM Center for the Business of Government, a position he has held since July 1998. Mr. Abramson was awarded the Laverne Burchfield Award for his article The Leadership Factor that was selected as the Best Book Review of 1989 published in Public Administration Review. In 1989, he received the Elmer B. Staats Award for Accountability in Government by the National Capital Area Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration. Dr. Paul R. Lawrence is vice president with IBM's Business Consulting Services. Dr. Lawrence works with federal executives, helping them solve complex problems, by applying solutions proven in similar government settings or the private sector. He is also the Partner-in-charge of the IBM Center for the Business of Government, which seeks to advance knowledge on how to improve public sector effectiveness (www.businessofgovernment.org). He is the host of the weekly radio show, the Business of Government Hour, heard on WJFK FM 106.7 Saturdays at 9-10 a.m., where he interviews government leaders about their job, career and vision for the future of government. Since the show began in 1999, he has interviewed 150 senior government leaders in the Clinton and Bush administrations. He is the editor of the Business of Government Journal. He is also the co-editor of Transforming Organizations and the editor of the book series, which has produced 12 books on government management topics. (www.romanlittlefield.com/series).