From the day I took office in January 2015, one of my primary goals has been to cut out unnecessary government and to streamline the parts of government that are worth keeping. I want to transform Arkansas state government.
On Thursday, we launched a program we are confident will accelerate that transformation. I am confident this will succeed because we are tapping into the best resource available: the 3 million people who live in Arkansas.
We call this project MyIdea. MyIdea is a statewide high-tech suggestion box that allows anyone with an idea and access to a computer or a telephone to submit tips for trimming government or improving government service.
Some of the nations most successful products were discovered in employee suggestion boxes, including 3Ms Post-it notes and Amazon-dot-coms Prime membership program.
But MyIdea is not an employee suggestion box. It is for every citizen to make suggestions on how we can do better in state government.
To quote Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart: There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.
MyIdea gives you a direct line to tell us how we can improve the delivery of services for the customer.
The three-step process is simple: Go to the website, which is MyIdea.arkansas.gov.
In the first box, we will ask you to tell us your idea.
In the second box, we will ask you to tell us how to implement your idea.
The last step is to give us information about yourself and how to contact you, although that is not required. We will accept anonymous suggestions. If you would prefer to offer your idea by phone, the number is 844-7-MYIDEA.
We will monitor the agencies as they consider your suggestions. Employees of the states Department of Finance will monitor the website and phones. We have not added a single job in state government to implement this initiative.
DFA will forward each idea to the head of the appropriate agency. I have instructed each agency to respond within 30 days. And you will be contacted to thank you for your idea and to let you know if we will be able to use it.
We are launching MyIdea to help me to keep my promise to transform government. In addition, I have appointed Amy Fecher chief transformation officer. Amy is executive vice president of operations for Arkansas Economic Development. In the spirit of MyIdea, Amy accepted this significant addition to her responsibilities without an increase in salary.
The best ideas often come from those who see a process with fresh eyes. I hope to hear from a lot of you.
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