I really have no idea who Brian Sontag is other than the fact that he’s been the auditor for the State of Washington for the last couple years.  But I just heard him interviewed by Ross Reynolds on KUOW and he seemed like a great guy.  Down to earth, yet intelligent; self-effacing but confident.

His office has identified some hundreds of millions of dollars in “potential savings” based on these performance audits of state government.  A lot of what they find is common-sense stuff, but it really helps (in state government or elsewhere) to have a set of outside eyes taking a look at what you’re doing and suggesting improvements.  It doesn’t matter if you’re Donald Duck or Donald Trump, you can always get better – and you’re paradoxically limited by your own habits, attitudes, and perceptions.

The relationship to what I’m doing right now?  Get lots of conversations going, get feedback, and get iterating.  Some of the criticism will be rough and tumble, but for the most part people want to give helpful advice.  Leverage it, and build a better mousetrap than you would all by yourself.