Why We Support Public Service Missions

Most of my career has been in support of public service missions. This was largely accidental at first, now very intentional. Purpose matters. Many seek purpose in their work once they reach a level of financial security, as echoed by hundreds of management and career advice articles.

Silicon Valley has its own language of purpose. Every startup is going to “make the world a better place” somehow. These claims run the full spectrum from genuine to entirely empty — in all cases trying to motivate a team to get across the line to a financial exit.

Each person has different themes which resonate with them. For many, government missions are a great match.

What Purpose Delivers… and Doesn’t

When the work I do is in support of something that matters, it makes the great days glow a bit more, and the tough days a bit more tolerable. It’s not magic, but it helps. The sense of impact can be second to none. If you’re looking for inspiration, there are people that deliver that far better than I:

• Haley Van Dyk hits on the why, how and what of government tech from her experience in the US Digital Service (USDS).
• Jennifer Pahlka is a leader in civic tech, and has done a great deal to spur grassroots local work as well as influencing large government agencies.
• Matt Cutts explains various ways to get involved in improving how the federal government works from his perspective leading USDS.

If you feel you are a cog in a corporate wheel, and want to make the jump to public service — that’s great! Come on over! However, don’t expect that you will instantly and permanently gain a magical glow of fulfillment. Government agencies are full of smart people and can accomplish great things. Those same agencies are often bureaucratic, sometimes dysfunctional, making progress more incremental.

At Pluribus Digital, we are focused entirely on public service missions. To date, this has meant supporting civilian federal government customers. Perhaps some day we’ll work with state or local governments and some related institutions. Either way, we want to work on problems with a positive impact.