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American Government: By Apple Inc.

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Image via CrunchBase

By Kellen Giuda

If Apple were to write an open letter to the U.S. Government – it could look like the letter below.

Dear American Government:

It’s time we have a little talk. We’ve recently become one of the most valuable companies in the history of the world. In fact, in the last 15 years we’ve gone from being 90 days from bankruptcy to this terrific height.

Between Q1 2010 and Q4 2012 we’ve sold just short of 400 million iPhones, iPods and iPads, and our customers love their experience and the product they receive for their money. That does not even include sales of our desktop and laptop computers, or sales on iTunes. On the other hand, each year you guys in government require 81.9% of American households to pay federal income tax and/or payroll tax – and it’s safe to say they aren’t pleased at what they get in return.

Apple has fundamentally transformed global consumer technology, the global music industry, the global mobile communications industry and more. But the most important thing that we’ve changed is the global psychology of how human beings think about technology, efficiency, and quite simply, how things should work.

We noticed that the American government has a big problem in the “how things should work” department. Congress’ approval rating is at 17% and has been that way for the past several years. The Senate hasn’t proposed a budget in over three years, and the president has signed spending into law that totals more than all other presidents combined. Our national debt is at a staggering $16 trillion with no slow-down in sight. America’s three largest entitlement programs – Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid – are all in the red, and one of your largest expenditures is your interest owed to China on money “borrowed” from them. Let’s not even get into the hundreds of billions wasted on pet government projects that even Siri knew were dumb ideas.

Have you looked at yourself lately? It’s pretty bad - like MySpace bad. But guess what; you can fix this! Your biggest problem is that most of your “customers” have no faith in your product. In America’s eyes you don’t manage expectations, you aren’t competent, and you’re unreliable in providing the services they pay for. In fact, in July 2012, 87% of people said corruption was their 2nd most important issue that the next president should address after jobs.

Most of these problems are the same challenges that we at Apple have overcome to make our mark in the world, which is why we’re in the successful position that we are in today.

Our most important asset as a company is that when people pay for our products they know that they are getting something that will work, that is reliable, that is transparent and that is simple. It was Leonardi DaVinci who said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” We shouldn’t comment on the government’s level of sophistication but the 3.4 million-word tax code is a good indication that things are anything but simple and sophisticated in Washington.

Apple knows a lot about transparency. People track us so closely that they even report on workers in our Chinese manufacturing plants. We’ve created an army of global loyalists by managing expectations, addressing issues that arise from the scrutiny of being Apple, and producing products that are about as reliable as you can find anywhere in the world.

So how would we help you? Let’s start with a few basics:

Transparency & Personal Interface: When someone spends $2,300 (including Apple Care of course) for one of our iMac computers, they are paying far more than they would for any other computer. But tens of millions, and counting, do this because they know what they are getting - an exceptional product that they believe in. They enjoy spending that money. Do Americans enjoy paying taxes?

No they do not, and let us tell you why: because they have absolutely no idea where it is going or what is being done with it. Inform them! All that Americans know is that their money is going to those big red marks on your balance sheet. What product or service are they ultimately paying for?

Your first job must be to update that horrible e-file program you have going on, redo the internal infrastructure of your IT, and create a personal interface for every American customer where they can easily track how much money they are giving you and where each cent of each dollar is going. It’s not the 80’s - integrate your systems and show accountability. User interface, appropriately displayed information, and integrated tracking can go a long way to making people happy, or at least aware of how you’re spending their money.

Efficient Supply Chains: Look, we’ve all been in a U.S. Post Office and some of us have visited Washington and seen how things operate. I think we join the rest of America when we say, “Really?”

You need to trim that workforce and update your operations before anyone with a private sector job can take you seriously. Operations outside of the Washington Beltway and in the private sector have advanced 20 years ahead of you, using modern project management interfaces and newer management practices. We can only imagine the archaic ball of yarn that your critical path infrastructure represents.

Apple has one of the most efficient and modern supply chains in the world. Analysts who watch our stock also watch our supply chains. Follow our model to change your management practices, update your operations work-flow, install accountability measures and streamline your version of a supply chain.

Trust & Managed Expectations: Look, government’s low popularity ratings stem from your unkept promises and inability to solve problems. If you can’t take your job seriously - how can your customers?

Truth and transparency can be a scary thing – but leaders must use both to build trust.

When we mess up, and Apple certainly does at times, we address the problem and let people know what to expect and when to expect it. We don’t overpromise or avoid addressing the problem month after month and year after year, which it seems you have made a habit of doing. It’s Customer Service 101.

Garnering trust is about reliability and truthfulness. Contrast that with business-as-usual in Washington, DC.

The bottom line is that the American government doesn’t have to underperform the way it is – the Apple model proves there’s a way to provide quality service and customer relations for hundreds of millions of people that ultimately benefit all parties in the transaction.

Come see an Apple Genius, we can help.

Kellen Giuda is the President of kellenPROJECTS, a business and political management firm, and served as Newt Gingrich’s Presidential Campaign National Coalitions Director.