Move from outputs to outcomes with Dr. Mik Kersten

Every government program leader can recite the goal by now: outcomes, not output. But saying it and operating that way are two different things. The funding is still tied to milestones. The reports still count deliverables. The language changes and the supporting system doesn't, so the mission doesn't move.

AI raises the stakes. Point it at outcomes and it accelerates real change. Point it at output and it produces more impressive activity faster: more demos, more pilots, more that doesn't move the mission.

In this Mission O/S Live, Rise8's Adam Furtado (VP of Enablement) and Max Reele (VP of Delivery) sit down with Dr. Mik Kersten—Executive in Residence at Planview, creator of the Flow Framework and author of Project to Product and his new book Output to Outcome.

Through the Flow Framework and his work founding Tasktop, Mik helped shape Value Stream Management before turning to the operating-model shift: moving leaders from output-driven management to outcome-driven operating models, and harnessing AI in a way that keeps humans at the center. Max has brought that shift to life inside some of the most constrained delivery environments in the federal government.

They'll cover:

• Why "we want outcomes" fails when funding, reporting, and structure still reward outputs
• What value stream thinking reveals about where work stalls: between teams, not inside them
• How AI changes the output-to-outcome equation, and how to tell real change from faster output theater
• What human-centric AI adoption requires inside a government delivery environment
  

If you're leading a government software program and you're tired of a system that praises outcomes while it pays for output, this conversation is for you.