Government Speed

This track comes from Aaron's military service — Air Force enlisted, Army Infantry officer, DoD civilian at SPAWAR/NIWC. It tackles The absurd contrast between government pace and startup pace - forms for forms, approvals for approvals, vs shipping in five weeks. The lyrics get specific — "From the committee that convenes on the third Thursday of never" — because personal tracks on Majik's are personal for real, not performatively. The indie production matches the energy of the confession. It hits frustrated and humorous, in that order. Every personal track in the catalogue comes from a real moment, a real feeling, a real person. This one is no exception.

[verse 1] Filed the form to get the form to fill the form to send To the office that approves the forms that have no end In sight, the approval for the approval is pending The meeting to discuss the meeting's agenda is never ending I once waited fourteen months for a software license That I could have downloaded in fourteen seconds of silence From the internet, but the internet needs a waiver And the waiver needs a signature from a guy who needs a favor From the committee that convenes on the third Thursday of never Government speed, the most patient endeavor [chorus] Government speed, hurry up and wait Government speed, we'll get there, just late By about a fiscal year and a continuing resolution Government speed, the slowest revolution But I love you, government, I do, I swear I just wish you'd ship a feature while I still have hair Government speed [verse 2] Meanwhile in the startup world I built a platform Tuesday Shipped it Wednesday, iterated Thursday, took a rest day Friday, started something new on Saturday, the pace Would give a procurement officer a heart attack in the face Of all their training, where's your documentation Where's your requirements analysis, where's your presentation To the stakeholders who need to brief the stakeholders who need To brief the person who says yes but first indeed We need a tiger team to assess the impact study Of the impact study's impact, buddy [chorus] Government speed, hurry up and wait Government speed, we'll get there, just late By about a fiscal year and a continuing resolution Government speed, the slowest revolution But I love you, government, I do, I swear I just wish you'd ship a feature while I still have hair Government speed [bridge] And the thing is, both speeds have their place The government can't ship a missile at startup pace Some things need the process, need the checks Some things need the oversight, the complex interconnects But also maybe, just maybe, possibly, perhaps The new printer doesn't need nine months of approvals and wraps Of red tape that cost more than the printer itself Just a thought from a guy who's lived on both shelves [verse 3] So here I am, the Lean Six Sigma translator Bringing startup speed to the government regulator And government rigor to the startup mess Do more with less, in the middle of the stress Of two speeds colliding like a fast train and a snail Meeting at the intersection of success and fail Aaron Stransky, the man who speaks both fluently Government speed and startup speed, I do them congruently And the answer is somewhere in between The fastest process that's still responsible and clean That's the unconventional way, that's the goal Government speed with a startup soul [chorus] Government speed, hurry up and wait Startup speed, ship it, don't be late Somewhere in between is where the magic lives Somewhere in between is what this man gives The best of both worlds at a pace that works Government speed with startup perks [outro] Form submitted Approval pending Also the product shipped last week You're welcome