Major societal shifts, like universal childcare, don't start with national legislation. They begin when communities model a different way of operating. By creating local support systems and demonstrating their effectiveness, citizens provide a blueprint that can be scaled into state and national policy.

Bradley Tusk, known for his work with Uber, advises startups to focus their regulatory efforts on state and local governments. He argues that achieving federal-level change is akin to a miracle. In contrast, states offer 50 different opportunities to pass favorable legislation, establish precedent, and build momentum for broader change.

To create lasting change in government, innovators must operate with extreme speed to "rip out old roots and plant new seeds." The goal is to replace entrenched systems and prove the value of new ones so quickly that they become resilient and difficult for a subsequent administration to undo.

Local city governments are often captured by "Not In My Backyard" (NIMBY) homeowners who block essential development. A practical solution is to elevate planning and zoning authority to the state level. States, motivated by tax revenues and broader growth, are inherently more development-friendly.

Treat government programs as experiments. Define success metrics upfront and set a firm deadline. If the program fails to achieve its stated goals by that date, it should be automatically disbanded rather than being given more funding. This enforces accountability.

In the public sector, the goal is not to outcompete rivals but to improve service delivery. A government CPO's version of competitive research involves talking to counterparts in other states, partnering with civic tech organizations, and learning from innovative vendors to understand best practices.

The federal government's rigid GS pay schedule traditionally links compensation to degrees and years of experience, barring skilled but non-traditionally qualified individuals from senior roles. The OPM is now eliminating these requirements to enable a merit-based system where skill, not credentials, dictates pay and position.

Expecting politicians to vote themselves out of a job is unrealistic. The path to reform is a bottom-up approach, using numerous local citizen assemblies to prove their value. When politicians realize these assemblies can solve problems and reconcile people with the system, they will adopt them to secure their own legitimacy and hold onto power.

Instead of a single, premature federal AI mandate, a patchwork of state-level regulations creates a portfolio of experiments. This allows policymakers to learn what works in different populations (e.g., rural vs. urban) before establishing a more informed national framework.