Singular XQ Ep 15: Christian Crumlish and The GovTech Long Game (Part 1)
What a great conversation we had with Christian Crumlish, currently the Product Lead for the Office of Data and Innovation in California…
What a great conversation we had with Christian Crumlish, currently the Product Lead for the Office of Data and Innovation in California under Governor Gavin Newsom. Christian sat down to discuss his sometimes unexpected, always fascinating career evolutions. He shared a wealth of keen insights from his journey, beginning in tech publishing back, as he put it, “when the internet became a thing,” and following the many pivots that eventually led him to his innovative work in Gov Tech.
Our conversation was so fantastic that it covered TWO episodes — and trust us, you’re going to want to listen to both parts. In Part One, you’ll find out what “Old School Web Ethos” means and learn about Christian’s impressive career trajectory as an author (The Internet for Busy People, a big hit in the ‘90s), content strategist, information architect, pattern detector, consultant, and product lead, to name just a few of his roles. Part Two zeroes in on Christian’s current role, which he describes as “a small office in a very large government.”
Overseeing product development while simultaneously looking for ways to make his work successes usable across all state government sites, Christian tells us about combating “Zombie Processes” and how innovating in government is a “long game” quite unlike another business tech. We also discuss the often-overlooked issue of psychological safety for teams and work environments.
“One of those career things I’ve noticed is that you plant these seeds, and you don’t know what they’re for,” Christian told us. “And then years later, you realize, ‘I’m using that thing I used to do. It’s back.’ There’s a track you’re on sometimes, even when you don’t realize it.”
We’re so excited to share this inspiring dialogue with you and the optimism we feel for tech improving public service.
