In the fall of 2013, I received an email out of the blue from a reporter in Washington, D.C.
His name was J.B. Wogan.
He worked for Governing magazine, and wanted to learn more about something he’d heard about called the Denver Peak Academy.
I knew Governing.
It wasn’t a big outlet, but it mattered for people who worked in state and local government because it was about us and for us.
But…
I’d also seen Almost Famous enough times to know not to trust “the enemy.”
On the other hand, I was not a rockstar — and I definitely was not Penny Lane (pictured above).
I decided to say yes and be intrigued.
After several discussions internally, we made the decision to invite J.B. to see the Denver Peak Academy in person.
He could shadow me, attend our training sessions, and interview anyone he wanted.
I bet all my chips on “the enemy,” hoping that an unusual level of access would lead to a better story.
It paid off.
A feature story ran in the February 2014 issue of the magazine.
It captured the ingenuity and passion of the remarkable people taking ideas they learned in our program and applying them in their home departments to improve services and save taxpayer money.
Yes, the story explained the usual jargon…
A3s.
Value stream analysis.
But, what made it more than a skim read were the mini profiles of staff like Animal Care Supervisor, Tara Morse.
Tara used Peak Academy tools to pinpoint a major policy problem – animals were being held too long at shelters before adoption.
Her solution saved an estimated $75,000 per year while simultaneously increasing the adoption rate of shelter animals.
I had an issue with the story though…
It mentioned that government employees from other parts of the country took our training too, which in J.B.’s defense was true.
But, maybe I’m the enemy, because it was rare.
Requests started coming in, and coming in quick.
The surge of requests eventually led to us creating a waitlist.
About a year after J.B. wrote the story, I came to meet him in D.C. That’s when I told him…
“You screwed us. We can’t keep up with the demand.”
Like a freshly awarded Michelin Guide restaurant, I did the natural thing…freaked out.
Just kidding.
I asked J.B. to help me write a book.
J.B. was recently engaged and I was dealing with a 15-year-old daughter.
He planned a wedding while writing and editing a book with me. I trekked to Nebraska to watch high school soccer, writing and editing the book in a Holiday Inn.
J.B. returned to Denver to take my training, do further research, and plan out the structure of the book.
Together, we knew it had to be a quick read, one you could finish on a flight.
Something digestible and easy.
Real stories about creative and dedicated public employees whose excellence slips through the cracks of The Denver Post
It had to be rooted in stories about people, and told in the voice of an irreverent public employee agitating to make positive change.
If it felt too academic or technical, we might as well leave it in a TSA trash bin.
J.B.’s wedding was our deadline to deliver a finished manuscript to Governing’s then-Executive Editor.
A few months later, the book went to the printing press and debuted in summer 2016 in the only place that it should…a conference about government performance and innovation.
This month is the 10-year anniversary of our book, Peak Performance: How Denver’s Peak Academy is Saving Money, Boosting Morale and Just Maybe Changing the World. (And How You Can, Too!).
To celebrate the book’s 10th anniversary, I caught up with J.B., who now leads communications and hosts a podcast for the non-partisan think tank, Data Foundation.
We chatted on…
- Why the book still resonates.
- If my views on technology and government innovation have changed.
- What the next book will be about…
Ten years later and “the enemy” is still asking the right questions.
- Take a listen to our conversation here.
- J.B.’s original feature story about the Denver Peak Academy
- J.B.’s podcast for the Data Foundation: Data for the People!
- Order the Peak Performance book here.
P.S. Have you read Peak Performance? How does the book resonate with you 10 years later?
P.P.S. July 2026 soundtrack (courtesy of Kora):