The political and administrative researcher Werner Jann, whose 65th birthday provided the occasion for this festschrift, has consistently oriented his scholarly work around the question of how the effectiveness of the state depends on organizational foundations. What institutional structures and processes, as well as what qualifications of personnel and types of steering instruments, are necessary today if a "well-organized state" is to successfully address the diverse and dynamically changing challenges of the present? How can the limits of rational governance be expanded through organizational reforms, how can limited resources be optimally utilized, and how can politics and administration manage to solve cross-cutting issues despite division of labor and sometimes fragmented structures? 30 companions of Jann from academia and practice.