TRUMP's PERSONNEL BLINDNESS

 

[Published in Trump’s blind spot - The Sunday Guardian Live]

Republicans are rejoicing that Donald Trump says he has learned lessons from his first term and will unleash a full-scale assault on big government and the Deep State.  Democrats are raising alarms that Trump will exceed his powers to wreak vengeance and settle personal scores.  Trump’s recent musing about being a “one-day dictator” inflamed his critics and enraptured his supporters.

They will all be disappointed.

President Trump completely failed at personnel.  He never grasped the concept that “people are policy”. Unfortunately, Trump and his transition planners are already ignoring this maxim and heading for disaster.

Many of the people being discussed for Trump’s second term were ineffective in the first. Learning from one’s mistakes is a key to successful leadership.  It is not happening.

Trump and his Second-Term planners continually refuse to look to the Reagan Transition (1980-81) for inspiration and its leaders for advice.  The Reagan Transition is considered the best planned and executed transition in history.  Even liberal historians admit this. Its success was based on ideological alignment of all participants and a clear plan for how Reagan’s Revolution would become an operational reality. 

During the 2016 campaign and transition, Trump and his advisors repeatedly ignored those who led the Reagan transition.  Eventually, some of these experienced “Reaganites’ were allowed into his transition, but in minor roles.  Their detailed reports and recommendations were tossed aside.

Instead, Trump relied on former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus.  Trump felt he had to reward them for defending him at critical points in the 2016 Presidential Campaign.  However, they filled his transition and White House with their friends drawn from Bush, McCain, and Romney political circles.  These Christie/Priebus cronies never respected Trump or supported his populist, “America First” policies.  They went onto to undermine Trump at every turn.

Trump was his own worst enemy.  He shut out potential allies among the Reaganites and welcomed anti-Trump activists.  He compounded his mistakes by not filling key positions, thinking this crippled the bureaucracy.  Instead, it empowered the Deep State players, as no one was monitoring them.

The result was Trump never achieving operational control of the Executive Branch.  Obama holdovers remained astride key functions. “Washington Swamp” operatives pursued their own agendas.  Disloyal appointees, even among his senior staff, leaked sensitive information and ingratiated themselves with the opposition media.

There were attempts during Trump’s final year in office to correct these strategic mistakes.  They failed.  Biden was handed the gift of leftist programs, policies, projects, hires, and contracts that were started while Trump was still in office.  Trump’s last wave of loyalists was blindsided because there were too few placed in the wrong places.

Except for judicial appointments, Trump’s legacy was swept away.  America, and the world, are suffering the consequences.

The opportunity to bring fundamental, and lasting, change to the Executive Branch during Trump’s second term is already slipping away.

Planning for the next Republican Administration is fragmented among five competing organizations: The Heritage Foundation, the Center for Renewing America (CRA), Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI), Personnel Policy Organization (PPO), and the America First Policy Initiative (AFPI).

Besides duplicating effort, these five entities are competing with each other to raise millions of dollars to finance their operations.  They conveniently ignore that volunteers prepared for the 1980 Reagan Revolution and that the Reagan Transition’s federal support was supplemented by only $2 million in private funds from his “Kitchen Cabinet”.

The Trump Transition money chase has led to leaking detailed plans to the media. News outlets have published insider accounts of private meetings and decisions. The transition planning groups hope donors will be impressed with their proposed actions and write big checks. It is like General Eisenhower leaking plans for the Normandy Invasion to promote WWII War Bonds.

Leaking details may inspire donors, but it allows opponents to develop counter measures. It violates timeless wisdom, “boast when coming from battle, not going to it”.

They are ignoring a fundamental truism: change occurs because there is a mandate.  These competing organizations, along with Republicans everywhere, need to be making the case for their revolution.  Otherwise, they may not gain traction for their plans, and even lose the 2024 election.

Trump’s key strategy is to remove merit system protections for thousands of career government employees.  His advisors dismiss the fact that this could be derailed by Congress (if in Democrat hands) and the courts.  However, retroactively removing protections is probably unconstitutional.

Trump likes “blunt instruments” to get his way.  Reagan’s appointees “sweated the details” to establish complete control of the Executive Branch.  His appointees, and their political staff, thoroughly studied each agency and methodically implemented substantive and sustainable change.

Establishing a compelling mandate for change, and effectively implementing it, can be summarized by the “SARS” strategy: Stop; Abolish; Reverse; Streamline.

Every day, until the election, a vivid case must be made to:

-       Stop Biden’s Leftist assault on America. Detailed lists of executive orders, policy memos, budget plans, regulations, court cases, hires and contracts must be compiled and exposed.  Every agency and program must be searched.

-       Abolish every entity and program started by Biden and Obama.  We must roll back big government back to at least 2009.

-       Reverse Biden/Obama decisions, especially personnel.  Most Americans don’t realize there are countless advisory boards within each department and agency that shape policy.  Their members are selected by agency heads not the President. Reagan established a special unit to select loyalists for these panels.

-       Streamline the Executive Branch. Republicans should cite hundreds of reports generated by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the 74 Inspectors General among Departments and agencies. Each one exposes waste, fraud, and abuse, which can guide revolutionary change.

These “SARS” actions are opportunities to educate and motivate voters to elect a Republican President, Senate, and House in 2024.  Ignoring them places America’s future in jeopardy.

Scot Faulkner served as Chief Administrative Officer of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was Director of Personnel for the 1980 Reagan Campaign, served on the Presidential Transition team, and on Reagan’s White House Staff.  He currently advises corporations on strategic change.

 

 

LESSONS NOT LEARNED

 

[Also published on Newsmax]

Trump’s supporters are stirring.  They are aghast at the Biden era, feeling it is based on years of lies, conspiracies, and “fake news”.

Trump’s detractors continue to stir.  They hope relentless investigations will lead to Trump in handcuffs and ultimately in jail. 

Both sides want “payback”.  The anti-Trumps want finality and an object lesson, that assures no outsider ever again gets close to draining the Swamp.  The pro-Trumpsters want to retake the Legislative Branch in 2022 and the Executive Branch in 2024. 

Trump’s “populist revolution” will only succeed if he and his supporters learn lessons from the last four years.

“Republicans hold office.  Democrats hold power.” mused Mark Steyn on a recent Fox News show.

Trump and his supporters must understand this in all its manifestations, should they ever hope to achieve their vision.

Trump failed at the very basic level of wielding power.  He ignored the maxims: “People equal policy” and “Personnel is policy”.  Adhering to these maxims allowed the Reagan revolution to eradicate the Soviet Union and its empire, while shifting America’s political center of gravity for the first time since 1932.  Adhering to these maxims allowed the Gingrich revolution to reinvent Congressional operations for the first time since 1789, while re-establishing a competitive Legislative Branch for the first time since 1932.

Reagan’s and Gingrich’s revolutions made removing their opponents their first order of business.

All Carter appointees were removed within the first weeks of Reagan taking office.  Their badges were confiscated, and their security clearances revoked.  A team went door-to-door throughout the White House and Executive Office buildings assuring every Carter person, every pro-Carter careerist, every pro-Carter detailee, and every pro-Carter contractor were marched out the door.  Careerists were reassigned, contracts were cancelled.  

At the same time teams of Reaganites took complete control of core operations within every department and agency: the Executive Secretariats and the offices of Legal Counsel, Personnel, Finance, and Procurement.  Legions of Reagan appointees instantaneously overwhelmed the Executive Branch, methodically reviewing every recent and pending action, ending and reversing those not in full accord with the Reagan agenda. This included personnel actions, training, contracts, grants, legal actions, regulations, publications, meetings, and anything else of substance.

In some agencies, such as the General Services Administration (GSA) the center of government corruption under Carter, every employee was assessed and a new agency culture, complete with new position descriptions, hiring & promotion criteria, administrative processes, and accountability systems were put in place.  Pro-Reagan whistle blowers, investigative media, and congressional oversight professionals identified those careerists who were trustworthy to build viable cores of competent loyalists deep in every nook and cranny of the Executive Branch. 

The Gingrich Revolution began the same way.  Within an hour of becoming Speaker, every top administrator and administrative assistant was fired and walked out the door. Their files were seized, their security clearances revoked.  New House rules and reform legislation eradicated forty years of “kleptocracy” that robbed public funds and furnishings from the Capitol.  A new management team completely reinvented Congressional operations propelling the 18^th century work culture and processes into the 21^st.

In both cases, Reagan, Gingrich, and their operational teams, had a “sense of urgency” that drove them to clear the landscape of the old guard and ways.  They had a clear vision and detailed plans. They never blinked.  They never stood still.  They never leaked.  They never tolerated disloyalty.

Unfortunately, Trump and his team did the opposite.  They were told, in detail, by Reagan and Gingrich alums, what needed to be done.  They heard but never listened or learned.

The result was Trump never having control over his Administration.  Obama holdovers ran the White House correspondence unit for the first two years.  Obama, Clinton, and Deep State operatives remained in control of everything.  Those who were terminated never had their ID badges or security clearances removed.

Trump was too trusting of Swamp dwellers.  His Transition was run by Bush and Romney operatives.  His White House was filled with RINOs.  Confidential information, even from small meetings, was leaked to the media within minutes.

 Trump’s holding back on making appointments was “penny wise but pound foolish”.  He never had overwhelming forces in any department or agency.  He never had control of core operations.  That is why his initiatives withered after he signed Executive Orders.  There was no one there to implement them. On the other hand, political holdovers and anti-Trump bureaucrats ran rampant.  They derailed pro-Trump efforts while allowing ongoing Obama/Clinton policies, personnel actions, training, contracts, grants, legal actions, regulations, publications, and meetings to continue unabated.  

Despite this, Trump hobbled regulations, made foreign policy strides, and had legislative victories. Unfortunately, they are all being reversed in the Biden era.

Imagine what Trump could have done had he learned the lessons of Reagan and Gingrich?

 

 

ENDING THE DEEP STATE

[Published on NewsMax]

The surreal world of the Trump Impeachment Inquiry is assailing those who respect the will of the voters.  Those defying this fundamental principle of American democracy are being lauded.

It is perverse to allow opponents of voter-mandated change to remain in policy positions.

Trump’s predicament was completely avoidable.  All he had to do was be as assertive with government personnel as he was with his company’s hiring and firing.  

It is doubtful that Trump left legacy executives in place when he acquired hotels, golf courses, and casinos.  Trump brought in his own team.  They assessed the management and service team members, to align them with Trump’s corporate culture and branding.  Those who displayed loyalty and competence remained, all others were replaced.  This happened quickly.  Once the Trump logo was unfurled, Trump’s operational culture and customer service experience had to exist. 

It is, therefore, disappointing that Trump approached the Executive Branch with such hesitancy.

Like any large vessel, the federal “ship of state” has a command bridge from where the captain leads the ship.  A new President quickly realizes that, while his bridge, the Oval Office, affords a wonderful view, its steering wheel and control levers must be hooked-up to run the ship.  Control of the engine room is fundamental to moving in the intended direction. The ship’s crew must follow the captain’s decisions.  It is the same in the Executive Branch.  People equal policy.

The Executive Branch is far more complex than any ship or corporation.  The outgoing party leaves behind cadres of guerrilla fighters to frustrate, hinder, and destroy the new President’s agenda.  This preserves the old and enables defeating the new.  

Cabinet Departments and agencies each have unique cultures that shape those serving in the career service.  Depending on the party in power, some agencies will be more friendly or hostile than others.  

Careerists can be just as political as political appointees.  Their politics is about preserving power, funding, turf, prestige, and policy.  Those aligned with the previous Administration will have benefited from rapid advancement.  Those less enthusiastic, will have been relegated to dark recesses, well away from critical policy paths.

An incoming Administration uses its network of friendly Congressional offices, policy organizations, and media outlets to map out its allies and enemies within the Executive Branch.  This is what Transitions are for.

Trump was ill-served from the start.  He ignored the advice and offers of help from Ronald Reagan alumni, who ran the last fully successful Republican transition.  Instead, Trump turned to Governor Christie.  Christie turned to his friends in the Romney, Bush, and Ford circles.  They recommended that the Boston Consulting Group, the epicenter of Bush operatives, run the Trump Transition.  The rest, sadly, is history.  

It could have been so different.  

Starting in 1978, Reagan’s inner circle worked closely with the vast network of conservative groups: The Heritage Foundation, Kingston, Stanton, Library Court, Chesapeake Society, Monday Club, Conservative Caucus, American Legislative Exchange Council, Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress, and the Eagle Forum.   

This conservative network placed key operatives into Reagan’s national campaign and transition.  They identified over 17,000 positions that affected Executive Branch operations.  A separate team identified the key positions in each cabinet department and major agency that had to be under Reagan’s control in the first week of his presidency.

On January 21, 1981, Reagan’s personnel team immediately removed every Carter political appointee.  They were walked out the door, identification badge taken, files sealed, and their security clearance terminated.  In one instance, a Carter political appointee at ACTION was physically prevented from signing the nearly one million dollars of leftist grants sitting on his desk.  The Carter era ended completely and instantaneously.

Over the next sixty days, Ambassadors were recalled, White House detailees were reassigned. Every management and supervisory careerist who had been hired or promoted during the previous year was reviewed, and those not truly there on their merits, were removed.

American voters soundly rejected Carter and wanted the Reagan Revolution.  They got it.

Reagan loyalists, as temporary appointees, entered every cabinet department and agency to enforce policy, review contracts, and terminate anyone or any entity that were there to promote Carter policy.  Every legal action, regulation, negotiation, and grant was stopped until assessed based upon Reagan policy.  Overwhelming numbers of fulltime Reagan loyalists rapidly implemented his revolution.

By May 1981, Reagan was in full command of the Executive Branch.  Core management teams in every department and agency moved deeper into the bureaucracy.  Wave after wave of management and personnel changes occurred, paving the way for the Reagan Era to flourish.

Thorough planning and expert implementation by solid loyalists resulted in no leaks and no sabotage. 

Reagan had a sign on his desk “It CAN be done”.  

It was.

TRUMPING THE MILITARY WAY

[Published on http://www.newsmax.com/ScotFaulkner/bureaucratic-reform-transition/2016/12/29/id/766014/  and https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/trumping-military-way-scot-faulkner?trk=mp-reader-card ] #TRUMPING 

Revolutionary change is waging war on the status quo.  It is about victory in the initial assault and winning heart and minds to institutionalize the new order.

Throughout history, military geniuses have articulated the philosophy of victory.  Their proven approaches to winning resonate through the ages and beyond the battlefield.  They can guide Trump’s “commanders” as they take to the field.

Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” is the most timeless of guides for those battling in military, political, or business environments. 

Trump has already mastered one of Sun Tzu’s maxims: “As the voice cannot be heard in battle, drums and bells are used.  As troops cannot see each other clearly in battle, flags and banners are used.”  Through social media, and turns of phrase, Trump has sent out vivid signals of what is to come and what must be done.  As President, Trump will need to continue his messaging to keep his troops focused on the outcomes most important to Making America Great Again.  He is implementing the most ancient of rules in the most cutting edge ways.

Sun Tzu also explained, “Thus a victorious army wins its victories before seeking battle”.  Preparation is everything.  That is what Trump and his Transition are doing.  January 20, 2017 is a day for celebration, but also a day for action.  Trump can do what Reagan famously did – delay the post-swearing-in Congressional Luncheon to sign Executive Orders.  Given the volume of Executive Orders needed to end the Obama era and begin the Trump era, the most newsworthy ones could be signed in the Capitol, leaving others to be signed at the White House between the parade and the balls. 

General Ulysses S. Grant and Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter showed the world that the best way to achieve victory was overwhelming your opponent. On April 16, 1863, Porter’s naval fleet ran the gauntlet of Confederate guns along the Vicksburg bluff. Risking the entire Union Fleet on the Mississippi River in one bold act assured victory.  Confederate batteries could not fire fast enough to hit every vessel.  The speed and surprise of the flotilla rendered the enemy ineffective. 

President Trump must move swiftly and broadly to change Washington.  One reform or one piece of legislation at a time gives the forces of the status quo time to mount an effective opposition.  The so-called mainstream media can only report so many stories a day.  Democrats in Congress can only make so many speeches a day. Trump must strike fast and hard and overwhelm the Establishment. 

General Douglas McArthur, and Admirals Chester W. Nimitz and Bill “Bull” Halsey Jr., proved that you do not have to fight every enemy confronting you.  They won World War II in the Pacific by leap frogging Japanese strongholds, isolating them and letting them whither through lack of supplies. 

President Trump should be inspired by how America won the Pacific War.  The Executive Branch is vast.  Many have likened previous reform and budget cutting efforts to “attacking Antarctica with an ice pick”.  Trump and his team need to find key “islands” to assault and leave protected “sacred cows” or programs and personnel to wither.

On August 5, 1864, Rear Admiral David G. Farragut led the Union fleet in attacking and ultimately capturing the key Southern port of Mobile, Alabama.  The Confederates attempted to divert and disperse the Union fleet by launching small torpedo boats into his fleet.  Farragut famously ordered his commanders to “damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”  The timeless rule is to not let intermittent issues get in the way of your primary mission.

Trump’s Administration will confront bureaucratic “torpedoes” from the first day onwards.  The most effective way government agencies and programs survive change is to draw incoming political appointees into longstanding tactical squabbles over turf, resources, and ego. 

The career establishment prays that newly confirmed Presidential Appointees will plunge into tactical morasses.  Once pulled in, the original mission is lost.  Valuable political capital, and revolutionary zeal, vanishes before the new Administration realizes it. 

President-Elect Donald Trump values military prowess in his appointments.  These military best practices will also be valued as he changes Washington, DC.

TRUMPING WASHINGTON

[Published at http://www.newsmax.com/ScotFaulkner/reagan/2016/11/14/id/758756/ ]

The Washington Establishment is betting on Trump faltering.  Trump can triumph by not letting any of them subvert from within.

The well proven maxim, people equals policy, should be Trump’s driving force.  Trump can gain inspiration and insight from Reagan’s earlier victory over the Establishment.  These lessons can assure Trump’s tenure achieves historic change.

The Reagan Revolution almost did not occur because the Republican Establishment did everything it could to co-opt it.  Reagan’s transition planning team was hijacked by technocrats who had no understanding or desire for revolution.  Legions of moderate Republicans, who fought Goldwater in the 1960s and Reagan in the 1970s, poured into Reagan’s transition teams in the weeks following the 1980 election.  Former Ford appointees, derisively called “retreads”, filled the short lists for government executive positions.

It took the aggressive intervention of Reagan’s Kitchen Cabinet to clean house and get his revolution back on track.  Reagan’s closest friends, including Joe Coors and Bill Wilson, arrived in Washington, DC in early December 1980 and personally took charge of the transition.  Their clarity of purpose and unwavering devotion to Reagan and his agenda, assured that Americans got the change they so clearly wanted.

President-Elect Trump has not waited until early December.  Trump’s Veterans’ Day Transition realignment was bold and effective. His top associates, family members, and key operatives are now the rocket boosters to propel the Trump Administration into a sustainable orbit.

There is one advantage that Trump in 2016 has over Reagan in 1980 - the Washington Republican Establishment openly and vehemently opposed Trump throughout his campaign.  The usual post-nomination unity was hindered by the “never Trump” forces.  Many anti-Trump Republicans openly boasted about voting against him in countless social media posts on Election Day. 

This disloyalty and outright sabotage must be remembered.  It clears the field for new blood to serve Trump.  It is far easier to “drain the swamp” when the K Street crocodiles have exposed themselves. 

Those who knifed Trump in the back are waiting for the day he “comes to his senses” and sells out his “Deplorables”.  Many observers are smugly musing that Trump will have to scale back his revolution and make peace with the Establishment.  Otherwise, they declare, Trump will not have enough capable people to run the Executive Branch. 

Trump can once again prove his detractors fools.  The private sector has a vast array of corporate change agents. These top executives have successfully run enterprises larger than most federal agencies.  Those who profitably navigated the post-2008 economic collapse are “battle” seasoned and proven innovators.  Those who remained profitable in the face of global competition have mastered the upheavals of the 21^st Century.  Many will heed Trump’s call to join his crusade to Make America Great Again.

Trump can tap Republican governors who have turned around the governments and economies of their states.  Their dramatic successes have earned them re-election or assured a Republican succeeded them.

The Republican governors were successful because they unflinchingly fulfilled their campaign pledges, and kept their focus on bettering the economic wellbeing of their citizens. They were also successful because they hired highly effective lieutenants to run their state agencies.   These successful change agents bring a record of vanquishing public sector inertia.  They can be paired with private sector leaders to become an unbeatable team for “Trumping” the Federal Government.

Many rallied to Trump within weeks of his announcing his candidacy.  These included policy experts and strategic thinkers who helped in the Reagan and Gingrich revolutions.  Reagan alumni stood firm with Trump by courageously endorsing him while enduring ostracism from the Washington “powers that be”.  Hundreds of retired military and national security leaders, many of whom helped win the Cold War, stepped forward to offer Trump timely and critical support.

Trump’s “Deplorables” are counting on him winning for them and America.

TRUMPING THE TRANSITION

Transition planning, done correctly and used correctly, will assure that Trump’s Revolution happens fully and immediately.

Trump’s unconventional approach is perfectly matched for a process called “LEAP”.  LEAP is a four dimensional environment for acquiring immediate operational control of the Executive Branch and achieving operational excellence.

LOCK EVERYTHING DOWN.  Trump needs to insert “Occupation Teams”, professionals skilled and committed to making the new Administration an immediate operational reality, into all Cabinet Departments and major agencies to instantly end the Obama era.  This means full control of every key input box and out box.  Nothing should happen until signed off on by the Trump Occupation Teams. 

Locking everything down also means revoking all delegations of authority and forcing every action, communication, and policy into the hands of the Trump Occupation Teams immediately.  The Occupation Teams must literally patrol the corridors and rattle door knobs to make sure no one is extending the Obama era.  The first few days of Reagan’s Presidency found numerous examples of career employees refusing to yield.  In one case, a grant administrator had to be physically stopped from approving $350,000 of Carter era grants still sitting on his desk.

Forcing everything through the Occupation Teams lets them review everything.  Their discoveries will range far beyond the briefing books and guide change.  Delegations can be redirected or renewed as trust and discipline are built within the new Administration.

ELIOT NESSING is all about people.  Eliot Ness was a FBI agent best known for building his team with “untouchables” – colleagues who were honest, trustworthy, and immune from corruption.  Trump and his team must do the same thing throughout the Executive Branch.

Both Republican and Democrat political appointees complain that their career colleagues often hide, spin, or fake facts.  This is not partisan.  Careerists want to protect their power, turf, reputation, and pet projects.  This even happens within the Office of the President as this organization is filled with career employees. 

The transition planning process needs to start identifying trusted colleagues ASAP.  These may be whistleblowers who will embrace change, and confidential sources who have already proven themselves credible to Congress and media allies.  This first wave of trusted professionals identifies those they trust, and so on, until there is a critical mass to substantively shift policy and operational direction throughout the Executive Branch.

ASSESS.  Every part of the Executive Branch is a huge fire hydrant of information.  Trump and his team could be easily overwhelmed by the volume and velocity of information.  Turning this flood into actionable intelligence is not easy.   “Untouchables” can help sort what is true, false, or altered.   They will also align information with actions designed to tangibly achieve the critical outcomes of the new Administration.

The Occupation Teams, with their “untouchable allies”, need to be skilled in turning seemingly random data points and factoids in patterns and trends.  The 9,000+ annual audit and investigative reports from Inspectors Generals and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) are a great place to start.  Tallying these findings, to identify which offices and programs are most corrupt or dysfunctional, will guide personnel changes and reinventing processes.  During the Reagan era, “war rooms” were created with whole walls full of organization charts designed to graphically chart areas of excellence or decay.

Other evaluation steps include costing out waste.  Corruption and dysfunction can be a onetime flood or a “leaky faucet” dripping millions of dollars.  How much, how fast, helps determine urgency.  Assessing solutions is also a key activity.  How easy is the solution?  Is it about changing processes or procedures?  Is it about abolishing or outsourcing?  Can it be handled internally or is legislation required?  Are there impacts affecting other parts of government? Permanently solving a problem is always preferable.  However, sometimes limiting the problem’s scope or impact may be a necessary interim step pending strategic action.  It is like using a spare tire to get your car to a garage.

PRIORITIZE.  Verified and actionable information, matched to implementing critical outcomes, can be sorted by what is easy or hard to do.  Another sorting of initiatives is by the tangible return on the investment of resources and political capital.  Lower return initiatives should only be pursued if they are easy and fast.  Such smaller efforts season and inspire teams to seek bigger challenges.

Many strategic initiatives fail because the focus is on big things that may take years to achieve.  The zeal and momentum of a new Administration falters as weeks or months unfold without victory.  Better to amass numerous small victories to prove change can happen to build enthusiasm for the harder challenges ahead.  Alternatively, going after the bigger more difficult projects come into focus with the knowledge that the effort is truly worth the effort.

The Prioritization Grid © has been used to guide successful transformation in governments and corporations around the world.  Surprisingly, over half of the initiatives placed on this grid usually turn out to be easy to do with high returns on the effort.  This nonlinear holistic approach to revolutionary change drove the historic Congressional reforms of the mid-1990s.

Presidential Transitions gather information to assure the President and Presidential Appointees “hit the ground running”.  There is far more that should be done to support Trump’s unique leadership in these challenging times.

[Scot Faulkner was the National Director of Personnel for Reagan-Bush 1980.  He also served on the Transition Planning Team and as a Transition Administrator.  He subsequently served as Clearance Officer for Presidential Personnel on Reagan’s White House Staff.]

A Revolutionary Transition Plan for Trump

[Published in http://www.newsmax.com/ScotFaulkner/convention-republican/2016/07/25/id/740303/]

Donald Trump is calling for a revolution in the way Washington operates. His Republican Convention speech declared ferreting out waste and cutting costs a major priority for his first hundred days. This will require thorough preparation, like a successful military campaign, before the first “shots” are fired.

A new American President faces the challenge of assuring both continuity and change.  The institution of the Executive Branch must remain intact. The direction and focus of the Executive Branch must quickly and thoroughly reflect the will of the electorate.

Trump can set the stage for “Making America Great Again” by making sure his Presidential Transition uses “CPR”.

This CPR is a form of management resuscitation.  It stands for CURATE, PREPARE, RECRUIT. These are co-equal activities that are critical for launching a dramatic new direction for the federal government and America.

CURATE means turning a mountain of information into action.  By collecting, sorting, analyzing, and prioritizing critical information Trump’s Presidential Transition can make sure they can govern from day one.

The federal government is vast. During every second policies, programs, personnel, contracts, grants, expenditures, treaties, and law are in motion.  These activities can range from first drafts of proposals yet to be considered, all the way through final implementation and codification.  They mostly happen in Washington, DC, but also occur in government field offices throughout America, and U.S. Missions around the globe. Much of this activity is not public. 

An incoming President must conduct a scavenger hunt of epic proportions to find everything that matters.  The outgoing Administration, and much of the remaining career structure, will do everything possible to make sure the scavenger hunt fails. This will include lying and misdirection. 

The only way a Transition can succeed is to gather outsiders who are relentless in their search for information.  They must also be able to determine what is real and when to probe deeper.  These outsiders must depend on insiders among career personnel who support the incoming Administration, as well as government professionals who will do the right thing out of loyalty to America and its institutions.

PREPARE is all about making sure the right people are in the right place to do the right thing the moment the new President is sworn-in.  This means halting everything found through the scavenger hunt.  Trump’s Administration will want to change course quickly and completely.  It is imperative to halt and roll back the legacy of the outgoing Administration in every way and everywhere possible - policies, programs, personnel, contracts, grants, expenditures, treaties, and law.

One key preparation is security clearances.  In 1980, Reagan’s team was fast tracked for clearances by FBI and Secret Service officials who loathed the Carter Administration. Many clearances were processed starting in September 1980.  Reagan’s transition planning team also combed the Legislative Branch and government contractors for people who already held appropriate clearances.  The result was legions of Reaganites able to access secure information starting within weeks of the election and legions more ready to take office the day after the Inaugural.

RECRUIT is the importance of finding the right people to do the right things.  People equal policy.  The first waves of political appointees invade the Executive Branch.  In some cases they will be greeted as liberators.  In other cases they will face bureaucratic combat on a room to room, program by program scale.  In all cases the new appointees must be competent and committed.  Only true believers committed, heart and soul, to implementing the new agenda need apply.

Curated information, prepared teams, top notch committed recruits form a seamless interdisciplinary capability for the new President to act quickly and decisively.