Getting It Done: A Guide for Government Executives

Please click on a topic and add your illustration, example, or comment based on your own experiences. Anonymous comments are fine.

  Leverage the senior career staff: Find whom to listen to and on what. ()

  Hire senior political staff with the right political talents. ()

  Blend political and career: Leverage their different strengths. ()

  Recognize that political appointees and careerists have different roles and responsibilities. ()

  Be careful how you blend the political and career jobs. ()

  Keep political-appointees-only meetings rare and reserve them for political matters. ()

  Put it all together, decide whom to depend on and for what. ()

  Don't reorganize your agency. ()

Manage Your Stakeholders

In addition to our six "to dos," there are also many stakeholder groups you will encounter while in government. Understanding the relationship with each stakeholder will be useful in achieving your goals.

Your Bosses

• The White House by Thurgood Marshall, Jr.


• White House Policy Councils by Paul Weinstein, Jr.


• Office of Management and Budget by Bernard H. Martin


• Congress by John J. Callahan

Your Colleagues

• Interagency Collaborators by David F. Garrison


• Interagency Councils by D. Cameron Findlay


• Office of Personnel Management by Solly Thomas

Your Constituencies

• Citizens by Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer


• Unions by Robert M. Tobias


• State and Local Governments by Robert J. O'Neill and Elizabeth K. Kellar


• Interest Groups and Associations by Stan Soloway

Your Overseers

• Government Accountability Office by Judy England-Joseph


• Inspectors General by Gaston L. Gianni


• Media by Lawrence J. Haas

About the Editors and The Center