The transition from campaign to governing requires that presidential policies be transformed from rhetoric into an actionable agenda and then into concrete results. Neither good policies nor sound investments are likely to work, let along succeed, if undermined by poor implementation. Too often, however, federal management issues are considered somewhere between “uninteresting” and “a waste of time.” The reason: Washington is a policy town.

From the Introduction to Getting it Done: "Simply put, Washington is a tough town. Succeeding in Washington requires not only hard work (which is clearly needed), but also a highly sensitive antenna about the environment surrounding your agency.