There are six “go to” topics in the IBM Center’s Resource Center for incoming new political appointees as well as for veteran career executives preparing for the new year ahead Topic 1:  Helping New Leaders Succeed.  The IBM Center has updated its two most popular books for new leaders in government:

Understanding the Problem

On May 14, 2012, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provided a memorandum to all departments and agencies on the need to use evidence throughout the Fiscal Year 2014 budget submission. The memorandum provides four pages of issues and approaches for using evidence in the development, evaluation, and management of government programs. OMB also encourages agencies to strengthen program evaluation through a dedicated senior leader, such as a chief evaluation officer reporting directly to the secretary or deputy secretary.

Chris Whitlock has worked defense and national security issues for the past 30 years. For the last 20, he focused primarily on strategy consulting on intelligence issues from an analytic perspective. He co-founded and was the CEO of Edge Consulting, which applied empirical methods and management consulting techniques to advise on major programmatic issues confronting DoD and the Intelligence Community. He holds a B.A. in History (Mississippi), an M.A. in National Security (Georgetown) and an M.B.A. (George Mason).

Applying power in all its forms to secure the present and future is ultimately a leadership challenge. That challenge is especially complex in the current century when the forms and patterns of security are changing in so many ways at an accelerated pace than ever before. The capabilities required to threaten a nation, region, or even global stability are available to both rich and impoverished nation states, as well as small networks of people who can and do operate relatively independent of any nation state. There is more data available than ever before to make sense of this era.

A decade into the 21st century in the U.S. has encountered many unforeseen challenges and seemingly unimaginable opportunities. In the midst of these shifting dimensions, many are questioning the proper use of power, leadership, and security among the relations of nations to meet the demands of an ever complex world. What is smart power? How do the challenges of the 21st century demand a reshaping and a redefining of leadership? How best can national security leaders transform the intelligence enterprise to meet the security needs of today?

Technology advances have become drivers and inspiration for actionable strategies to change the manner in which businesses, consumers and government organizations devise policies, make decisions and implement practical plans around energy use. The Three I's: Instrumentation, Interconnection, and Intelligence

Former Commander of U.S. Central Command and author of Leading the Charge: Leadership Lessons from the Battlefield to the Boardroom.

University distinguished service professor, Harvard University and author of The Future of Power

Frank B. Strickland is a Senior Fellow Emeritus with the IBM Center for The Business of Government.