Getting It Done: A Guide for Government Executives

This book has been written for those who have answered the call to public service. We greatly appreciate their willingness to work on the nation’s greatest problems.

The IBM Center for The Business of Government has prepared two books for newly appointed agency heads—those who lead departments, agencies, bureaus, or programs—and their senior management teams, consisting of both political and career executives. Both books are written for agency heads and their teams to help them succeed in Washington. Based on our experience in the federal government, we conclude that new agency heads like you need to understand, and hopefully master, two key elements of successfully working in Washington:

• The operations of government. In The Operator’s Manual for the New Administration, we address the “machinery” of government by focusing on eight essential tools needed to make government work: leadership, performance, people, money, contracting, technology, innovation, and collaboration.
• The environment of government. This book, Getting It Done: A Guide for Government Executives, focuses on the environment in which you work. Part I contains six “to dos” necessary to “get it done” in Washington. Part II consists of 14 chapters, each describing an important stakeholder in the political environment of Washi