Lessons from Bob Woodward: A Call for Evidence-Based Management

Dave Livingston sent me a link -- and some of his usual sharp insights -- as well to a Washington Post article published this Sunday about mistake that the Bush Administration made that the Obama Administration can learn from.  I hope, for everyone's sake, that Obama is able to learn from others' mistakes so he doesn't make them himself.  This list also strikes me because, essentially, this is a call for applying the logic of evidence-based management to the job. Here is a link to the article and Dave's summary of the list:

1. Presidents set the tone. Don’t be passive or tolerate virulent divisions.

2. The president must insist that everyone speak out loud in front of the others, even — or especially — when there are vehement disagreements.

3. A president must do the homework to master the fundamental ideas and concepts behind his policies.

4. Presidents need to draw people out and make sure that bad news makes it to the Oval Office.

5. Presidents need to foster a culture of skepticism and doubt.

6. Presidents get contradictory data, and they need a rigorous way to sort it out.

7. Presidents must tell the public the hard truth, even if that means delivering very bad news.

8. Righteous motives are not enough for effective policy.

9. Presidents must insist on strategic thinking.

10. The president should embrace transparency.

Comments

[dblwyo]

Bob - glad you got it up. The whole article which provides details and comments is worth everyone's time indeed imho. However honesty compels me to admit that my initial source was another e-friend, Barry Ritholz at BigPicture.
Where this whole discussion is poignant, sad and scary to terrifying it that may in fact represent the shell-shockedness and lack of resilience of 70% of major companies (recent Booz survey plus another McKinsey one). This is an example of what I term "organosclerosis" where organizations are mal-adaptive because leaders don't lead, processes are sclerotic and cultures frozen in backward-looking time. "The only thing we have to fear is not fear but ourselves...and our leaders".

Consider:
http://llinlithgow.com/bizzX/2009/01/survivor_search_for_the_next_b.html
for details.