Acknowledgments

This book could not have been written without the assistance and suggestions of many individuals, starting with many change leaders who have influenced and shaped our perspectives: Senator Robert Kennedy, Governor Scott M. Matheson, Coast Guard Commandant Thad W. Allen, GW President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, GW Dean David Fowler, Coast Guard Rear Admiral Patrick Stillman, Comptroller General David Walker, Nancy Tate, and Joseph Wholey.

The book grew out of a project on “Leading Change in the Public Sector,” undertaken with funding from BearingPoint in George Washington University’s Center for Innovation in Pubic Service. S. Mike Davis, now at the Government Accountability Office, was an early project co-director and provided a number of important ideas concerning the concepts of change risk and transformational stewardship. Center research assistants who worked on the project and the case studies of public sector change included Dan Proudfoot, Whitney Setzer Owen, Deborah Trent, Sasha Rosen, and Valerie Oster. Owen was a co-author of a working paper that served as an early draft of Chapter 3. We also thank all those individuals from the agencies involved in the case studies for their kindness and willingness to provide candid assessments of their organizations’ change strategies and implementation.

Three other graduate students in GW’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration made important contributions to the book: MPA student Jennifer Griffin was the primary author of the case study on N Street Village and the summary of the Hillel transformation contained in Chapter 4; MPA student Audra Clark tried out an early version of the 360-degree assessment and made several useful suggestions; and PhD candidate Heather Allen provided excellent editorial suggestions throughout the book and finalized the book’s references.

We thank Ron Carlee, Arlington County Manager, for his willingness to provide Chapter 9 on emergency network management. A number of the Trachtenberg School’s faculty, including Mike Worth and Mike Harmon, contributed their thoughts. Former Associate Business School Dean Lois Graff provided her insights (included in Chapter 7) on transforming GW’s undergraduate business program.

Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen graciously agreed to write the foreword to the book. We are proud to recognize him as a graduate of our MPA program; he has become an outstanding national leader—someone all public servants can emulate.

Finally, we appreciate the good work of the executives and staff of Management Concepts, especially Myra Strauss for her encouragement and assistance throughout the whole process.

While we acknowledge and appreciate all these individuals, the final product is our own. We ask our readers for their indulgence of any mistakes or limitations they may find in our analysis and welcome any suggestions for future editions.