The Foreign Service Journal, April 2013

38 april 2013 | the foreign Service journal the Secretary as he worked to deal with the problems. Sec. Powell assured us that his staff had kept him informed on the campaign, which had given him a better understanding of employee concerns before he took office. He then responded to several points raised in the letter, beginning with a declaration that he was not just the foreign policy adviser to the president. He used the phrase, “I own this building,” to signify that as the head of the State Department, he would provide the leadership to ensure that it worked. The Secretary went on to acknowledge that many of State’s problems would take time to fix. But he urged State employees to let him know what could be done to solve the problems that really annoyed people and drove them “crazy.” He cited his Jan. 25 decision to establish day care facilities at the Foreign Service Institute as an example of how he liked to get things moving. By now, it was clear that Sec. Powell was serious about exploring ideas to improve the department. He asked us to forward to his staff a summary of the numerous suggestions the campaign had generated. With the help of several energetic student interns, we cata- loged and summarized the hundreds of ideas that formed the basis of the final SOS for DOS report. The document we submit- ted to Under Secretary for Management Grant Green on Aug. 6, 2001, contained more than 100 recommendations address- ing staffing, the need for modernized information technology, enhanced professional education, improved relations with Capitol Hill and the Department of Defense, and a greater focus on the training and development of entry-level personnel. We noted that the comments could help identify underlying issues and urged management to deal with those root causes, not just the superficial symptoms. In response to the report, Under Secretary Green wrote that “the SOS for DOS process emphasizes that management is a cru- cial element for the State Department and perhaps the key factor affecting employee morale. Our management team will continue to do all we can to improve the way the department operates.” Most importantly, the SOS for DOS effort helped to publicize and elevate the need for change at State, with the reform effort Throughout the 1990s, Foggy Bottom had tried to “do more with less”—with predictable results.