The Bureaucratic Entrepreneur: How to Be Effective in Any Unruly Organization

by Richard N. Haass

Book Overview

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How do you figure out what to do in a job? How do you get it done? How should you deal with demanding bosses? How can you get the most out of subordinates? What should you do to get along with difficult colleagues and handle powerful interest groups and the media? Just how can you succeed in a world where persuasion rather than direct command is the rule? Using a compass as his operating metaphor--your boss is north of you, your staff is south,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0815733534
• ISBN13: 9780815733539
• Release Date: May 1999
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Length: 220 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Required reading

This would be an excellent book for those majoring in the business field to add to their academic studies. It is also a gifted preparation for what lies ahead in service for any line of work. I wish this had been available decades ago.

A public good

The federal government is a unique place to work. Most people agree that it is more difficult to fire subordinates there than in the private sector and, due to the government's arcane hiring process, it is often a challenge to put the right person in the right job. Add to this mix Congressional oversight, the occasional media spotlight, the lack of a bottom line, and the big-picture question (not asked often enough) "what are we doing and why are we doing it," and you have an environment foreign to many private sector employees.Enter Richard Haass's book the Bureaucratic Entrepreneur, an update of his 1993 primer the Power to Persuade. Haass has held a number of positions in previous government administrations, including at the NSC and the Defense and State Departments. His book is packed with words of wisdom for the harried bureaucrat who at the end of the day may wonder just what he accomplished. Although Haass's advice appears machiavellian (he argues that Machiavelli is often misunderstood) and the author does not have a firm grasp on whether his audience is the entry-level employee or the senior-level political appointee, it is worth putting up with these drawbacks for the original focus and insight on managing and leading in the public sector. The bibliography alone is reason enough to buy the book.Low-level or high, every public-sector employee should read the Bureaucratic Entrepreneur before starting his or her new government job. They should then re-read it every few years to ensure that they are on track and using the tools Haass lays out to be effective in one of the most "unruly" organizations around.