________________________________________________________________________Richard S. Kem
A:
Basically, yes, the SESs and general officers at the headquarters.
Q:
Maybe you can say a little bit about how it works.
A:
It's a forum that allows the Chief to dialogue firsthand with his senior staff, a so-called board
of directors. Most of the time, the board of directors meet here. I think we're more effective
if we always involve the great, strong leaders, our SESs and our general officers, at this level.
There are so many of them in the headquarters, in our offices and Directorates of Military
Programs and Civil Works. I don't even want to use their names because then I would leave
somebody out.
Just run down the names, the division chiefs of those two directorates, and you've got a
wealth of experience, hands-on in the field and at the headquarters. They have done all kinds
of things. That is a tremendous assimilation of talent.
So, the Senior Staff Group is the Chief's way of interacting with them all--to dialogue with
them. So, I say that's our board of directors. I mean, not a board in the sense of validating
what the chief executive wants, but a board in the sense of contributing fully to the charting
of direction.
The Senior Staff Group provides a great dialogue for the Chief of Engineers to work on
anything important. Some of our sessions have been contentious. I mean, people let their hair
down and say what they believe. That's really superb, that you've got a forum of such people,
and an environment where people feel free to really say what they believe. It's got to be a
positive thing when the Chief of Engineers can hear two of his top folks take different sides
of an issue. Of course, the other thing goes with it too--when something is out on the table,
you can't keep quiet if you have a thought and it affects you. I mean, you'd better stand and
be counted because you were there. Silence means you buy in, so it causes people to have to
talk.
A couple of those meetings of the Senior Staff Group that I've been at this year have had to
do with program and project management, as we've sorted out what different interpretations
of what those things mean. Our divisions have tried to reorganize project management to
meet what they saw as the Chief's guidance, and their interpretations have been different.
So, it's been a way of coalescing a corporate position and a way for the Chief to hear straight
up what his top people think and a way for the Chief to dialogue back. I mean, it's not a one-
way, Chief telling them this. It's really a dialogue, and I've really been impressed with that.
I've rather enjoyed the Senior Staff Group.
Q:
I think having that type of forum was part of the original plan when the office was set up.
That went along with it. General Hatch and I haven't gotten to this area yet in our interview,
but--
A:
Well, I don't know that specifically, but the two go hand in hand because if you've got an
initiatives group charged--remember, they developed the vision first--and all of that to sort
of set a course and how you work through things, then it is essential for the Chief to have a
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