Last November, I said the federal government is in the process of becoming results oriented. I was wrong.

The federal government IS results oriented. Of course we are. The citizens and taxpayers expect it of us, and they deserve nothing less. We ask if we are accomplishing desired results at an acceptable cost, and if the answer is "no" or "we don't know," then we figure out what to do about it.

Because we are results oriented we have programs large and small with clear definitions of success, detailed action plans for getting there, and a clear understanding of who is being held accountable for the results. We also have programs rated "results not demonstrated" which we are committed to making successful, because that is what results oriented organizations do.

You might say we don't manage our real property for results. I agree with that assessment, for now, but because we are results oriented, we are creating Real Property Officers in each agency and a Real Property Council to fix that situation.

May we all be focused on the best results at an acceptable cost. And may we all be moved to corrective action when we find any part of the federal government that is not focused on results.

I have been struck recently by all the things the federal government does to manage costs. We submitted a summary of these activities to key members of Congress recently, to make the point that there is a lot of method to our cost management madness, and there are significant cost management results to be realized in the immediate future. I highly encourage you to read this summary of what YOU are doing to manage our costs most responsibly. Managing Cost Report.

Yours truly,
Clay Johnson