Ten Rules for Successful Defense Management Reform

The last 30 years have seen an endless stream of legislation and initiatives intended to make the Department of Defense work better and cost less. While some of these reform efforts have been more successful than others, far too many have failed because they overlooked simple and obvious rules about why and how management reform works (or doesn't work) in Washington. This article provides ten simple rules that, if followed, will enable future reform leaders to make measurable progress in attacking bureaucracy and inefficiency in the Pentagon.