The First 90 Days in Government: Critical Success Strategies for New Public Managers at All Levels

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Secure Early Wins

JOE RAAB was a public-service veteran who, after six years as a section head, had been promoted to manage a thirty-person financial operations division. In his new role, Joe was responsible for overseeing the work of his former section, payroll, as well as billing, accounts receivable, and disbursements, responsibilities handled by the two other sections that comprised the agency’s office of financial management and were now under his command. His predecessor in the position had been an authoritarian, hard-nosed boss. Joe had chafed under that leadership and had his share of run-ins with his old boss over the years about his boss’s style. Joe also had heard regular gripes about his boss from employees and peers. So when Joe ...