Maximizing DOD's Untapped Potential to Improve Business Performance
Abstract
It is a pleasure to be here today to discuss business operations at the Department of Defense (DOD). The Deputy Secretary and other conference organizers are to be commended for bringing together senior leaders from inside and outside DOD. Collaboration and partnering are central enablers. We have worked hard to incorporate these principles into daily practice at GAO. I recognize that business practices at DOD are not going to change overnight. But this conference can help this process by encouraging an exchange of ideas. By sharing professional experiences and expertise, everyone here has an opportunity to enrich DOD's knowledge base and help build the Department's capacity to develop new solutions to old problems. Your presence here today is evidence of the defense workforce's strong work ethic and commitment to its mission. These basic DOD values, combined with strong leadership and follow-through, can achieve huge improvement in business practices because there is a lot of untapped potential at DOD to get better results and the best support to the warfighter. As I looked over the conference materials, the goals set forth for DOD are laudable. Those goals are to -- demonstrate support for the President's directive to improve business operations; -- showcase success stories about enterprise-wide performance improvement; and -- establish an ongoing review process to solve enterprise-wide challenges. These goals recognize the shared opportunities and responsibilities to address longstanding weaknesses in DOD business operations and achieve measurable and sustainable results. Identifying the challenges is the easy part, as those of you who navigate DOD's business processes on a daily basis know all too well. The hard part is identifying solutions, taking action, sustaining progress, and maintaining momentum. As is the case for other federal agencies, the Nation's fiscal situation has significant implications for DOD.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 14, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA508191
Entities
People
- Eugene Louis Dodaro
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office