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Assignment: Pentagon How to Excel in a Bureaucracy

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ISBN-10: 1597970964

ISBN-13: 9781597970969

Edition: 4th 2007

Authors: Perry M. Smith, Daniel M. Gerstein

List price: $22.95
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Description:

Since the first edition of Assignment: Pentagon was published in 1988, great changes have occurred in the international environment, the application of U.S. national security strategy, and the manner in which the Pentagon functions. Now in its fourth printing and with a coauthor to lend a different perspective, Assignment: Pentagon remains the best book for anyone who works for the Pentagon, or for any big bureaucracy for that matter. Eminently readable, Assignment: Pentagon is the essential guide for the newly assigned military person, fresh civilian, and interested outsider to the Pentagon's informal set of arrangements, networks, and functions that operate in the service and joint…    
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Book details

List price: $22.95
Edition: 4th
Copyright year: 2007
Publisher: Potomac Books, Incorporated
Publication date: 6/1/2007
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 288
Size: 6.00" wide x 9.00" long x 1.00" tall
Weight: 0.924
Language: English

Major General Perry M. Smith, USAF Retired, is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and earned a Ph.D. in International Relations from Columbia University. An internationally known speaker and media commentator, he has conducted seminars on leadership, strategic planning, and ethics for hundreds of organizations, including Harvard's Kennedy School, Emory University, Microsoft, Tiffany & Company, Time Warner, and Texas Instruments. He is a military analyst for CBS radio and CBS television.

Preface to the Fourth Edition
Introduction
The Pentagon: An Introduction
A View of the Building
The Pentagon: Realities and Myths
Pentagon Truisms
The Strange Language of the Puzzle Palace
The Key Players
Where Were You When the Page was Blank? The Agony and Ecstasy of the Action Officer
The Branch and Division Chiefs: A Forgotten Breed
Flag Officers, Senior Civilians, and Political Appointees: The Need for Leadership
The Services
The Joint Staff
The Office of the Secretary of Defense
The Interagency Arena
Working With Defense Contractors
The Pentagon's Constituents
Running the Pentagon
The Complex Pattern of Rivalry and Competition
Understanding the Process (and Keeping the Gears Turning)
Operating in the Tank: A View From the Inner Sanctum
How to Give and Receive Briefings in the Pentagon
Enjoying the Tour
Rules of Thumb: Helpful Hints on How to Get Ready to Work, Survive, and Thrive
Difficult Bosses
Military Ethics in the Pentagon
The Heartbreak of House Hunting
Family, Cultural, Academic, and Job Opportunities
Conclusions: Back to the Future
Appendixes
Recommended References
Transition Into the Pentagon Checklist
Interviewing
Glossary
Department of Defense
Index
About the Authors