Case History of "Stalled" Thinking about Governing Processes

Reviewed by Professor Donald Mitchell, 2004-09-15

This book says a lot about our governmental processes that suggests room for improvement. Most people will think about the book from a political, ethical or personal perspective, so I thought it would be helpful to consider the management lessons instead.

As portrayed in All Too Human, the Clinton administration displayed many of the most significant forms of "stalled" thinking that delay human progress. For example, decisions were often made at the last minute or delayed for months, unnecessarily (deomonstrating the procrastination stall). A contributing factor was that everyone was allowed their say, time and time again, making for a hopeless bureaucrataic stall. This tendency led to little time to decide what to say about the decision after it had made so a lot of miscommunications occur (creating communications stalls). The people in the White House often did not know how they were supposed to do their jobs (contributing to a misconception stall). They were also slow to understand that the voter anger that led to the Republican success in 1994 was something they were going to have to accommodate (the result of a disbelief stall). Further, the administration did not want anyone to look too closely at controversial areas about the Clinton's past dealings (an ugly duckling stall that affected the credibility of those who defended actions that later turned out to be different than initially portrayed). Two centuries of government had also developed a lot of precedent that made lawyers and poltical advisors limit the President's choices (exhibiting the tradition stall).

Perhaps the most significant lesson is that the administration was slow to perceive that creating good processes for managing government was important. This seems related to the inexperience of many with government at the national level, and the extreme talent of the people at the top who felt confident that they could "wing it" successfully. The good news is that beginning with Leon Panetta's appointment, the White House learned to put more stock in management processes.

One lesson of All Too Human is that humans can learn, improve by learning from their mistakes, and go on to make great progress. That seems to have begun to happen before Mr. S. left the White House. With Robert Rubin at Treasury, we saw the contrast of a well-functioning management process.

The potential is still there for 2,000 percent solutions (getting 20 times the normal rate of progress or the same progress in 1/20 the amount of time). Our economic performance versus the rest of the world seems to be headed in that direction. With better government processes (to elect and to govern), we can hope for an even brighter tomorrow.

Every serious person who wants to learn how to manage better (and citizen who wants to mprove our country) MUST READ THIS BOOK. This is especially timely as we end the 2004 presidential election campaign. I hope the candidates are asked early and often about how they will improve on the management processes described in this book. May the best process improver win!

an honest somewhat sry account

Reviewed by William D. Tompkins, 2003-07-03

i wanted to give this a higher rating but although there are some interesting anecdotes throughout the book, i think the writing style leaves a lot to be desired. the author has an immense amount of material to draw from but the results here are mostly wanting. i would have likes to have read more about his encounters with the press when he ran that room and some more of his back and forth with gore and hillary. he skims the surface--maybe with the intent for another book inthe future.

Very Pleased With This Honest Account

Reviewed by Anonymous, 2002-11-26

Bravo George!

It's a very interesting look into the White House and the
intelligence and political finesse it takes just to survive!!

I felt that George was being very candid when trying to
discribe his love/hate relationship with President Clinton, and in the end having to painfully evaluate him as a very flawed
man. The book also shows Hillary Clinton, James Carville, Bugala
and others (including Dick Morris) in an interesting light.

Loved the book...felt like I was in the White House myself!!

Human Indeed, and admirably so

Reviewed by Arnab K. Karmakar, 2001-09-05

From the start of this book, you will develop an admiration for Mr. Stephanopoulos. He is a quixotic man, a man of ideals, who was brought up by a religious family. So he was raised to live life by a certain morale which he never forgets, regardless of where his work leads him. His passion for politics takes him from one intriguing job to the next, until he establishes himself in fame as President Clinton's senior advisor for strategy. The essence of Mr. Stephanopoulos's book is about the whimsical rollercoaster ride, otherwise known as the Clinton Administration. The author portrays an accurate description of key figures of the White House. He not only pinpoints the pecadillos of his colleagues, but those of his own as well. Despite of the fact that he admired President Clinton as a leader, Mr. Stephanopoulos seemed to always have quandaries about the President's personal ethics. The author had his dream job, and the opportunity to constatly voice his thoughts on the public forum. However, as you read his story, you will learn that his personal morals precluded him for continuing with the job. I got the impression that had he been working for "a gentleman President . . ." such as George Bush or Jimmy Carter, chances are high he would have continued with his job for a bit longer. His retirement from the Clinton administration was well deserved; it lead him to more worthy jobs, that require more objectivity.

If you are a regular viewer of ABC's "This Week", you will most likely agree that Mr. Stephanopoulos is brilliant. This book will augment your admiration of him, not just on an intellectual level, but also on a personal level. Hence, this book is appropriately titled. The everyday reader will have no trouble relating to Mr. Stephanopoulos's work and personal ethics