Thursday, March 01, 2007

Bu11sh1t Bingo and NAVSEA

We need to quit talking to each other like we wish we did something else for a living. More and more, stuff I read insults my intelligence. Heck, for those, ahem, who actually have an advanced degree in Business or other related fields - this reads like amateur hour.

We all know about the two-week "Outward Bound Meets Cliff's Notes MBA Speak" that we have our senior leaders go to - and this is the results. IMAO, the Navy is being ill-served by sending out such verbiage. We need to get rid of the patronizing tone as well. I am tired of reading crap that reads like Mr. Rogers wrote it. The Fleet needs direct talk. Clear talk. I give you the latest festering boil of Bu11sh1t Bingo - the Navy Edition.

After pondering for awhile - I have removed the name to protect the guilty because she is a good person in a difficult job. This is from a senior NAVSEA SES (AKA well paid Civil Servant). My snarky "your Staff work is effecting my morale" comments in grey - Bu11sh1t BINGO words in bold red.
-----Original Message-----
From:
LASTNAME, Firstname MI CIV SEA 00X
Sent: Friday, February 16, 2007 17:02
Subject: All Hands Message from the
"that SES"

All:

This week, VADM Sullivan led his Commander's Forum, which gave NAVSEA leadership - both military and civilian - an opportunity to see how well we're doing in implementing his Top Five Priorities
(which are....). Under the title "Sharpening the Focus," the forum was all about alignment and execution.

VADM Sullivan re-affirmed his "Top Five Priorities" and described the inter-relationship of each priority to NAVSEA, its
customers (who are...), and to its employees. He is holding us all accountable for ensuring the success of these initiatives. Please talk with your supervisor to make sure that you understand what your role is in accomplishing the Commander's Top Five Priorities. You are a keystone to our success and we cannot make forward progress (can you have reverse progress?) without your personal and active involvement. It is that important!

Today, I want to talk about two of the Commanders Top Five, Competency and Navy Enterprise behavior. NAVSEA is a "Provider/Enabler" to the five Warfare Enterprises. In late Nov 2006, the CNO stood up a Sixth Enterprise, the Provider Enterprise. As Senior SYSCOM Commander, VADM Sullivan has a critical role in the establishment of this Enterprise.

The Naval Enterprise construct aligns activities along the major Warfighter lines of aviation, surface, undersea, expeditionary warfare, and network/force network warfare for current and future readiness. The Provider/Enabler Enterprise construct maps activities along the major Provider/Enabler lines in support of the Warfighter: NAVSEA, NAVAIR, NAVSUP, SPAWAR, NAVFAC, BUMED, CNIC, MPT&E and ONR. In the end, NAVSEA must integrate its output with the desired outcomes of these five Enterprises. The single most desired outcome is increased readiness at reduced cost. To achieve this goal, we must align and deploy all its resources to this simple objective.

One way to accomplish this is through a Competency Aligned Organization (CAO). The transformation to a CAO is large in scope and we expect it to take another 12 months to complete. We have assigned leadership roles and have engaged the local bargaining units to discuss local impacts and concerns. The three facets to the CAO construct are:
1. Managing the Workforce with a clear plan that fosters the development of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of our workforce.
2. Managing our Processes by adopting common processes where it makes sense and aligning our major value streams to the desired outcomes of the Navy Enterprises.
3. Managing the Workload to balance the workload demand with the workforce we have available.

The expected outcome and desired effect of moving to a CAO is to create an agile and aligned organization capable of responding to workload demand signals generated by our Enterprise customers in a disciplined and cost effective manner.

Don't forget February is the time to celebrate Black History Month. I am sure each of your Commands is hosting a series of events supporting this observance. As we're celebrating Black History Month, it is fitting to remember the Navy's "Golden Thirteen," the first black naval officers who were commissioned in 1944. Frank Ellis Sublett, the last living member of this group died in September 2006. In addition, this past July, we acknowledge the passing of another Navy hero known to many
through the film Men of Honor. Retired MCPO Carl Brashear was the first African-American U.S. Navy Master Diver and the first amputee diver ever to be certified or recertified as a U.S. Navy diver.

For those of you who know me, you know that February brings another celebration that is near and dear to me - Mardi Gras! I have ordered my "King Cakes" from New Orleans and expect them to arrive well before Fat Tuesday next week. Regrettably this year will be the first year in over 10 years that I will not be "throwing beads" in celebration of this event. I can assure you I will not let this event pass by next year!
Laissez les bons temps rouler!

As always, be safe and be healthy!

Vr/
Firstname
Firstname LASTNAME
"That SES", NAVSEA
202-555-1234
We are not an "Enterprise." The only time the Navy should use that word is to refer to the USS ENTERPRISE. That is it. We are not a business. We are part of the Department of Defense. We fight wars. We break things and kill people, or stop others from doing the same IAW our national interests. There are some aspects of our Navy that is very much like a business - a gov'munt business - but that must take second fiddle to our primary focus.

If we forget that we first and foremost must be ready to take to sea and bring our ships alongside the enemy and destroy them - then one day a Navy that has not forgot that will sweep away our hold on the sea and our nation will be the one making adjustments. Fact.

I would make more comments on throwing the PC bone to the
Diversity Bullies' Cargo Cult - but I think it stands for itself. Oh, and for you old EPMAC alumni - isn't Marti Gras really just a DRINKEX and chance to get your freak on? I wish she put that in her mail.

Hat tip reader Mike.

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