Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Clifford Stanley: bad guy or hated fixer?


Who is Clifford Stanley?
The Pentagon inspector general is investigating Clifford Stanley, the official charged with overseeing the Defense Department’s massive personnel bureaucracy, after a spate of highly detailed allegations of gross mismanagement and abuse of power. He's accused of firing respected senior staff, neglecting programs for wounded troops, and using limited funds on expensive consultants and a lavish new conference room.
My first instincts are to be a little suspicious of IG investigations as we all know - just because someone claims something does not make it true.

OK, Shipmates - does this sound familiar?
"He has created a dysfunctional command marked by fear and mistrust through a capricious, tyrannical and arbitrary leadership,” the complaint states. “Waste, fraud and abuse of power are rampant. Even if he were competent, his destructive leadership would assure ‘P&R’ (personnel and readiness) mission failure.”
...
"Dr Stanley has demonstrated that he is vindictive against those who merely offer contrary opinions," the July 11 complaint claims. "The reprisals he would carry out against those who lodged a complaint would be severe."
2 out of 3 GOFO I have worked for would have a certain percentage of their Staff make that complaint. Most of those @55h@1es got the job done though and we were better for it. In this case; this could all be true, but ...

Go back to the first quote;
He's accused of firing respected senior staff...
That got my antenna tingl'n.

Ahhh, HA!
The complaints charge that Stanley decimated much of the institutional knowledge within personnel and readiness offices by transferring, firing, or forcing into retirement 30 civilians in the top-tier senior executive service ranks. A senior P&R official said he couldn't believe all 30 were unfit for their jobs, saying it cost the department a huge loss in brain trust.

At least two other officials – a colonel and a high-ranking government civilian – were fired on the spot, sending a “chilling tone” throughout P&R offices, according to the July 11 complaint.
There we go. He went after dead weight SES and they are not pleased. They are playing death buy bureaucratic investigation. Yes, I have an attitude problem towards SES - for good reason.

Sit around a table with 10 SES, and if 8 of them left tomorrow the organization would function better. SES on average have a sense of entitlement "I'm a 1-star equivalent" that simply is not reflected in the value they add to an organization. They are just another layer to deal with between the problem and a solution.

Is it possible that you have a 2-Star Marine who cleaned house with attitude and made some enemies? I'll give that 51%. Could Stanley be a train wreck as alleged? Maybe, we'll see.

Wait for the IG report to finish. I'll give Stanley the benefit of the doubt over a gaggle of pampered, over paid, oxygen thieves.

As for the comment about the conference room, how lame. Might as well blame President Obama for to cost to mow your yard.