Improving decisionmaking in a turbulent world / Charles P. Ries.

"April 5, 2016"--Table of contents page.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 51-56).

Ch. 1: Introduction -- ch. 2: Why process matters -- ch. 3: How did the national security system evolve? -- ch. 4: Previous attempts at reform -- ch. 5: Changing environment -- ch. 6: Recommendations for the national security decision structure -- ch. 7: Conclusion: strategizing, decisionmaking, and policy implementation.

Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1: Introduction: evolution of strategies and systems -- chapter 2: Why process matters -- chapter 3: How did the national security system evolve? -- How do other nations make decisions? -- chapter 4: Previous attempts at reform -- chapter 5: Changing environment -- chapter 6: Recommendations for the national security decision structure -- NSC staff size -- Civil-military cooperation and resource sharing -- Decline of disciplined, organizational messaging systems -- Including the right agencies -- Integrating intelligence insights -- Groupthink and embedded assumptions -- Continuity, integration, and professional staff development -- Overuse of czars -- chapter 7: Conclusion: strategizing, decisionmaking, and policy implementation -- Abbreviations -- Bibliography -- About the author.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (RAND, viewed April 5, 2016).

"Every president needs a decisionmaking system that harnesses the full capabilities and accumulated wisdom of the U.S. government and the nation's many stakeholders. Yet national security professionals--the officials who must advise the president on the most-difficult decisions -- cite a range of structural problems that hinder effective policymaking. While a more focused and timely decisionmaking process will not necessarily improve outcomes for the United States, poor choices could be calamitous. This Perspective analyzes a range of management challenges in the national security system and presents eight recommendations for strengthening U.S. decisionmaking and oversight of policy implementation. Among the conclusions: The National Security Council staff size should be reduced to better focus on high-priority areas. Civil-military operations should be planned by a new joint office at the State Department with a military general officer as deputy. Red-team and lessons-learned efforts would help ensure that the system is adaptive and responsive. Better integration of intelligence insights and secondments of senior officials across agencies can improve the quality and coherence of decisionmaking. And the use of special envoys, or "czars," should be limited"--Publisher's description.

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