An Education in Excellence

In promotional literature, we say this is the only general management conference "designed for federal managers by federal managers," and I can testify that the agency officials on the program committee are tightly focused on providing education relevant to today's challenges in the federal service.

From its inception in 1996, the conference has been about improving the performance of programs, agencies, and the people who attend the event. ExcelGov, as we call it, has tracks on cutting-edge thinking and best practices in such important areas as leadership development, performance measurement, solving the human capital crisis and every element of the President's Management Agenda. It features sessions designed to offer attendees strategies for advancing their own careers.

This year, the conference adds a new track called "Securing America," which addresses the organizational development, personnel management and technology issues that have arisen as a consequence of the largest federal reorganization of the past 50 years. Also, we have added a track called "Politics: Setting the Climate," designed to appeal to those who are interested in the political trends that create the climate in which all people in government do their work.

We will hear from leading political analysts like Charlie Cook, James Carville and Mary Matalin, from officials now setting the agenda in the Bush administration, from members of Congress who are leading reforms in federal organization and management, and from leadership experts like Navy Capt. Michael Abrashoff, author of It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy (Warner Books, 2002).

Government Executive is fortunate to be working with the Council for Excellence in Government and 18 other organizations devoted to improving the fortunes and performance of government. The intellectual capital represented by this network of good-government groups, and the work of a terrific program committee, have been the foundation of an excellent conference program. You can keep up to date as the speaker roster develops further by visiting the conference web site at www.excelgov.com. I hope to see you in June.

As I write this, the conference is nearly four months away, but war seems just around the corner. It's a time of high anxiety, for our troops, for our country's reputation in the world and for the safety of our citizens here at home. We can only hope for the best.

Both in our magazine, and in our daily e-mail newsletter, GovExec.com Today, we have written about the buildup to war, focusing principally on the huge logistical challenge that undergirds the effort. Our reporter, George Cahlink, is deployed with the USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf and other reporters from our sister publications are in the theater as well. We will publish their dispatches in the weeks ahead.

In the meantime, this issue of the magazine deals with anxieties that still exist in the Postal Service as a result of the anthrax attacks of 2001, with efforts to transform the Navy, and with other challenges confronting federal managers and executives. By comparison with war, these challenges pale, but let us hope that soon they will again look as large as we know they are.