NCUA: "The Bureaucracy"?...

Never really been a big fan of Jack (former CEO of GE) Welch's style of leadership, but it's very difficult to argue with his track record of corporate success. 

After retiring, Mr. Welch ran a "business advice" column in BusinessWeek for several years.  Here's an excerpt from a classic (12/24/07) :

Q: "How do you take on the bureaucracy that damages so many organizations?"

A:  "Damages?  How about deadens?  That's a better word to describe what the bureaucracy does; it sucks the life out of a business.  It turns normal people, granted a smidgen of authority, into rules-bound technocrats and twists candid conversations about real issues into jargon-laden gobbledygook.  In short, the bureaucracy gums up the works. It's a competitiveness killer.

Q:  So why do people put up with it?  

A: Probably because the bureaucracy just seems like too big a monster for any one individual to slay.  And we'd agree, unless that individual happens to be the leader.  

After all, it is the leaders who set the tone for their organizations through the values they choose and the behaviors they demonstrate.  And ultimately, it is the internal leadership, and the leaders alone, who have the power to set things right.  All it takes is courage."

So!  Maybe, just maybe !!!!  There is hope that the leadership of "our little Federal bureaucracy" will have the courage to choose the right values, rather than just play partner in "2-1" politics ....

Well then again, maybe not....