What Do We Do Now? A Workbook for the President-Elect

Publication Date: October 2008

Publisher: Brookings Institution

Author(s): Stephen Hess

Research Area: Government

Keywords: U.S. politics; Presidency; Presidential transition

Type: Book

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

In What Do We Do Now? Stephen Hess draws from his long experience as a White House staffer and presidential adviser to show what can be done to make presidential transitions go smoothly. Here is a workbook to guide future chief executives, decision by decision, through the minefield of transition. You' ll have to start at the beginning, settling on a management style and knowing how to "arrange all the boxes."

Something as seemingly mundane as parceling office space can be consequential--hence the inclusion of a proposed White House organizational chart and floor plans of the West Wing. What qualities are needed for each job, and where are the best candidates for those positions most likely to be found? How can you construct a cabinet that "looks like America"? What Do We Do Now? is your indispensable guide through the thicket of these decisions.