What is the End Strength of Your Leadership?

     On the strength of one link the cable

Dependeth the might of the chain

Who knows when thou mayeth be tested

So livest thou bearest the strain

     When I served on the Chief of Naval Operations' Staff at the Pentagon I was in charge of all "end strength" for U. S. Navy ships.  Well, maybe not totally "in charge", but I did manage the data system that held all the end strength, and I was one of the few who understood that old DOS-based behemoth.  Anyway,  end strength refers to all the appropriated manpower positions in the Navy.   In simple terms, that's all the sailors you've paid for.  End strength is the Navy's biggest single expense... we're talking hundreds of millions of dollars every year.  

     Managing "end strength" was difficult because it was a "zero sum" game.  Once the budget was set, any additions to end strength had to come out of somewhere else in the Navy budget.  Needless to say, making a an addition to end strength for new positions was extremely difficult, and every manpower change, no matter how small, went through rigorous staffing process that was transparent to all stakeholders.  Managing all those Navy positions took strong leadership from the entire chain-of-command, from the Chief of Naval Operations all the way down to Petty Officers on the deckplates.  

     The sad story currently unfolding in North Carolina reveals what happens when you have "weak links" in your leadership chain.  You may have heard the story.  NC Governor Mike Easley decided he'd like to "plus up" the state's end strength with one additional position... for his wife... to the tune of about $170,000 per year.  OK, maybe reasonable, maybe not.  Let's put it through the process to find out, right? Wrong! 

    The first weak link was the most important one.  The chain was pretty much broken when Governor Easley dropped subtle hints to his minions that it sure would be nice if his wife had a nice position up at NC State University.  Never mind the formal and normal process, let's just see if we can make this happen.  Those subtle, some would say less-than-honorable hints, put into motion a series of events that will harm North Carolina for years to come.  

    Other links in the chain, a little further down, but important none-the-less, took their "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" cue from the master link.  Instead of strengthening those links, the Governor's actions had weakened them... and they broke.   A few emails here, a few phone calls there (all very hush-hush of course), and voila... North Carolina's First Lady has a job with minimal duties but maximum salary.  As we say in the south, "Yeeeee Haaaaa!" 

    Now the whole sordid affair is out in public  Was there ever any doubt that this would get out?  Of course not!  Reputations that took a lifetime to build are damaged, probably never to be completely rebuilt.  Honorable legacies that took years to build will now have one of those famous asterisks.... "Yeah, he did good but there was that thing with the Easleys...".  

    Weak links snapped all over the place in this process.  The results?  Predictably bad, just like a ship whose anchor chain snaps.  Shoal water is never far away.  Individuals will suffer.  NC State University will suffer, and the whole state will suffer from embarrassment.  But perhaps the worst outcome occurred around our water cooler this morning when I heard yet again, "That's why I don't even vote.  They're just all crooks".  Ouch! Those words, my friends, are the sounds of our whole country suffering.

   How important is good leadership?  Well, it simply means everything.  A bad plan can succeed with a good leader, but even a great plan, and a great organization, will eventually fail with poor leadership.  As a military officer and firefighter I have to trust my leaders, and my men have to trust me.  Lives are in the balance.  So the question of the day is  "What is the end strength of your leadership?"  

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