One of the hottest topics in the Federal space at the moment is the prospect of the U. S. Department of Defense undergoing significant funding cuts. Opinions may differ on whether or not this is a good policy decision, but certainly it reflects a new reality faced by nearly all Federal agencies – the need to do more with less. As a veteran, I am second to no one in my support for the U.S. Armed Forces, or in my belief that the Department of Defense is, overall, a high-performance organization. From uniformed personnel to civilian leadership, our Armed Forces are comprised of highly skilled and professional staff committed to serving our country.

But, as with any large enterprise, there is always room for improvement and to operate more efficiently and effectively. And given that tighter budgets are likely to be a reality in both the near and long terms, Infinitive Federal offers the following top five tips for the Pentagon to generate more value with the same or lower budgets:

1. Define the vision and mission: If high-performance organizations have one thing in common, it is a clear vision set forth by senior leadership. All team members understand big-picture goals and have clear sightlines from their own particular role to the overall mission. In organizations as large as the DoD, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture while focusing on administrative details or internal processes. But when resources are tight, a clear mission statement at the agency and department level can serve as the first filter for allocation decisions; any dollars that don’t directly contribute to mission fulfillment should be candidates for cutting.
2. Rethink performance measurement: Many Federal agencies have undergone significant evolution in terms of measuring their operations. The Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART), first implemented nearly a decade ago, has created more transparency and accountability in tracking. The use of balanced scorecards and real-time dashboards has also increased widely, as more agencies enter the “analytics age.” Of course, it’s not all about the tools. For Defense agencies seeking to meet the “do more with less” imperative, clear performance measurement strategies and processes can close the loop with the vision. It starts by defining the right metrics that align to core objectives and capturing and distributing the right data to the right decision makers. Depending where agencies are on the performance management maturity curve, implementing stronger capabilities can be a lot of work; but those capabilities are critical to ensure accountability and chart a course forward to operational excellence.
3. Focus on team building: Our experience working with Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Defense Export and Cooperation (DASA DEC) on Security Cooperation initiatives demonstrated to us the value a few key resources can add in delivering critical project goals (improved security cooperation in this case). Given growing reliance on contractors and overall resource constraints, more agencies must develop highly productive teams to complete projects quickly. That means identifying skills and knowledge requirements for both near-term deliverables and longer-term operations and ensuring roles and responsibilities are clearly spelled out. This was the successful approach taken by the U.S. Army Security Assistance Command when it recently ramped up a large number of new resources during a critical transition. The good news is that by building new teams and leveraging more external resources, DoD agencies can benefit from fresh thinking and perspective.
4. Grab the program management reins: Given the massive size and intricate nature of many DoD projects, it’s no wonder that “scope creep” is frequently an issue. So how can military teams avoid the resulting budget overruns and extended timelines? Applying robust and proven methodologies for program management is the only way to go. Strong program management offices, or PMOs, with responsibility to deliver on-time, on-budget and on-strategy are especially important for projects that have impacts across agency or departmental boundaries. The more moving parts that must be managed and the more stakeholders whose support is required, the more Federal agencies need “sure hands” in the PMO to deliver. In our experience, we have seen time and again how effective PMOs can deliver tangible and quantifiable gains that enable “do more with less” performance. And that’s true whether the program involves a new weapons system or a targeted technology upgrade.
5. Focus on cultural factors for long-term change: Given that downward pressure on budgets and resource constraints are likely to be with the DoD for some time to come, it’s important that leadership take a long-term view. That means communicating the “why” and “how” of change so that resistance to this new world falls away and that users and teams adopt new ways of working. We believe cultural and organizational change management are difference makers when it comes to generating ROI from important Federal government initiatives.

While the debate goes on about whether these funding cuts would limit the fighting and defense capabilities of the U.S. armed forces, there can be little doubt that doing more with less is a good idea for all U.S. government departments. It’s always a best practice to produce more value through increased efficiency and to fulfill the mission with higher returns on investments of taxpayer dollars.