F. William Smullen - Ways and Means for Managing Up

Praise for Ways and Means for Managing Up

A terrific book by one of the masters of truth-telling in the American militarywise, forceful, and a must-read for anyone who has a boss. Bill Smullen helped many an officerand reporter (including this one)navigate the treacherous landscape of war, peace, security policy, and controversy. My hat is off to him, and so will yours when you read what he has learned over the decades.

Bob Woodward, Associate Editor,
The Washington Post, and author of 17 books

Bill Smullens unique experience as a member of the U.S. Army and later chief of staff for former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of State Colin Powell gives him some great lessons to pass on. I especially appreciate the manner in which he incorporates the value of team play into Ways and Means for Managing Up. I highly recommend it.

Jim Boeheim, Syracuse Universitys
Hall of Fame Head Basketball Coach

Colonel William Smullen has worked in senior management positions for some of the most important institutions in the world, most notably the U.S. military and the U.S. State Department. Colonel Smullen has also worked for some of the smartest and most demanding bosses in modern American history, most notably General Colin Powell for many years. In his book Ways and Means for Managing Up, Smullen distills his half century of experience as both a manager and a subordinate to craft an invaluable guide for how to succeed inside any organization. It is a guide that is both tremendously wise and, in some places, laugh-out-loud funny.

Peter Bergen, CNNs National Security Analyst,
and author of Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for
Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad

Copyright 2014 by F. William Smullen. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-182652-5

MHID: 0-07-182652-1

The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-182524-5, MHID: 0-07-182524-X.

eBook conversion by codeMantra
Version 1.0

All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps.

McGraw-Hill Education eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in corporate training programs. To contact a representative please visit the Contact Us page at www.mhprofessional.com.

TERMS OF USE

This is a copyrighted work and McGraw-Hill Education and its licensors reserve all rights in and to the work. Use of this work is subject to these terms. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the right to store and retrieve one copy of the work, you may not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, reproduce, modify, create derivative works based upon, transmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish or sublicense the work or any part of it without McGraw-Hill Educations prior consent. You may use the work for your own noncommercial and personal use; any other use of the work is strictly prohibited. Your right to use the work may be terminated if you fail to comply with these terms.

THE WORK IS PROVIDED AS IS. McGRAW-HILL EDUCATION AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USING THE WORK, INCLUDING ANY INFORMATION THAT CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE WORK VIA HYPERLINK OR OTHERWISE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. McGraw-Hill Education and its licensors do not warrant or guarantee that the functions contained in the work will meet your requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error free. Neither McGraw-Hill Education nor its licensors shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error or omission, regardless of cause, in the work or for any damages resulting therefrom. McGraw-Hill Education has no responsibility for the content of any information accessed through the work. Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill Education and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. This limitation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or otherwise.

To my late parents, Fred and Helen Mentors for Life

S ir Winston Churchill has inspired generations with his words. He could have been talking about my inspiration to write this book for those who might benefit from it when he said, We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

Serving others by what you do and how you do it is a meaningful thing. Its priceless when its done for your boss, who counts on those around him or her to do or be many of the things reflected here.

If you find a way to serve your boss better by reading this book, I hope the power of the example you set will take you down a new and brighter path in your chosen profession. Travel it well and enjoy the journey.

Bill Smullen
April 2014

W e slipped into the backseat of his limo, heading off to another event in the nations capital. That happened often for General Colin Powell as Joint Chiefs chairman and for me as his assistant.

In the 10-minute ride that lay before us, I knew I could grab Powells undivided attention. I intended to tell him Id received an offer of another job for another boss, a pretty big one at that: a former president of the United States.

He nodded as I told him Id been asked to be the PR guy for Ronald Reagan. When I finished, my proud moment was met at first with silence.

Then he turned his head and looked me in the eye. Congratulations, he said. But dont become intoxicated with the offer of power.

He was right, and I knew it. Fortunately, I had declined the offer, but I felt I owed it to him to tell him that it had come from President Reagan, a man for whom he had worked as his national security advisor years earlier. I wished for no surprises.

I knew I had the boss I wanted. I also felt I wanted to serve him longer and even better. One doesnt have to be of high rank or position to want to do that.

Whether you are starting out in professional life or have been part of it for some time, you have a boss and a responsibility to manage him or her like the other resources for which youre responsible.

As you advance hierarchically closer to the person to whom you are responsible, the challenges grow stronger, as does the satisfaction if you do the job well. It helps to have strategic vision, core values, and obtainable objectives as you do so. Managing yourself and those to whom you answer sets a powerful personal example and provides for functional excellence within an organization. It doesnt hurt when such efforts are rewarded with job satisfaction, advancement within the organization, and even a promotion and a raise. Helping your boss helps you.