{"id":16066,"date":"2016-02-22T21:51:56","date_gmt":"2016-02-22T21:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2016\/02\/22\/preparing-the-next-president-for-the-future\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:41:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:41:44","slug":"preparing-the-next-president-for-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2016\/02\/22\/preparing-the-next-president-for-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparing the next president for the future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It’s mid-winter of 2018\u2026two weeks after a cyberattack of unknown origin shuts down electrical power in most of three Northeastern states. Thanks to the quick work of the Department of Homeland Security and state and local first responders, power is restored in less than two days, but the country is in a panic. The P<\/span>president, in office less than a year, convenes an emergency meeting of the National Security Council and gives them a deceptively simple charge: “Give me a plan to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will the new administration be ready for this? Will those who lead our federal government \u2014 elected, appointed, and career \u2014 be prepared?\u00a0 Presidential T<\/span>transition is all about hitting the ground running. When a new P<\/span>president takes the oath of office this time next year, we expect our C<\/span>chief E<\/span>executive to be ready to govern: to have a clear sense of purpose, a compelling set of priorities, and a top-notch team ready to take the field.\u00a0That\u2019s the mark of an effective transition plan.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the future doesn\u2019t always cooperate. Without warning, an A<\/span>administration must be ready on D<\/span>day O<\/span>one to deal with everything from the immediacy of a natural disaster or cyberattack\u00a0to the slow boil of a national economic crisis or a geopolitical confrontation. Thus, transition is more than just the short-term challenge of getting through that first 100 days or pushing through the first 200 appointments. It also needs to be about preparing for what\u2019s over the horizon\u2026not just over the next month or two, but also over the next term or two.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can the next A<\/span>administration prepare for that complex, chaotic, uncertain future? Among other things, it can practice for it by taking a lesson from the military. Our armed forces use \u2018war games\u2019 and exercises to prepare for virtually every eventuality. So too do those who respond to emergencies, both natural and manmade. It\u2019s really quite <\/span>straightforward in concept: just <\/span>create a scenario depicting some future challenge or crisis and use it to prepare those who would be responsible for responding to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This same methodology can prepare a new A<\/span>administration for the long game. A good, short-term transition plan is necessary, but it\u2019s not sufficient. It also needs a little strategic foresight\u2026something not traditionally considered part of P<\/span>presidential T<\/span>transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why, as part of the National Academy of Public Administration\u2019s Transition 2016<\/a> initiative, our two organizations will sponsor a series of strategic foresight simulations: realistic, scenario-based table-top exercises designed to demonstrate how the 45th president and his or her A<\/span>administration can prepare for the worst \u2014 and sometimes the best!<\/span> \u2014 by practicing for them before they may actually occur.\u00a0For example:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n