Editor's Notebook

ongress wants federal managers to get results, tame technology, control costs, buy smarter, outsource and change the culture" of their agencies, says Sen. Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. "That's a tall order."

It is indeed, as our readers know all too well. It isn't easy to produce better results-the first item on Thompson's list-when budgets are stagnant or declining, staffing is constrained, missions are not shrinking and demand for services is increasing.

Easy or not, it's the law. Under the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act, agencies have already produced strategic plans, and within a month they'll unveil performance goals as well. Other laws prescribe tools managers need to use to plan investments, manage technology, reform acquisition processes and weigh the costs and consequences of outsourcing or privatizing some of their agencies' activities.

These laws, the regulations that have flowed from them, and the management theories they embody all have been examined in the pages of Government Executive during the last year. That's our job-to keep readers abreast of the cutting-edge issues and ideas in government management. Recently, as we looked back over a year's work, we were struck by the pace of change in our readers' business world. Articles we'd published over that year had detailed the change and given readers tools to use in coping with the demands of the times. But, of course, our coverage was periodic, since we publish monthly. What would be useful, we decided, would be a single volume assembling in one place key information we've published on the subjects Sen. Thompson mentions.

So was born The Manager's Edge, an 80-page book that has just come off the presses. Here, in one volume for the first time, is a full set of information about the most important subjects managers must assimilate in order to succeed in a federal government undergoing fast, deep and unprecedented change.

By giving their managers this handbook, federal leaders can focus the entire cadre on today's key management imperatives in government and get them thinking about innovative ways to apply existing tools and techniques. These days, when training is woefully lacking and there's a premium on communicating consistently, widely and well, what better approach than to get your people reading, even singing, from the same page?

We, of course, think using The Manager's Edge is a no-brainer: It spreads the gospel and aids the afflicted at the same time. Further, it's a concrete way for top managers to demonstrate their commitment to the vision of entrepreneurial, effective government.

We're proud of our new handbook for change and excited to offer it to you. Click here for more information about the book and an online order form to get copies for your team. We've only printed a limited number, so please order your copies soon. When you do, you'll ring in the new year by giving your managers the edge they sorely need in coping with the tough demands of modern government.