U.S. President's Job Model

American voters selecting candidates is like interviewing them for a job. One would not begin collecting resumes for the job without first having a job description. Therefore, what is the work performed by a president?

To determine that, I first considered Article II of the Constitution that defines a President's responsibilities. Next, I analyzed the work of a president employing a best-practice approach used by many leading corporations to describe tasks and subtasks.

(See Article II: http://www.uhuh.com/constitution/article2.htm)

From that, I derived skill, knowledge, experience and proficiency requirements. Suggested is that should be the work of political parties, yet they don't that very well, if at all.

There are standards for producing job descriptions and deriving performance requirements that used by the U.S. Government Office of Personnel and by Departments, including the Department of Defense, for instance.  When it comes to the Executive branch, the system is flaky.

A presidential candidate should be knowledgeable about and sufficiently experienced in enterprise performance improvement initiatives, preferably with successful past performance on the resume. This experience can be from public or private sectors.

Continuous improvement in a democratic form of government comes from the following:

·      Changing, amending, and retiring and replacing present laws 


·      Issuing presidential directives and memos communicating policies and policy guidance

·      Administering directives and memos as they too require changing, amending, retiring, and replacing 


·      Strategic planning 


·      Budgeting and funding requests 


All of these things are a product of the president’s management approach and government processes and routines governing them.

Proposed is that the first and most important presidential task is staffing, organizing and scheduling the executive branch work of government. In retrospect, the community organizing skills possessed by President Barack Obama were most significant and relevant. However, a president must also have a robust network of associates and allies from which to recruit and staff executive positions. Having a recruiting universe of qualified candidates (those who can readily obtain security clearances) for all of the government department and agency executive positions is an essential requirement.

Furthermore, an effective chief executive leverages the appointed staff as a multiplier on their effectiveness by selecting individuals who are more knowledgeable about specific areas of government than the commander-in-chief.

The Commander-in-chief is the top executive and is also the top expert in Constitutional law about which the incumbent is the leading executive implementer and often author of new and amended legislation.

Task 1: Planning, staffing, organizing, and scheduling Presidential work and government functions

Subtask 1.1: Recruit and staff the cabinet and department and agency appointments
Subtask 1.2: Conduct cabinet meetings to develop and implement strategies and policies for accomplishing the nation’s workload and issues

Subtask 1.3: Define the nation’s outcomes and priorities for each major department and agency to produce the nation’s strategic plan

Task 2: Develop the President’s management agenda and budget and reconcile with Congress

Subtask 2.1: Assume responsibility for the legacy agenda and make adjustments to align with the President’s management agenda or equivalent
Subtask 2.2: Work with cabinet heads to develop performance plans and schedules

Subtask 2.3: Work with Congressional leadership and collaborate to implement the nation’s strategy, plans, and programs

Task 3: Initiate and approve legislation

Subtask 3.1: Propose bills to Congress
Subtask 3.2: Consult and advise Congress
Subtask 3.3: Collaborate with industry and business leaders in the development of policies and regulations of all kinds Subtask 3.4: Approve or veto legislation
Subtask 3.5: Request a declaration for war from Congress

Task 4: Implement plans and manage on-going operations

Subtask 4.1: Review and evaluate programs that include new acquisitions and on-going operations
Subtask 4.2: Evaluate programs including legacy processes and engineer new ones for accomplishing and producing required and promised outcomes

Subtask 4.3: Continuously improve

Task 5: Report progress and discuss issues with the American public to keep them informed

Task 6: Meet with heads of state and participate in international meetings and conferences for heads of state

Subtask 6.1: Participate in international economic conferences Subtask 6.2: Respond to international crises and requests for assistance
Subtask 6.3: Promote democratic process and reforms

Does it make sense that your next door neighbor could perform this job? Does it make sense that someone without training in the law can do this job? Does it make sense that someone who has not managed a very large enterprise with diverse employees can do this job? Does it make sense that someone with experience in the international community can do this job? Does it make sense that someone without intellectual genius and superior behavioral characteristics can do this job?

The American President's Team at Indiana University PA