MONITORING YOUR TASKING OF THE DEPUTIES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP89G00720R000100050051-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 25, 2011
• Sequence Number: 51
• Publication Date: October 14, 1981
• Content Type: MEMO

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP89GO072OR000100050051-9
14 October 1981
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Central Intelligence
VIA: Deputy Director of Central Intelligenc
FROM: Robert M. Gates
SUBJECT: Monitoring Your Tasking of the Deputies
1. In our discussion of priorities and initiatives for the balance
of the year, you and Admiral Inman stressed the importance of obtaining
from DDO and NFAC written plans for accomplishing the objectives that you
have put before them. Until now, you have relied on periodic oral status
reports, which generally are vague, do not indicate achievements or problems,
and which do not provide you with any basis for judging whether or not
progress is actually being made. The three of us agreed that it would be
useful to ask McMahon and Stein for concrete plans on how they intend to
achieve your objectives on the tasks that you have given them and that an
integral part of such plans would be the identification of specific milestones
that would enable you to judge whether or not they are making progress.
2. The attached memoranda for your signature would:
-- Ask John McMahon for his plans for improving the quality of
intelligence.
-- Task both of them to collaborate in preparing for your considera-
tion a proposal for improving their collaboration and joint efforts on the
terrorism problem.
3. These memoranda would indicate that once you have approved the
plans, the Planning Staff of the Office of Policy and Planning will be
working with their organizations to keep you posted on implementation.
ICT'~ 4 ,iA
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP89GO072OR000100050051-9
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP89GO072OR000100050051-9
4. A final note. As long as you rely on oral reports, you will have
no independent means of determining whether progress is being made toward
the accomplishment of your goals. Merely the fact of reducing their vague
notions into concrete plans with milestones should significantly enhance
the prospects of making real progress; their knowing that you will be monitoring
their progress in concrete terms should only enhance that prospect.
5. Recommendation: That you sign the three attached memoranda.
o er a es
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/08/25: CIA-RDP89GO072OR000100050051-9