SENIOR SEMINAR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00308A000100010012-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 10, 2000
• Sequence Number: 12
• Content Type: MF

(~ i i-0j /~?~ jai .~ L - ~.;
Approved For Lease 2002/05/02: CIA-RDP80-00308A=100010012-4 .?
MEMORANDUM FOR: Executive Director-Comptroller
1. This Memorandum reports on the first running of the CIA
Senior Seminar and requests in Paragraph 9 that you seek the
Director's approval for continuing it.
2. In accordance with terms of the Director's Approval of
my proposal for a Senior Seminar, pilot running was conducted
from 19 September through 24 November and an extremely thorough
evaluation of the Seminar was made as it proceeded and at its
conclusion. Twenty officers of grades GS-15 through GS-18 were
chosen by the Training Selection Board from a total of 35 nomi-
nated from throughout the Agency.
3. The Seminar covered a variety of subjects which are
directly -relevant to the activities, relationships, interests,
policies, and problems of CIA. The specific content was based
on discussions with scores of senior officers throughout the
Agency and an investigation of the curricula of external courses
to which we send senior officers. Its final format consisted
of Blocks on "The Senior Agency Officer," "The Intelligence
Business," "Major World Trends and-Their Significance for Policy
and Intelligence," "Covert: Action: The Hidden Side of Foreign
Policy," "The Environment of CIA: Official Relationships" followed
by "Unofficial Relationships" (the latter incorporating presenta-
tions on facets of the American domestic situation which bear
directly on the Agency), "New Tools and Methodologies for Intelli-
25X1A genre," and "The Management of Intelligence and the Future."
Three-day trips to optional installations of
interest were taken by Seminar groups.
4. A total of 53 non-Agency and 99 Agency guest speakers
and panelists accepted invitations to participate in the pilot
running:
a. Among the distinguished-non-government speakers
were: A. Doak Barnett, Letitia Brown, Zbigniew Brzezinski, William
Crockett, John K. Fairbank, Joseph Harsch, Herman Kahn, Foy Kohler,
Peter Lisagor, Robert Osgood, Wesley Posvar, Charles Schultze,
Max Ways and General Earle Wheeler;
Approved For Release 2002/05/02 : CIA-RDP80-00308A000100010012-4
 Approved For R grease 2002/05/02 : CIA-RDP80-00308At 100010012-4
b. From other parts of the government: William I. Cargo,
Dr. Edward David, Philip Farley, Brigadier General Daniel Graham,
U. Alexis Johnson, William B. Macomber, Jr., Congressman William E.
Minshall, Deputy Assistant :secretary C. Robert Moore, Eberhardt
Rechtin, Darrell St. Clair, Werner VonBraun, and others;
Their presentations provided a stimulus throughout the Seminar's
running for the participants to make full use of their own experi-
ence, knowledge and judgment:s in lively exchanges both with guest
speakers and with each other.
5. In evaluating the ;=seminar, the Senior Seminar Staff
solicited -reactions of the participants to the value of the course
as a whole for themselves and any future participants, as well as
N suggestions on how to improve every part of the program throughout
the running. Most of the 20 Seminar attendees affirmed in strong
terms that participation will be valuable to them in their Agency
jobs and expressed the hope that the Seminar be continued.
6. I was particularly interested in the participants' eval-
uations of Senior Seminar Objective 3, concerning "self-renewal"
and appreciation of the problems of others, of which here are two:
a. "The Seminar fully achieved this objective for me. I
came to the Seminar believing that this was one of its basic objec-
tives, and I leave more convinced than ever that self-renewal is
sufficient justification for the time and effort that went into
the course. During the Seminar I was interested, stimulated, exhil-
arated, and excited at times; depressed, angered, and frustrated
at others. In short, the Seminar dragged me out of my usual pro-
fessional mold and caused mE to think, to read, and to talk with
more enthusiasm than I had for years. It was great!"
b. "Many of the myths about the "other guy" were effec-
tively dealt with during the course of the Seminar. I came away
with a more respectful appreciation of Agency-level problem areas.
Not only did the course provide an opportunity (for self-renewal)
but in fact did renew my sense of personal motivation, appetite
and commitment to the Agency's problem areas..."
Approved For Release 2002/05/02 : CIA-RDP80-00308A000100010012-4
4rT
 Approved For Rase 2002/0M0'&? 1A-RDP80-00308AQ100010012-4
7., As might be expected in a first running, the Seminar
Staff and participants did identify a number of "bugs" which
should be eliminated and some areas requiring improvement, but
these did not detract from the Seminar's generally excellent
quality. The Staff has compiled all answers to the evaluation
questions into a thick sheaf= which is available to anyone having
a legitimate. interest. We will be glad to answer any further
questions which the Director and yourself or other appropriate
authority may have concerning all aspects of the Seminar. In the
meantime, I solicit your attention to the attached memoranda
voluntarily written by six participants. to their Office and
Directorate. chiefs. To save you time, we are submitting these
special memoranda rather than the thick sheaf we have assembled.
Not all the evaluations are as flattering, but we are not aware
of any participant going away disappointed.
8. I: concur fully in the judgments of the participants that
the first Seminar running was successful and valuable, and believe
that it demonstrates that this training experience for senior CIA
officers represents an effective investment of funds, as well as
of both Staff and participarn.ts' time. The nine and a half weeks
of the Seminar covered a large amount and variety of material
which bears directly on Agency concerns and interests', in contrast
to less pertinent content tc which senior officers are exposed at
some of the external training programs with sessions up to ten
months. I believe that for the near future (i.e., at least through
the end of FY 1973) the Senior Seminar should be scheduled for
two. runnings a year -- a Spring and a Fall session. Following the
Director's approval, we are prepared. to. begin the second running
early in March.' Further, the program should follow the same guide-
lines as to its overall content with attendance limited to 20.
officers of minimum grade GS-l5; I would, however, hope that a
larger number of more senior officers might attend.
9. On the basis of the above, I recommend that you ask the
Director to approve the continuation of the Senior Seminar as a
regular training program to. be conducted twice a year.
HIJU T.. CUNNINGH
Di:recto.r of Training
Att: A/S
Approved For Release 2002/05/02 : CIA-RDP80-00308A000100010012-4
A'+ R1
ECII
 Approved For lease 2002/0 ~ 41 -RDP80-00308 0100010012-4
U John W. C -c y
Deputy Director
for Support
oZ Fix'-C? ~ ~ ~(
Date
The recommendation contained. in Paragraph 9 is approved by the
Director.
See memo dtd 7 January 197Z to DTR fr ExDir-Compt, subject: Senior
Seminar. 71- G 3 ryL//
L. K.. White
Executive Director-Comptrol:Ler
Distribution:
0 - Adse (w/att) (Ret to DTR via DD/S)
1 - ER (w/att)
2 - DD/S (w/att)
2 .- DTR (1 w/h)
2' SS/TR (w./h)
Approved For Release 2002/05/02 : CIA-RDP80-00308A000100010012-4
 UNCLASS ? I ERNAL
,moved Fo 21Q5102- (Io-RD
I ROUTING AND RECORD SHEET
SUBJECT: (Opnonol)
Senior Seminar
DTR
1026
CofC Bldg.
TO .0".cer des,gnation, room number, and
6_ .J,^3i
DDS
7D-26, 1lgs.
ER
7E-12, 1-Igs.
OFFCER'S
INI FIALS
ai
5. Ex.Dir.-Compt.
7D-59, Hqs.
6.
"- DDS
7D-26, Hqs.
9? DTR
1026, CofC Bldg.
Approved For Releas 2002/0 /02 : CI -RDP80-
COMMENTS (Number each comment to show from whom
to whom. Draw a line across column after each comment.)
5 to 1 and D/ OTR:
I read this with some care and
the Seminar does appear to have
been a success. As you know,
the Director was a little skeptical
about this Seminar and I think will
want to be assured that the Deputy
Directors feel that it is worth the
candle. In this connection, I get
no feel at all for what the DDS&T
or the DDP people think about the
Seminar since none of the attached
memoranda were from the partici-
pants of those components. If
you could flesh your summary
memorandum out a bit to give us
some feel as to what the partici-
pants from the four Directorates
think about the course, it would be
helpful. I also think it would be
worthwhile for me to see the
thick sheaf" which you have
assembled.
FORM 610 USEDITONSUS SECRET ^ CONFIDENTIAL INTERNAL
a-es USE ONLY
ul~
^ UNCLASSIFIED
 11
Approved For1ease 2002/05/02: CIA-RDP80-003080 0001G&2_ VI/
Acting Ex. Dir-Compt. (Colby) called DDTR 29 October 1971
Colby: Understand you have courses in supervision at various levels.
Question is whether we include that sort of function in things like
MEDC and Senior Seminar.
DDTR: They do have problems of Management in-the MEDC and they
take the Grid at the beginning for a week. In Senior Seminar there is a
block on management problems in !_ ie Agency.
Colby: Management and supervisio:r really aren't the good words--the
best word is leadership. The officers all have totally different styles...
might have some impact on the younger ones.
DDTR: It is a big problem and it Lccomes very apparent in the Grid when
they try to analyze those aspects that seem to be bottlenecks to our efficiency.
They come up with how can you grapple with it when there is no Agency
style. They have asked Mr. Helms, what is your style and he finds it
hard to answer that h.ehas -.any style. We are in the process of running
one and two day seminars on such things as problem solving, use of the
efficiency reports, and problem people. We have a long way to go in
really finding an honest to god effective instrument in teaching leadership
based on. Agency style. That is in some part why our Advanced Planning
and Management Course has not been as effective as it could be because
it borrows from outside the Agency.
Colby: Don't want-you to do any bit exercise but it kind of bugs me and I
wondered if I could do anything to hy!lp. Sort of critical-.the attitude and
style of our middle level people they will become stuffy bureaucrats
or keep an open and swinging attitud.:~ to the p;L'oblems we are faced with.
DDTR: Why don't we tell you where we are aud/m Tc cxwe are trying to cope
with the problem. One of the things that has been bugging us and has been
such an influence is sensitivity type training in the management field and we
have almost concluded that that is not the solution to management problems.
You have to have people that converse with each other candidly but you still
have to know the mechanism of the problem itself, but solving the people
problem is not solving the work prol,lem.
Colby: You trigger something else in my mind as to the degree we are ,. ';.
training our older people who have grown up in the liberal arts culture and
that is not to be afraid of the machines. There is a visible reaction on some
of our parts to the new machines--that is wrong.- We have to adapt.
25X1A DDTR: I was asking that very question ~estcrday of Chief
of our Support School --arlflp to the rimes? Are we doing enough in teaching
Approved For Release 2002/05/02: CIA-RDP80-00308A00010001 Q012-4t
tr
 Approved For Remise 2002/05/02 : CIA-RDP80-00308AQA+0100010012-4
people about the computers in this Agency? The answer is that we
can't focus on an honest requirement for more computer training for
the average guy, because he doesn't have much more of a comet than
reading a computer list.
Colby: I asked Briggs to put into a paper that we have to do this. One
of the ways to overcome resistance is to integrate the unpopular course
into the popular one. You can integrate it into something like the MEDC
and they will go in droves and if you offer it separately they will stay
away.
DDTR: The only times we are successful in getting people to go to courses,
is if they are popular ones.
Colby: The only concern I have about the MEDC courses is whether they
become current events discussion groups. It is good, but you have to put
a certain percentage of time on the nuts and bolts too, to teach our people
to operate in the modern world.
DDTR: We have been talking abot.t this in our Curriculum Council
meetings. We will put together a paper for you.
Approved For Release 2002/05/02 CIA-RDP80-00308A000100010012-4