Public Printer Bruce James assumed his role as a Presidential appointee in December 2002. As his first year in office comes to a close, WhatTheyThink contributing columnist Cary Sherburne visited the GPO in Washington D.C. to observe the changes that have taken place in the operation. This is the first part of a multi-part series on the GPO and will focus on Mr. James' challenges and achievements in his first year. Subsequent articles will review the work underway by the GPO's Office of Innovation and New Technology, the GPO's relationship with its constituencies, and provide an in-depth look at the GPO's physical plant.

As James has stated in the past, his first big challenge lay in revamping the organizational structure within the GPO and beginning to shift the organization's culture. When he took office, there were 21 positions reporting directly to the Public Printer. This was not only hard to manage, but resulted in somewhat confused lines of authority and responsibility. So while it was clear that the GPO needed to increase its capabilities within the digital arena, a more pressing need was the organizational restructuring. James said, I had some ideas about how the organization should be structured, but if I simply created an organizational chart and mandated change, we would not get the buy-in we needed to accomplish our objectives. I want to effect systemic changes that will be here long after I depart as Public Printer.

With that in mind, James brought together 39 GPO executives, shared with them his perception of the organizational inadequacies and what the GPO needed to accomplish, and turned them loose to come up with an organizational plan. The effort was led by Bruce Holstein, a long-time GPO executive who has since retired after 35 years of service, and who James describes as having the respect of everyone in the organization.