Robert Gates, seen in May on the USS Missouri, learned that symbols and symbolic gestures are important. ReutersBasic Training: How Gates Grew -- Wall Street Journal
After four-and-a-half years as defense secretary, under both Republican and Democratic presidents, Robert Gates has earned a reputation as an adept manager in a department long resistant to change.
While his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld, came to the Pentagon having written a guide to managing called "Rumsfeld's Rules," Mr. Gates—who is due to leave his post at the end of the month—said he began his role as defense secretary having never read a management book. But over time, he developed his own guidelines, some of which include the need to listen to professionals, as well as to hold them accountable.
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My Comment: What can I say, he is retiring in a few days and this is a good puff piece on his tenure.