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Interview with Tom Ridge

Former DHS leader Tom Ridge talks about the practicals of communication and collaboration

By Katherine Walsh

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What are some specific ideas for how the government should work with the private sector?

I firmly believe that as the country responds to HSPD 7 (related to critical infrastructure) we should look to the private sector for best practices and to help us build residual capacity to respond to disaster. We should look to them to get more loaned executives in the government to deal not only with security and safety but to make the government more efficient and effective. That will take a major upheaval, but I strongly believe in it. We’ve got the talent and interest and commitment in the private sector, but because of some of the rules here in Washington, we can’t tap into them as aggressively as we would like. When I was casting a net to pull in some members of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, I had some friends of mine reject my solicitation because they had to fill out massive documents disclosing everything they’d ever done throughout their whole life. Keep in mind, this is an advisory council: It’s not as if they’d have access to any top secret intelligence; it’s not as if they know anything in great detail about operations. I wanted smart people thinking differently about different things. There are so many things the private sector could help us do more effectively here in the U.S., but we’d have to change some ethics rules in Washington.

Along those same lines, what was it like to head up a new agency? How did you bring order and foster collaboration among other government agencies when you became secretary of DHS?

Well, the management team that we assembled—many of whom were volunteers coming out of the private sector—were top-notch subject matter experts who were committed to making their country safer and building a strong foundation within the department. There was a sense of mission that made it a little easier [to foster collaboration] than most people might think. The integration of people and technology will continue to take years to achieve, but if you have a good team around you and confidence in their ability to address anything that comes down the path, then you get up in the morning and feel good about what you’re doing.

What were your major challenges and accomplishments at DHS?

The biggest challenge that continues in DHS wasn’t as much on the security side, it was on the business side. I like to tell my friends in the private sector that DHS was really a big holding company. It still is. Under the umbrella of the holding company there were mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, startups and other things that couldn’t be anticipated. Under that incredible litany of activity, it was difficult trying to rationalize the business line function and bring economic and fiscal rationality to this merger of units of government. It’s a hurdle that continues today, and I think even my successor’s successor will have similar challenges. Also, from the policy and security point of view, we knew there were a lot of things we needed to do: build in multiple-layered defense and security measures around commercial shipping and aviation at the border. We needed innovation; we needed change.