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Vice Adm. Sullivan Outlines Top Five and Way Ahead for NAVSEA

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060721-21
Release Date: 7/21/2006 9:41:00 PM

From Naval Sea Systems Command Office of Corporate Communications

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Vice Adm. Paul Sullivan, commander, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), issued his third iteration of Commander’s Guidance July 19.

This edition, titled "Commander’s Guidance for 2006 – Part III," identifies Sullivan’s Top Five focus areas, the desired effect for each, and specific tasks to achieve those effects. It also provides a look back at the results and status of the tasks assigned in Commander’s Guidance Parts I and II.

“The purpose of this document is to set the course for the future of NAVSEA,” said Sullivan.

Commander’s Guidance Pt. I outlined Sullivan’s command philosophy, vision and guiding principles. Pt. II outlined specific tasks designed to better align NAVSEA with the "Warfighter Enterprises" – Surface Warfare Enterprise, Naval Aviation Enterprise, Undersea Enterprise, Naval Expeditionary Combat Enterprise, and the Naval Network Warfare/ForceNet Enterprise.

Sullivan’s Top Five focus areas for NAVSEA are to drive NAVSEA behavior to align with the Naval Enterprise; transform to a competency aligned organization; measure NAVSEA output with customer driven metrics; focus on diversity; and document and improve processes through Lean Six Sigma.

“The Top Five focus areas have a single purpose,” said Sullivan. “Each will ensure better alignment with and service to the five Warfighter Enterprises.”

The evolution of the Naval Enterprise structure has consistently been a dominant factor in Sullivan’s direction for NAVSEA. By driving NAVSEA’s behavior to align with the Naval Enterprise, Sullivan is focused on providing the right capability to the combatant commanders at the right time, at the right cost and no more.

“The enterprise management is a behavioral model, not a command and control structure,” Sullivan stressed. “Our actions must leverage the resources and capabilities of the entire corporation to pursue the common end state of Warships Ready for Tasking at reduced cost. There is no room for behavior that does not align with his singular and simple goal.”

Sullivan’s goal for transforming NAVSEA to a Competency Aligned Organization (CAO) is to create an organization that responds to the workload “demand signal” in an agile, disciplined and cost effective manner. Within a CAO, there is a balance between the workload and workforce talent and supply. Each employee’s career path is defined and managed to ensure the knowledge, skills and abilities are available to meet the demands of the Naval Enterprise.

In the guidance, Sullivan continued to emphasize the importance of measuring output. As a Top Five focus area, he wants to achieve command-level metrics that are linked to the demand signal placed on NAVSEA by the Enterprises.

“We must understand the warfighter’s demand signal, and operate our business in support of Single Fleet Driven Metrics,” said Sullivan.

This edition of the guidance also continued to refine Sullivan’s focus on the need to improve diversity. His message and desire are clear - realize the value of a diverse workforce and create an environment of inclusion.

“Diversity is recognizing, appreciating and valuing differences in order to include and leverage unique attributes and characteristics for developing and growing the Total Workforce,” Sullivan stated. “We have to visualize what we want the command to look like in 2015/2020.”

Sullivan underscored the imperative to “work smarter and more efficiently for the good of the (Navy). This means getting out of our comfort zone and striving for continuous improvement,” he continued. “The future of our Navy compels us to do this.”

This call for continuous process improvement offers a suitable backdrop as NAVSEA enters its third year of Lean Six Sigma implementation across the organization. Documenting and improving processes with Lean Six Sigma will allow NAVSEA to identify Competency processes and Single Process Owners. Once identified, NAVSEA will use Lean Six Sigma to decrease cycle-times and drive efficiency into processes and organizations.

“These efforts are not just about saving money,” declared Sullivan. “It’s about doing what we do better. The focus is on process improvement.”

Each of the focus areas has been assigned specific tasks along a timeline to ensure proper scheduling and resourcing. The schedule is designed to prevent overstressing of the workforce and the organization as a whole.

Sullivan sees the way ahead for NAVSEA as a cultural transformation. It is a transformation focused on meeting the demand signal of NAVSEA’s “customers” – the five Warfighter Enterprises.

“This is a difficult process, but our customers demand that we continually work to improve the delivery of goods and services,” concluded Sullivan. “We must provide them with the right capability at the right time, at the right cost and no more.

For related news, visit the Naval Sea Systems Command Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/navsea/.