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strategic leadership in a Virtual world � 97

whatever might be out there—[to] combating terrorism that is both
home grown and foreign grown, [to] dealing with cyber security.”
Berry is insistently pushing and pulling, cajoling and suggesting,
experimenting and visioning, and doing whatever is necessary “to
make the federal government the model employer in the United States
and OPM its model agency.”
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The Importance of Having the Best Talent Working for the
Federal Government
Here’s what Berry had to say about why the federal govern-
ment ought to be a model employer:

Let’s say we fall into the trap that some negative politicians would
like you to do, which is use federal workers as a punching bag. Cut
their pay. Beat up on them at every turn. What happens is that over
time we won’t be able to recruit or retain the best people. Then,
with those challenges I discussed, there is no republic. There
is no government standing today that was around 10,000 years
ago. There is nothing written in stone that any country gets to
survive forever. How do countries fall? They fall because they lose
their ability to adapt and to keep people of talent and of goodwill
working on their behalf. It is essential to inspire people to come
into this service for the sake of our republic. I believe America is
unique and it is worth fighting for. It is worth working for.
—John Berry, DireCtor of the UniteD states offiCe of
Personnel management