President Trump should ask Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to be his next CIA director.
If, that is, Axios is correct in reporting that the president might replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with current CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
Axios also suggests that Pompeo might be replaced at the CIA by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. But while I recognize Cotton’s intellect and hard-to-match proven patriotism, I believe Bezos would be a better choice to lead the CIA.
For a start, Bezos’ record at Amazon is one of bold organizational risks and innovative reforms. As evidenced by his purchases of Whole Foods and the Washington Post, the CEO also defines himself by relentless creativity; looking forward to the next market gap and associated opportunity. The data validates Bezos’ leadership: Amazon’s stock price has more than quadrupled over the last five years, and the Washington Post’s website has seen record growth in readers, reading time, and advertising revenue.
Bezos’ leadership style is just what “the Agency” needs.
For a start, the CIA remains afflicted by an over-saturation of middle managers and organizational incentives against risk. Like any large government bureaucracy, those in positions of power at Langley have a desire to empower those who don’t shake their boat. But for an organization that exists to steal secrets and then use those secrets to guide policymakers, any stifling of creativity and risk-taking is problematic.
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Bezos’ record suggests he would shake up this status quo by reforming the agency’s leadership structure and encouraging unconventional thinking. He might, for example, allow the most talented younger analysts deliver more important briefings in Washington and the most talented young officers to recruit-then-run important assets abroad. Equally important here, Bezos’ Amazon background would give him credibility with the CIA’s highly-educated workforce.
At the CIA, credibility is crucial. As former Directors Porter Goss and David Petraeus learned, absent the support of the workforce, the seventh floor cannot lead effectively. Conversely, perception of Bezos as an innovator would also help the CIA to retain skilled staff and their energy towards reform, amidst a sea of higher-paying private sector companies.
As an extension, Bezos’ might also improve the speed and flexibility of the CIA’s recruitment process.
For one, the CIA clearance process should be fast-tracked for those who have the cultural background, knowledge and physical appearance to blend in abroad. We need more Muslim-Americans, more Chinese-Americans, and more Russian-Americans at the CIA.
Moreover, Bezos might just have the gumption to eliminate the CIA requirement that all clandestine service (U.S. spies abroad) applicants have a 4-year university degree. Applying to all six career fields in the clandestine service, that caveat rules out a large number of Americans who otherwise possess the aforementioned languages, knowledge, and life skills to flourish as operations officers.
Britain’s CIA counterpart, the Secret Intelligence Service, offers a better template here. SIS’ average time for an application to final offer is only 6 months long, but its criteria is also more flexible. Outlining its operations officer role, SIS asserts that the ideal applicant “doesn’t necessarily mean the cleverest people from the most prestigious universities — although it might — what we really look for is first class interpersonal skills.” Indeed, SIS has a separate applicant bracket for “Experienced Professionals,” who only need “at least 10 years of professional success in people-facing roles.” This flexibility is no accident; SIS has learned from history: one of British intelligence’s most successful spies in history was a poultry farmer.
Bezos would offer the Trump White House one final opportunity: nonpartisan credibility. After all, seeing as Bezos hasn’t exactly been a team-Trump cheerleader, his appointment would show that the president is unafraid of making bold choices in the nation’s best interest. With many Americans unsure of the president and his policies, a Bezos appointment might go along way to assuaging fears and bringing people together.
Assuming Pompeo becomes Secretary of State, Bezos is the man for the CIA.
