Spy chief seeks to tap employees' team spirit

by Siobhan Gorman

National Security Agency Director Lt. Gen Keith Alexander has launched a marketing blitz.

His goal: to get his employees on message.

Last month, Alexander launched an "Internal Communications Campaign" to promote "buy-in" among his troops for plans to modernize NSA’s spy capabilities and to generate "positive" news stories, according to planning documents obtained by The Baltimore Sun.

The two-part campaign will employ a set of "cascading messages" repeated down through NSA’s hierarchy, as well as "viral" marketing "to generate excitement and unity enterprise-wide," one planning document says.

Among the viral marketing strategies is a contest to see which employees can provide the best "transformation success stories," says the document. And soon NSA employees will see "teaser" posters around the agency’s Ft. Meade headquarters along with internal ads to generate "buzz."

The document comes with handy worksheets to help members of Alexander’s "Senior Leadership Team" track the progress of message delivery, including whether the message will be delivered via e-mail, a "wiki," a brown bag lunch, or an internal article.

Meanwhile, Pres Winter, NSA’s new Chief Technology Officer who is overseeing a major reorganization at the agency, is issuing what he calls "Pres releases."

In an earlier interview, Deputy NSA Director Chris Inglis said NSA is trying to "write the story of what we do" by communicating to its workforce Alexander’s plans and encouraging employees to voice concerns internally rather than to the media. He added, "there is an element of the strategy that says we have to engage with the press."

A separate briefing document explains Alexander’s sales goals.

"Inconsistent and fragmented messages are hurting us," the PowerPoint document reads, noting that there is a "favored refrain" at the agency that Alexander’s transformation agenda "doesn’t apply to me."

Among the "measures of success" for the campaign:

*"Formal and informal feedback from the workforce" that suggests "buy-in,"

*Stats showing that more employees are paying attention to town hall meetings and internal communications,

*"Our overseers’ buy-in and support" of Alexander’s transformation initiative,

*"Accurate & balanced news stories in the media; stories that highlight NSA successes," and

*"A decrease in media leaks by current & former employees."