by Charles O. Rossotti
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Product Description
When Charles O. Rossotti became Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service in 1997, the agency had the largest customer base—and the lowest approval rating—of any institution in America. Mired in scandal, caught in a political maelstrom, and beset by profound management and technology problems, the IRS was widely dismissed as a hopelessly flawed enterprise. In Many Unhappy Returns, Rossotti—the first businessperson to head the IRS—recounts the remarkable story of his leadership and transformation of this much-maligned agency. In the glare of intense public scrutiny, he effected dramatic changes in the way the IRS did business—while it continued to collect $2 trillion in revenue. Through fascinating accounts of heated Congressional hearings, encounters with Washington bigwigs, frank exchanges with taxpayers and employees, and risky turnaround strategies, Rossotti serves up a colorful story of leadership and change against daunting odds. He also underscores why every honest taxpayer should demand reform in the broader U.S. tax system. Infused with keen wit and hard-won business wisdom, Many Unhappy Returns illuminates the perils and possibilities of leading large, complex organizations in a transparent world.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Former Federal Career 20 years, 2008-03-15
I read some of the stories. that I met the IRS Commissioner Mary Richardson in 1995 in Boston when I worked for IRS from 1981 to 2002 now I retired from my 20 years Federal Career on 1/2002. I have been hard work at IRS to earn 12 Performance Awards and 1 Manager's Award and 1 Hammer's Award that VP Albert Gore's idea in 1996 to reduce the goverment.
I know the IRS employees are friendly people and nice to the the taxpayers.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
An Epic Tale of Organizational Transformation, 2007-12-09
When Charles Rossotti took over as Comissioner of the Internal Revenue Service in 1997 the IRS had more customers than any organization in America--and the lowest customer service rating. In Many Unhappy Returns, Rosotti describes how he led a major turnaround of the agency in spite of the extraordinary constraints he faced. Rossotti did an amazing job of engaging the career employees of the IRS at all levels while managing relations with key constituencies such as Congress, the National Treasury Employees Union, and the media. Rossotti demonstrated mastery of the big picture, but his strategic vision was informed by his regular encounters with front-line employees, who helped him understand the systemic problems that undermined employees' ability to provide great service to the public. This is an engaging read and a compelling story.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Reforming Government is Hopeless!, 2005-12-29
Rossotti tried it as head of the IRS from 1997 to 2002, coming from outside government and without prior significant tax experience. At the time, it had the largest number of customers and lowest approval rating of any institution in America. Behind this rating was a new $4 billion computer system that could not meet requirements, callers couldn't get through, staff could not resolve many issues without added calls and letters, there were high error rates in response to caller questions, and numerous charges of staff building "success rates" by deliberately focusing on taxpayers thought least able to resist.
One of Rossotti's early acts was to have a list compiled of outstanding promises - it exceeded 5,000. He consolidated the list and focused on 157 - giving them top attention. In addition, Y2K was coming - threatening chaos unless thousands of old programs were changed before the old programmers familiar with them and increasingly uncertain about their own future left. (Resolved that problem with a temporary 10% bonus and the promise of re-training in new languages.)
The "bad news," however, is that Congressionally-imposed complexity had led to an 83,000-page manual, a prohibition on quotas, and a requirement for performance statistics. Further, MAJOR improvement would require not only simplifying the tax code but also the organizational structure. For example, the Office of Management and Budget had great control over staffing, and Treasury department attorneys determined the legal rulings used by staff - often with little concern over practicality.
Rossotti focused on having staff stop seeing taxpayers as "the enemy," moved to organize those responding to taxpayer questions by topic and providing more training. Their efforts did improve customer satisfaction ratings, but he did not provide data on what happened after leaving. (My experience in government is that after the crisis passes or the change agent leaves, things revert back to the way they were.)
Probably most helpful, though was Rossotti's suggestion for Congressional focus - that the definitions and requirements regarding dependents (different in various situations) and tax-treatment of savings accounts added the most complexity to most taxpayers situations. Therefore, revising those areas would have significant benefit in simplifying taxpaying for many, many taxpayers.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
It's not just the IRS, 2005-06-15
This is a truly remarkable book. Clearly written, with many practical examples and devoid of management jargon, it describes what Charles Rossotti did to signbificantly improve IRS operations. But it's not just about the IRS, or about big, cumbersome government buraeucracies, or about how to change organizations. It's about good management! The principles that guided Rossotti and that he lays out out in this book are universal, such as focus on the customer (that's right, taxpayers treated as customers)and involvement of employees in the improvement process. Those apply to any organization at any time and make this book an extraordinary valuable read for anyone genuinely interested in good management. I highly recommend it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Government at its best, 2005-05-07
All those interested in how the best modern management practices of the private sector can be applied to huge government bureaucracies with dramatic benefits to the taxpayer (literally) should read Charles Rossotti's book. This book should remove all doubt about whether it's possible to improve the operational performance of government. The fundamentals are all that's needed: getting one's arms around the whole problem, structural reorganization, customer focus, gathering input from all directions, using modern information technology, leveraging the frustrated talent already in the organization, constant and honest communication, and the right chief executive. Rossotti was the right executive for the IRS, and fortunately he has written a clear and lively narrative of his experiences there.
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