Summary of Robert Gates's A Passion for Leadership is an advice manual for those who want to enact reform from a position of leadership in a bureaucratic organization. It also examines the challenges of reforming public sector institutions in the United States and some of the related experiences of Robert Gates, the author.

For the determined leader, reform is possible in any organization, especially if a leader sets goals and applies a clear strategy to meet those goals. Reform is even possible in the federal government so long as the leader of a bureaucracy is sufficiently determined to achieve it and to make a lasting impression. Reform requires that leaders...