In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, President George W. Bush supported and Congress approved two of the most significant government reorganizations in decades—the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).

To mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the Partnership for Public Service, with Booz Allen Hamilton, interviewed numerous leaders involved in the standup and operation of DHS and ODNI, as well as outside experts and members of Congress. The purpose was to understand the management challenges, not the policy debates, involved in building these two new government enterprises and to derive lessons that can be applied to restructuring efforts today and in the future, including the recent startup of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the potential reorganization of trade and export functions being considered by the Obama administration.