FDA Managers Visit Civil War Battlefield To Learn About Backing Away From “Tough Decisions”

If you think that becoming a Food and Drug Administration consultant would be all food and no fun, think again. The FDA has been paying consultants millions of dollars for management help, including leadership classes held at a Civil War battlefield. However, as an agency that's supposed to be watching our food with unparalleled scrutiny, the expenditures do not look good. The Wall Street Journal reports that FedSpending.org, a watchdog group, said the FDA has signed contracts with McKinsey & Co., spending more than $17 million on the consulting firm since 2008 (including $10 million in 2010). Government records also indicate that the agency also has spent $7.9 million on Leadership Performance Solutions Inc. over the past several years. Leadership Performance Solutions helped managers in the generic-drug division visit the site of the Battle of Antietam in Maryland – under the guise of leadership lessons, of course. The Wall Street Journal quotes Dr. Feldman, a psychologist and the company's president, who claims that Antietam was a good tool for teaching government and business leaders about the perils of backing away from "tough decisions."