These are tough times for public servants. With the nation awash in debt, federal employees are sometimes branded as ineffective and inefficient. Floating around Washington, D.C., are proposals to extend the current two-year pay freeze to five years, increase employee retirement contributions, slash the federal workforce by 10 percent, and use furloughs and buyouts to manage cuts in agency budgets. Draconian, some say. Entirely possible, most admit. What should federal managers do? There is much advice on what to do, but little counsel on how to do it.