Deng was not yet talking about reform, but while building the party structure that could later carry out reform he was also beginning to consider the content of future reforms. To do this he needed to expand his personal brain trust—writers, theorists, and strategists operating outside the regular bureaucracy who could help him think through the big issues. Shortly after Mao asked Deng to take over leadership of the daily work of the party, Deng sought and received Mao's approval to expand his personal brain trust into a formal party structure, the Political Research Office.
