Yearly Archives: 2013

Making Government Better, Faster and Simpler

First term Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton (Democrat), is focusing his administration on streamlining government operations. A worthy cause in my opinion and one that can be done at all levels of government. Some of the items Dayton is looking at according to a StarTribune news article are: – eliminating wasteful, redundant or antiquated laws byRead… Read more »

Why Family Relationships Make for a Great Place to Work

I just returned from Thanksgiving holiday with family. It was an enjoyable weekend filled with warmth, lively and engaging conversation and a chance for all of us to reconnect. To help pass the travel time, I brought along the December issue of ‘Washingtonian’ magazine. Among the articles that caught my attention was the one entitled,Read… Read more »

The Power of Commitment

“It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.” – Zig Ziglar Below is an excerpt from the Scottish Himalayan Expedition by W.H. Murray. Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back; always ineffectiveness. Concerning all actsRead… Read more »

CFA + Omakase

Code for America is thrilled to be one of the first non-profits featured by Omakase, a new organization making charitable giving easy. Today Theresa Preston-Werner, founder of Omakase, posts about her strategy to encourage the tech community to give back. From the moment I began floating around the idea of creating a company that connectedRead… Read more »

Trickle-Down Performance Management

Can federal performance management schemes influence efforts at the local level? Typically, performance management works best in systems where agencies engage in direct service delivery, where leaders have more control over what is going on. But in complex intergovernmental programs, can effective performance management systems be developed and work? A recent case study of theRead… Read more »

Countdown to another fiscal fail? – Plus the DorobekINSIDER’s 7 Stories

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER: A hiring spree might be a bit of a stretch. But the government really is hiring. Despite all the bad publicity, the shutdown, the sequester, the pay freeze, the furloughs, the government is looking to hire new talent on a daily basis. Discover how your agency can recruit the best andRead… Read more »

Survey Shows Agencies Confident in Meeting 2015 Spending Target

A joint survey by Grant Thornton and the American Association for Budget and Program Analysis shows agency budget managers are confident their organizations can meet federally-mandated budget caps in fiscal 2015, Federal News Radio reported Wednesday. More than two-thirds of survey respondents show signs of optimism for the next fiscal year’s budget and have beenRead… Read more »

Peter Levine on Making Public Participation Legal

This post is shared from the blog of supporting NCDD member and professor of Citizenship & Public Affairs in Boston, Dr. Peter Levine. Peter shares a humorous take on the not-so-funny state of public meetings, and highlights the NCDD-supported Making Participation Legal report. For more info about this important intitiative and how it was created,Read… Read more »

“On My Watch” – Martha Johnson’s Book About Her GSA Time (and the GSA Scandal)

The Thanksgiving lull was a good time for me to read On My Watch. I had retired well before Martha Johnson became GSA Administrator. I was there however, in a high level position, when she was Chief of Staff to GSA Administrator David Barram. During Mr. Barram’s administration, GSA, in my opinion, underwent the mostRead… Read more »