Just about anything that one has experience at can be turned into a consulting business. I never heard of a prison consultant until I read a New York Times article titled Making Crime Pay. If you are heading to prison for the first time and are looking for advice on how to survive such anRead… Read more »
Political campaigns are where power and cash meet. Politicians need lot’s of money to run for office. People seeking jobs or government business provide the money politicians need. The current campaign process truly is a “pay to play” system in that the best way to get a politicians attention is by donating money to theirRead… Read more »
Not very long ago Honeywell was a troubled company. Several years ago Honeywell changed how it operated by focusing on continuous improvement and engaging all levels of employees. The new management approach, which also involved the implementation of Six Sigma has had a positive impact. Every department in Honeywell, including the smallest shop-floor unit startsRead… Read more »
Job satisfaction has decreased since the beginning of the recession in 2008. According to Gallup polls U.S. workers have reported a decrease in job satisfaction. The Gallup-Healthways Work Environment Index score has dropped from 51.3 on January 1, 2008 to 47.5 on June 1, 2011. The Index includes four items: job satisfaction, ability to useRead… Read more »
The steps necessary to making government more transparent are often not that expensive or cumbersome. What is needed more than anything is a change of mindset among government officials. Several civic organizations including Citizens Union, Common Cause New York, League of Women Voters of New York State, and the New York Public Interest Research GroupRead… Read more »
Detroit is dealing with a host of financial issues as the city struggles to survive and reinvent itself. As a recent article pointed out: “The city’s badly strapped bus system recently halted late-night service (between 1 and 4 a.m.) and even cut off some routes at 8 p.m. Those buses that do run rarely showRead… Read more »
Kudos to four New York City Councilmembers who are letting residents of their districts have a say in how some discretionary funds are being spent. Joe Moore an Alderman from Chicago has also utilized Participatory Budgeting, which I discussed in a previous blog post. An article in the New York Times highlights how Participatory BudgetingRead… Read more »
Recently I learned that the City of Philadelphia Charter requires city elected officials to resign their position if they want to run for another public office. Six years ago a city councilmember attempted to remove the requirement for city elected officials to resign when seeking another public office and city voters defeated eliminating the law.Read… Read more »
The VIP fridge magnet, standing for Very Important Pizza, can be synced to smartphones so customers can complete their order through bluetooth. Once your preferred type of pizza is set up, by simply pushing the magnet your order will be electronically submitted and delivered. Only one pizzeria in Dubai is set up to do thisRead… Read more »
Mark Funkhouser a former Mayor of Kansas City has written an interesting post titled “Our Misguided Love Affair With Political Consensus”. Funkhouser states: “Journalists seem to see the ability to build consensus as the epitome of political leadership, but in actuality political leadership almost never involves consensus. Consensus favors the status quo, not progress.” Funkhouser’sRead… Read more »