Too many times have I seen decisions made in the ivory tower of local government fall flat in their operational implementation due to lack of input into the design from all the customers. The old way of thinking and functioning as government trumps a progressive and modern approach to creating an amazing and impactful program.Read… Read more »
Here we go again. Another meeting of circular conversations by subject matter experts, managers, and directors about a problem we are having with a project proposal. These meetings contribute more to global warming due to the amount of hot air being expelled than exhaust from rush hour traffic before a long holiday weekend. I’m notRead… Read more »
“So, what exactly do you do at City Hall?” This question is always asked at conferences, events, or at parties. Usually as a precursor or follow-up to my elevator pitch — “I’m a civic innovator, I bring best practices and new ways of thinking to City Hall operations. I work on special projects relating toRead… Read more »
The application of technology to government has evolved into an incredible environment of creative change. Just as Tim O’Reilly predicted, now is the age of government as a platform. Raw open data is being made readily available to the public, which has created new applications, tools, and ways to access information and services. The ThursdayRead… Read more »
One follower. According to Derek Sivers, leadership starts with someone who has the guts and chutzpah to stand out and be ridiculed. Being different doesn’t have to mean being wierd (*which is part of another awesome TED talk) but it does require being confident enough in your message, vision, and purpose to be willing toRead… Read more »
What or whom does a leader follow? An interesting question posed after reading the following quote from former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. “I must follow the people. Am I not their leader?” Its easy to think of this as a no-brainer of a quote coming from an elected official, but when you break itRead… Read more »
I have to admit, last night was pretty awesome. Work had ended, and I was still sitting at my desk, eagerly waiting for 5:30 to come around. Why? I had a meeting with President Obama. Sure, so did anyone who wanted it, but it was the first POTUS Google+ live streaming event. As things started,Read… Read more »
As we now let the eloquent words of President Barack Obama sink in about the state of our country and our plans for the future, I can’t help but think about the true example of leadership this poses for all Americans. Forget about all the party line rhetoric, the purpose of this message was toRead… Read more »
We all ask a lot of questions, but do we ask the right questions? In the right way? To the right person? At the right time? Who would have thought asking questions would be such an involved process, but it is. Particularly in government, where we deal with bosses, managers, supervisors, and colleagues in differentRead… Read more »
Alright, so we have all been there, as I was this morning, sitting at the table during an important meeting. You watch, listening intently as the live tennis match of points, counter-points and other subtly irrelevant comments are made by leaders about a project or initiative that you are heavily invested in. You can seeRead… Read more »