Career

Heroes of Excellence

Excellence.gov Awards were created to recognize government programs that provide substantive improvements in government activities. But that is not the whole story – At a time when government employees were singled out at the cause for everything wrong in the world, we felt that it was important to put faces on the great things thatRead… Read more »

Did the SOTU Usher in a New Cybersecurity Frontier?

The President unveiled his long awaited Executive Order to improve the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure during the State of the Union. It’s the first step in creating a more structured and standardized cybersecurity response. But how will it actually work? And will industry be able to work alongside government? Trey Hodgkins is the Vice PresidentRead… Read more »

Thursday Thoughts: Dogs That Hunt

I am a graduate student at George Washington University and I am fortunate enough to be taking a leadership class with a former high-level government official. My professor has served at the highest levels of government, and provides a first hand account how to lead large, complex and bureaucratic government agencies. Every Thursday I’ll postRead… Read more »

1099R Statements, Replacement Copies, & Upcoming Changes

My 1099R arrived from OPM this week and annuitants should have also received their Notice of Annuity Adjustments, Form R1 20-53 (REV. 12/12), that outlines your new 2013 status and payments. The annuity adjustment statement includes the 1.7% COLA increase and lists any changes to your insurance and elective payments. Each year we receive manyRead… Read more »

Gov & Love: 3 Valentine’s Day Tips at Work

Have you ever been struck by Cupid’s arrow at work? If so, a bit of common sense, good manners and politeness will go a long way towards keeping you out of big trouble. While the following “do’s” and “don’ts” are especially applicable to the workplace on Valentine’s Day, they also merit consideration every day —Read… Read more »

The Ten Truths I Learned While Serving In Local Government

After having spent what many might refer to as lifetime in government service I came to the conclusion that there are ten incontrovertible truths local government officials and senior public employees should subscribe to and remember. These ten truths apply equally to Townships, Villages, Cities, Counties, Boroughs, Parishes and School Boards, etc. Ten Immutable TruthsRead… Read more »

For young feds is the pace of government change too slow?

Retaining and engaging young feds has been the drum beat in government for awhile now and will probably continue to be for the foreseeable future. But one of the main stumbling blocks for agency leaders has been the pace of government change. Millennials are quick to adopt new technologies and programs. But the government isRead… Read more »

I, Baristo

I spent a Wednesday afternoon at the Intelligentsia RoastingWorks facility enjoying a birthday present I gave to myself: a class offering Barista training. Intelligentsia is one of a few highly renown coffee roasters in the US and their facility — particularly their test kitchen — is the proving ground for many of the people pouringRead… Read more »

The undervalued art of note taking

Taking notes is probably one of the simplest things any of us does on a regular basis. Even though it’s something we have all been done since grade school, it’s still one of the most important things we do. This may be because I’m starting to forget more things or maybe it’s the only wayRead… Read more »