When I read that employees at Justice Canada were going to have access to training in mindfulness, you could probably hear my “woot woot” on the floors above and below. Why? Mindfulness has changed my life.It’s made me happier at home and more productive at work.It has decreased my stress and anxiety by, like, aRead… Read more »
A couple weeks ago, I had the chance to participate in Gov 2.0a / CityCampOKC in Oklahoma City. While there, I met Derrick Silas of Enid, OK. I had heard from folks like Sid Burgess that Derrick was doing some innovative things in Enid, but I hadn’t spent any time on their website…until right afterRead… Read more »
The Academic Job Search: Faculty If there is any career where you can be “voted off the island,” it is as a college professor. Both of my parents are college professors, and I recently had a great conversation with my dad about the hiring process for tenure-track faculty in colleges and universities. The process I’mRead… Read more »
Yesterday, New York City released its “Road Map for the Digital City: Achieving New York City’s Digital Future.” For those who missed the announcement, especially those concerned about the digital economy, the future of government and citizen services, the document is definitely worth downloading and scanning. At the heart of the document sits a roadRead… Read more »
Political Cartoon for Blog Washington Post Reporter Ed O’Keefe discusses how federal pensions might be targeted by a bipartisan fiscal commission: After years of fighting for and against it, the White House and congressional negotiators are seriously discussing the possibility of forcing at least some federal employees to pay more towards their retirement pension. AsRead… Read more »
There are good reasons for scheduled, repeating meetings. However, without a clear understanding of how to use them, I have seen repeating meetings get mired in processes that go nowhere, I guess expecting that donuts are infinite. There are as many processes for describing work as there are serial numbers on dollar bills. However, thereRead… Read more »
Thousands of commuters in the DC area may show up to work just a little sweatier than usual this Friday, May 20th. But that’s a small price to pay for the way they’ll feel once they get there—invigorated, glowing with a sense of accomplishment, and maybe a little more convinced that bicycling is a viableRead… Read more »
A friend recently asked me, “You work in recruitment for the government, but you’re under a hiring freeze… What do you do all day?” I resisted the urge to say something snarky like, “Recruiters aren’t bears – we don’t hibernate and wait for the freeze to thaw.” The business of recruitment isn’t a 100-meter dash,Read… Read more »
I am giving a talk to future civil servants at the JSSA Employment and Career Services. http://getagovjob.eventbrite.com/ I am talking about developing internal champions within the agency they want to work. Richard Nelson Bolles, in “What Color Is Your Parachute” suggests doing research to find needs that the job seeker is uniquely qualified to meet.Read… Read more »
I recently did an OpEd on Yahoo News on my views of Medicare and some of the pending proposals to reform the system. As I was writing the article, I came to a somewhat startling conclusion. Check this link to see what it was: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20110512/pl_ac/8453683_near_retirement_govt_worker_will_forgo_medicare_1. How many other federal workers out there are concerned aboutRead… Read more »