Career

Federal Eye: Eye Opener: Audit faults mine inspector training

Happy Tuesday! A new government audit faults the federal government’s mine inspection agency for poorly retraining veteran mine safety inspectors in recent years. The watchdog report was published just days before a West Virginia mine explosion Monday that left at least 25 mine workers dead. The Mine Safety and Health Administration hired more than 350Read… Read more »

Tip 1 of the top 10 tips for winning government contracts – part 1

It was a gorgeous weekend here in the Metro Washington, DC area. We had a house full of kids hunting for Easter eggs, with adults eating traditional Uzbek rice pilaf and Russian kulichis (an Easter pastry that looks and tastes like Panetini that you see in grocery stores around Thanksgiving time). Yumm. It was aRead… Read more »

The Federal Coach: Discussing leadership issues in government

Are you a seasoned federal government manager trying to bring excellence to your workplace? A contractor trying to navigate an unfamiliar bureacracy? An aspiring leader who wants to change the world through federal government service? Then I know you will want to read my new Washington Post On Leadership column and blog, The Federal Coach.Read… Read more »

No more Kumar in the White House

Too bad…. Kal Penn is leaving the White House to return to his acting career, according to Entertainment Weekly. The mag’s Hollywood Insider blog reported that reps for the former “House” star confirmed he will reprise his stoner role in a third installment of the “Harold & Kumar” franchise. VIEW THE PHOTOS: Stars Supporting TheirRead… Read more »

The President’s Push for Telework

The term – workplace flexibility – is all the buzz at the White House. If you watched the live stream of the Workplace Flexibility Forum last week, hosted by The White House (http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/04/01/a-conversation-workplace-flexibility), you know what I mean. The President and First Lady opened and closed the session, discussing the importance of creating workplace practicesRead… Read more »

Inherently Governmental Functions

Work Reserved for Performance by Federal Government Employees From the federal register ….Appendix A: The following is an illustrative list of functions considered to be inherently governmental.1. The direct conduct of criminal investigation. 2. The control of prosecutions and performance of adjudicatory functions (other than those relating to arbitration or other methods of alternative disputeRead… Read more »

GISC’s Social Media Roundtable

On Thursday, 25 March, I attended a gathering of civilian, military, and contractor personnel to discuss social networking/social media with two government representatives and two interns from STRATCOM’s Global Innovation and Strategy Center (GISC). The objective of the GISC is to assess the value of Internet-based Capabilities (IbC) to military operations. The project started inRead… Read more »