“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead As human beings continue to have significant impacts on the environment and its resources, education is the perfect tool to inform individuals of how their behaviors and patterns are having negativeRead… Read more »
Laurel Ruma and I have chosen a powerhouse (if I do say so myself) program committee to help us as co-chairs of the upcoming Gov 2.0 Expo in May 2010 in Washington, DC. It’s a fairly diverse bunch – check them out here. These are the people that will help us put together the keynoteRead… Read more »
by Sophicity Every new budget cycle brings a bevy of projects and ideas before city council for approval. While projects like sidewalk improvement or traffic decongestion are easy to explain in terms of benefits and return on investment, IT projects can be a thorny subject, especially if the council is largely made up of non-technicalRead… Read more »
OCB is lately getting some increased buzz in leadership circles. No, I’m not talking about obsessive-compulsive behavior, at least for now anyway. Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is a fancy term for employee discretionary effort. In other words, OCB is discretionary behavior that is not part of an employee’s formal job requirements, but that nonetheless supportsRead… Read more »
Yesterday I had a blast. It only lasted ten-minutes but the ebb and flow of the audience’s riveted attention and hearty laughter produced a slow to fade afterglow. I did some serious shtick on “Practicing Safe Stress for the Holidays” at a holiday gathering for members of Federally Employed Women (FEW)/Metro Washington Region. Consider thisRead… Read more »
Federal workers owed more than $3 billion in income taxes in 2008, according to the Internal Revenue Service, a figure down slightly from the year before. The agency reported that 276,300 current and retired federal employees owed $3,042,200,000 in 2008, down from $3,586,784,725 in unpaid taxes in 2007. The list includes White House and CongressionalRead… Read more »
“You’re being negative!” Recently I led a team building workshop, and that was a federal government Division Director’s reply to my questioning, “Why the ‘Front Office’ meeting had not been working?” Preceding my operational assessment a number of people noted: a) that for several months people were not bringing relevant agenda issues to the meetingRead… Read more »
People often ask me how I got involved in social media for Virginia State Parks. I usually say it’s because I had too much time off last December. That is pretty much the truth, but only part of it. I am a great leave saver. Working for the state you can carry up to aRead… Read more »
My colleague (and new GovLoop friend) Andrew posted a bang-up deck on measurement earlier today. I love metrics and poring over data, so I refer you to it. Good stuff. Already, organizations that are focused, proactive and disciplined about measurement are seeing good results. For example, last week, my nGenera colleague Laura Carillo presented atRead… Read more »
These days everyone wants to be creative, to “think out of the box.” But how do you walk the talk? As a workshop leader who often tries to give organizations a “Jolt of CPR: Being Creative, Passionate and Risk-Taking,” let me share one concept that just might be an integral component of creative thinking andRead… Read more »