Awhile back, Steve Crescenzo came up with the idea of the “C.R.A.P. Awards” to designate worthless employee communication that says nothing, means nothing, and interests no one. (This article is worth a read.) A couple of problems: #1: Getting approval Social media is simple and reductive. Subject matter experts think in complex terms and prefer toRead… Read more »
You’re stuck in the middle. LITERALLY. As middle management you get the seemingly impossible task of not just managing those who report to you, but the delicate balance of working with other managers AND keeping your boss happy (which generally means keeping his/her boss happy). So how do you keep both ends of the spectrumRead… Read more »
Good leaders are always storytellers. People who knew Abraham Lincoln admired his storytelling skills from the days of his youth. Even if you’re new to public speaking, you too can develop your own storytelling ability. I’ve already written about the 10 Essential Elements of a Successful Story and about the 108 Most Persuasive Words inRead… Read more »
Troy Mathis knows how to talk. And he speaks in a way that makes you want to listen. His session -Make It Matter: Personal Professional Branding, at the Next Generation of Government Training Summit was high-energy, engaging, and inspiring. After listening to his presentation and going through the steps, I’ve come away with the realizationRead… Read more »
Have you ever found yourself in a meeting that lacked clear direction and purpose? Perhaps it went on and on with nothing accomplished other than the need to schedule yet another meeting? Or, worst of all, did the participants do more talking over each other than collaborating and partnering in order to achieve a commonRead… Read more »
Last month, we put out a call for our fifth round of GovLoop Featured Bloggers – and you responded with amazing enthusiasm. Over 100 people from all walks of government and industry life sent in great ideas for posts, about everything from technology challenges in city government to using Twitter to monitor food safety in yourRead… Read more »
When was the last time you savored every word in a five paragraph-long email? Or managed to endure an hour-long meeting without zoning out at least three times? Just because your answers were “never” to both of those questions doesn’t mean you have an abnormally poor attention span; it means that there is a disconnectRead… Read more »
This week, the popular self-publishing platform Medium becomes officially available to federal agencies. Hold up. Medium is not just a publishing platform. It’s social media. It’s a community. It’s a writing tool. It’s a story distribution network. It’s a content management system, or CMS. It’s not a CMS. It’s journalism. It’s a blog. It’s a magazine. It’s a publication. It’s aRead… Read more »
At the age of 33, Don Ness was elected mayor of Duluth, Minnesota. Once an industrial heavyweight on par with Detroit, Duluth had a soaring 20 percent unemployment rate. Although decline had stabilized by the time he came into office, pessimistic voices within the town defined the city’s story. “Stability doesn’t inspire,” Ness observed. HeRead… Read more »
“I am a millennial champion!” proclaimed Lee Caraher, author of Millennials and Management: The Essential Guide to Making it Work at Work, during today’s Next Generation of Government Summit. In a room filled with hundreds of millennials, this assertion got a big cheer. However, Caraher admitted that there are many people in the workforce whoRead… Read more »