Communications

Defining Innovation

Definitions of innovation abound. And while we all live with variety and even ambiguity, it helps when people trying  to innovate are on the same page about what it means. Dictionary.com defines innovation as “something new or different introduced.” Peter Drucker described it as the effort to create purposeful, systematic change in an enterprise’s economicRead… Read more »

That iPhone Under The Desk May Be Telling You Something

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is now the most prevalent psychiatric illness of young people in America, affecting 11 percent of them at some point between the ages of 4 and 17…. you may wonder whether something that affects so many people can really be a disease. – Richard A. Friedman, “A Natural Fix for ADHD,” The NewRead… Read more »

Eightfold Path to Public Service Enlightenment: Morality

Welcome back for part 2 of this series where we continue the journey down the Eightfold Path to Public Service Enlightenment. I will be building on concepts from last week so if you have not already read part one please do so. Eightfold Path to Public Service Enlightenment: Wisdom In part 1 we covered theRead… Read more »

Digital Communications & the Rise of the CMO

CMO. CDO. CXO. Just a few acronyms for the increasingly important job that focuses on customer experience and digital communications. (For now, let’s just stick with CMO: Chief Marketing Officer.) At GovLoop’s Wednesday event, The Citizen & the Government: How They Connect, Brian Paget, Technical Director for Content & Analytics at Adobe, and David Yang, ViceRead… Read more »

Mic Check: Public Speaking 101

It’s Wednesday and your manager gives you a new task: write and deliver a speech for 100 people at a public event in two days. You will either react in one of two ways: thrilled at the professional development opportunity — or fearful of speaking publicly in front of large crowds. Fear of public speakingRead… Read more »

Surefire Methods for Working Better With Teams

by Mary Schwarz, ICF Interactive Interdisciplinary has always been one of those words that bothered me. Not the actual intent of interdisciplinary – approaching work by involving practitioners from several areas of knowledge – but what it sounds like. So many ways to be disciplined or punished … will it be writing lines, scrubbing gumRead… Read more »

Discover Your Brand, Discover Your Life

“What do you want to order?” my husband always asks me at the Chinese restaurant. After fifteen years going there, we know the three lunch specials among which we rotate but imagine it is always a choice. “Oh, I’ll just have what you’re having,” I always say. Because no matter what you order there, itRead… Read more »

Fostering a Feedback-Centric Culture

One of my company’s core values is “Inner Voice”. We internalize and implement this value in many ways, but the gist is: ‘Say what you’re really thinking.’ We encourage every single one of our employees, no matter what their title or role is, to speak up and voice their opinions, concerns, questions, reflections, etc. By puttingRead… Read more »

Are Gov Employees Risk Averse?

I stumbled into the federal government by accident. When I quit swimming after my sophomore year of college, I waited tables to help pay tuition. As my senior year progressed, I realized I needed to gain some accounting experience. A local tax preparer called and asked my roommate if she was interested in a job.Read… Read more »