Today marks the re-launch of my open, free-to-join GovLoop group, Community Cultivators, formerly E2E (Employee-to-Employee Communication), as well as Online Communities Best Practices at LinkedIn. I hope you’ll join the conversation at either place, because online communities today represent the #1 opportunity to reach and influence a target audience, yet few understand the science of influencing their beliefsRead… Read more »
We’ve all heard the phrase, “There are no dumb questions, only dumb answers.” That is patently false, as any one who has been the victim of a terrible question at a public event can attest. Participation is important, whether at an internal brown bag or plenary at an annual convention. Asking a question is aRead… Read more »
A few summers ago, I stood at a railing and watched the thundering water of Niagara Falls while other people watched me. The number 1349 was plastered on all four of my limbs. Temporary tattoos. I had raced a triathlon in Vermont the day before. Although many people stared, nobody dared to satisfy their apparent curiosities. When IRead… Read more »
As Millennials join the workforce, they are bringing their propensity for social networking into the workplace. As a result, network-centered approaches to doing work will likely become more prevalent. Government and non-profits have already been pioneering the use of collaborative networks over the past two decades to solve complex societal challenges such as clean waterways,Read… Read more »
Packaging. Why do government communicators, marketers and brand strategists do it? To find out, take a look at a gift wrap site. Honest. The parallels between wrapping a gift and packaging a person are striking. A friend at work gave me a wry smile and said maybe he’d let me package him sometime. I reckoned that heRead… Read more »
The end of the fiscal year is drawing near and it is also to good time to begin a review of your web content to ensure it is still engaging for your target audience. Over the years, the technology industry developed more diverse online tools to help create interactive web content. However, good web contentRead… Read more »
I was recently asked for an up-to-date résumé (note to my employer: I wasn’t job searching) and realized I hadn’t updated it since I got my current job four years ago. I had been working hard the last four years but hadn’t been keeping track of all of the interesting things I was doing. WhileRead… Read more »
Okay. That’s harsh. Yup. It is. Does it count that I’m being harsh with myself first? And foremost? Here’s the thing. When I started out in public service, I said what I thought. Now, I was raised right – so I said what I thought, but I said it politely and patiently and in aRead… Read more »
Everyone’s got ideas. My father-in-law has a million. They just pop out of his head the same way you and I breathe. Before any of us could spell “metrosexual,” Dad made his own “Magic Cream.” No chapped hands in the winter and nobody called him a girl. When we weren’t sure if the kids needed changing, DadRead… Read more »
Runway models sell products. But don’t confuse them with the brand. Because the heart of who you are – your image, to other people – is more boring, a series of decisions: Who is picked to run a company, an agency, a school. How ordinary people treat one another within the organization. What kindRead… Read more »