We are storytelling animals. It’s what differentiates us from our primate cousins. We are literally Homo narrativus. We use stories to assign meaning to our lives, transmit vital information and communicate with future generations. Without our storytelling ability, we would never have evolved out of the jungles of Africa. Human history begins with stories, likeRead… Read more »
Someone asked for comment, I offered it. The background: A gentleman who makes a living “reducing complexity” for IT systems keeps running into some of us on Twitter who study complexity. You can imagine the entertaining exchanges, which led to his posting these observations on his LinkedIn group. The ask: There is a group ofRead… Read more »
The end of the year means two things: setting unrealistic New Year’s resolutions and endless retrospectives. While we can’t force you to put down the cake and pick up a carrot, we can help you do your job better by highlighting some of the biggest and best innovations to come out of government in theRead… Read more »
How can your communications engage stakeholders to take action and drive mission value? This was the big question addressed at FCG and GovDelivery’s Annual Digital Communications event: The Power of the Message. The event brought together government leaders at all levels to discuss the importance of effective communication and the power of your message. KeynoteRead… Read more »
This article was originally written for the SLCC‘s ‘Clerk’ magazine. It’s almost impossible to turn on the television or open a newspaper these days without seeing reference to online networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The impact of these technologies in the last decade has been huge, transforming the way people communicate, work andRead… Read more »
Please forgive me for having not blogged, but life should be allowed to intrude. And intrude it has this season: I officiated a planned wedding that became suddenly very interesting, and then conducted an unplanned funeral that tears at my heart still. These reminders of real life pushed aside the comparatively mundane promise of writingRead… Read more »
Triggered by a range of experiences recently I thought I would reflect on my learning journey. So over the last few weeks I’ve been dipping in and out of my blog posts from the last 5 years and thinking about how things have or haven’t changed or even if some of the things that IRead… Read more »
The end of the year means two things: setting unrealistic New Year’s resolutions and endless retrospectives. While we can’t force you to put down the cake and pick up a carrot, we can help you do your job better by highlighting some of the biggest and best innovations to come out of government in theRead… Read more »
A popular quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin is: Nothing is certain but death and taxes. True – however, the timing of one and the amount of the other are not certain. Leaders face certainty and uncertainty when painting their vision – e.g., revenue must cover expenses for an organization to be viable, but the timingRead… Read more »
For years now, governments around the globe have been working to bring services online. And this trend has generally resulted in easier access to services for most constituents, which is a good thing. However, when asked, government officials will, more often than not, cite the driving factor to be that of economics, it’s simply cheaperRead… Read more »