When I was a lad, sodas were 10 cents from a vending machine. Not being fond of sweet carbonated drinks, I told friends that it would be great to have these machines dispense ice cold spring water in bottles. Of course they laughed at such a goofy idea. My bottled water idea was a larkRead… Read more »
How many times a day do you check the weather? Whether it is on your phone, computer, radio or TV – the need for weather data is nearly constant. In the past few years the scientists at NOAA have pioneered numerous hurricane and wind speed prediction models that have become the bedrock for the nation’sRead… Read more »
I find myself not in Kansas anymore. This month of June has been a journey along the yellow brick road. It has provided me with a unique lens to view my office and myself through—and no I didn’t borrow those fancy green ones from the wizard. Looking at my office and reflecting on myself, IRead… Read more »
I want to talk a little bit about what I believe a draft should be. Obviously there’s a lot of latitude in this subject but I think that it’s really important to understand that no matter what you call it, everyone has an understanding of what a successful draft looks like at the end ofRead… Read more »
One quality that made my old project manager both successful and likable was his ability to bring colleagues together to take a break. As a smoker and a Caribou/Starbucks coffee-drinker, my manager, “Roger,” took a few breaks throughout the day. Of course, I’d often join in, but less so for the smoking breaks. I’m notRead… Read more »
On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER: The Administration is pushing for more performance metrics. They launched Performance.gov in June 2011. So how is it going? And why should these metrics matter? Insights from Dennis McDonald. The SEVEN stories that impact your life Less than half of federal employees believe they will be rewarded or promoted for doingRead… Read more »
I think that performance management and performance management systems should be leveraged by organizations to spur higher performing actions and activities as opposed to just using them as sort of a rear view mirror to understand how you did. I think there are probably many ways to do it but I want to talk aRead… Read more »
Right now the federal government is being pummeled by scandals. The IRS is facing the double whammy with its conference spending and its handling of Tea Party tax audits. Meanwhile the NSA is facing a scandal of their own in its secret phone tapping. So how does government improve its reputation and get back inRead… Read more »
I’ve been watching a great TEDx talk by Dave Meslin on citizen engagement, which asks the question – if governments want to be open and engaging, why do they make it so hard for citizens to engage? He raises a very good point, and demonstrates it very clearly in the video (below). This is oneRead… Read more »
The other day at the next marina, there was a 32-foot cabin cruiser attempting to tie up to the dock. The captain was having a difficult time bringing the boat near the dock – very entertaining for the observers in our marina. First, the boat was aiming at the dock on an angle instead beingRead… Read more »