Although social media can no longer be considered a novelty, many organizations (especially small- and mid-sized groups) are still trying to figure out whether and how to leverage it as part of their marketing, branding, public relations, customer service, and revenue-generating efforts. In conjunction with those determinations, they must also figure out the best approachesRead… Read more »
“At meetings, we try to sit as far apart from each other as possible,” Jim, who is married to one of my other colleagues, Sue, told me. “In the office, people assume when they are talking to one of us they’re talking to both of us, but we make a point to act like anyRead… Read more »
The resignation of Rachel Dolezal as president of the Spokane, WA National Association of the Advancement of Colored People has dominated the news lately. Ms. Dolezal had been using a fake racial identity by leading a chapter of the largest advocacy group in the country for African Americans as a mixed race person even thoughRead… Read more »
Could the federal government’s COOs be managing agencies better? Ron Sanders, Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton and the firm’s first fellow, sought to answer this question. In collaboration with the Partnership for Public Service, he and his company surveyed federal COOs to pinpoint the problems that COOs across the public sector frequently encounter inRead… Read more »
People are much more likely to retain information – and become intrigued by it, by listening to an interesting story than by listening to recitation of points on a slide. We’re more likely to retain information, learn from it and be able to act on it if it contains up-to-the-minute data. And we’re more likely… Read more »
If you’re like most office worker-bees, you’re probably spending more time sitting at your desk than you spend in any other place, besides your bed. Do you like it? Clutter, poor ergonomics, and stifling work environments can all contribute to a workspace that can actually damage your health and well-being. While grand, sweeping changes mayRead… Read more »
People move around a lot in the field of city and county management; I have an Outlook database that can prove it. And when the city manager or another leader leaves, it’s tempting for a government to try to have other staffers cover that work until someone new is hired. I think it’s almost alwaysRead… Read more »
I have a big announcement (details below), but before I share the good news, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on why I created GovLoop (which I launched from my spare bedroom in summer of 2008). GovLoop started from a need I had as a government employee. Every day at DHS, my bossRead… Read more »
“Winter is Coming” is a key theme of the popular HBO series Game of Thrones. With its warning of constant vigilance, the meaning is clear – no matter how good or calm things seem now, the good times and serenity won’t last forever…and you need to prepare and be proactive to ensure you’re ready for… Read more »
Data visualization software can help data analysts more efficiently distill and communicate pertinent information to their customers. Likewise, the customization available in many data visualization packages enables consumers of data to more easily obtain and sort through the information they need. In a previous blog post, I explored how the U.S. General Services Administration isRead… Read more »