Just before my 24th birthday, I landed what I thought would be a great government job. My boss was a long time public servant. She had worked hard for the government for her entire career and was proud of her service. I quickly learned that she believed in traditions, in doing things by the book,Read… Read more »
The secret to usability is not brilliant design. Even the most talented designers have difficulty being creative on demand. Artistic talent helps but it is not a requirement. Anyone can create good, usable products. There are a few techniques to help you create good designs. One secret to good design is using iterative processes. YouRead… Read more »
“Hey Sisyphus. That’s some rock you’re pushing up the hill!” Don’t you just feel like that some days? Pushing a rock up hill, hoping it doesn’t roll back down on you? Just to clarify, in the original myth, Sisyphus was condemned for eternity to push a boulder up the hill and having it roll down,Read… Read more »
Where are you going with your job? Do you know what you expect from your job as a foundation for your career aspirations? Sometimes the first job after college is the one we may stick with because it meets a certain need. Fast forward five years later and you realize that your world or yourRead… Read more »
The spotlight is shining brightly of late on the hidden value of organizational health and how to capture it. Even all the way to Washington, D.C. Before delving into this very public discovery, let’s digest a commanding reference that uncovers a strong incentive for ailing entities to maintain sustained organizational health. According to a recentRead… Read more »
One of the most effective ways of getting your employees to think outside the box, innovate, improve processes and increase efficiencies is to start by asking questions, rather than providing answers. Your staff members have a wealth of ideas for how to do their jobs better, but many might feel hesitant to make suggestions. EvenRead… Read more »
Written with guest blogger Matt Roberts, Informatics Project Manager Inadequate information management leads to incomplete decision-making. Public health and healthcare decision-makers’ eyes routinely glaze over once information technology is mentioned. Return on investment is difficult to pinpoint, and millions of dollars appear to fall into IT black holes as the proposed product often arrives behindRead… Read more »
Young Government Leaders (YGL) and GovLoop present the NextGen Public Service Awards for superior public service and achievement. The 4th Annual NextGen Public Service Awards will be given at the 2014 NextGen Award’s Ceremony, which will kick off the NextGen Training Summit on July 23rd in Washington, DC. We have 18 finalists in six differentRead… Read more »
Ready for your performance evaluation? Nothing stirs up the stomach like knowing it’s time to find out how you measure up at work. In some organizations, 360 degree evaluations are popular, while many of us receive monthly, quarterly, or yearly evaluations directly from our supervisors. Then there are those impromptu, informal evaluations where a supervisor,Read… Read more »
When it comes to performance improvement, it’s important to know that being wrong is ok – in fact, doing so may be a sign of effectiveness. When we were in college, we conducted experiments with a certain hypothesis or theory and drove testing to the point of confirmation – either right or wrong. We triedRead… Read more »