Leadership

Get off the bench – hiring is not a spectator sport

Hiring the right person for the right job matters more than ever in government because tight budgets are making resources scarce. So how do you hire the best and the brightest on your first try? Tim McManus is the Vice President for Leadership and Education at the Partnership for Public Service. He told Chris DorobekRead… Read more »

What is the Best International Affairs Oriented Organization for Young Professionals to Join?

Young Professionals in Foreign Policy, Of Course! The organization provides its members with numerous opportunities to grow and network in the field. We caught up with Joshua Marcuse, YPFP’s founder, to learn more. Overview of Young Professionals in Foreign Policy Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP) is one of the leading associations for young professionalsRead… Read more »

What Is It Like being a Program Training Assistant for the Foreign Agricultural Service?

For our “Guide to International Jobs in Government,” we interviewed four professionals that hold public sector jobs in international affairs and foreign policy. Below, I recap our interview with Ryan Bedford, a Program Training Assistant at the Foreign Agricultural Service. Name: Ryan Bedford Title: Program Training Assistant Agency: Foreign Agricultural Service, Department of Agriculture Degree(s):Read… Read more »

5 Lessons from the Solution Revolution

***Hear author Bill Eggers keynote our Government Innovators Virtual Summit on 9/10 – free RSVP **** Over the long weekend, I read Bill Eggers’ latest “The Solution Revolution: How Business, Government, and Social Enterprises are Teaming Up to Solve the World’s Largest Problems.” Bill is one of the top thought-leaders in the government space soRead… Read more »

The Government Can Save Dollars by Eliminating Pennies (and Why it Will Never Happen)

(Author’s Note! My comments are a bit tongue-in-cheek, although with a lot of underlying truths based on my career experiences. Please consider it fun stuff. I loved my career!) During a recent trip to Canada I noticed that each time I received change it was rounded to the nearest nickel. At first I thought itRead… Read more »

Players and Doers

Players learn the commands for the video game and run up the score. Doers learn how to do something to get results. Players value image – being in the right place, knowing the right people, being included in the right projects. Doers value completion – collaboration moving the project forward, process improvement to gain efficiency,Read… Read more »

Demystifying Economic Development’s relationship with Commercial Property

Which comes first, jobs or space? Most people think economic development is foremost about jobs—but employers need space before they can offer jobs. This chicken-and-egg dynamic has many communities re-examining the relationship between economic development and commercial property. Here are three powerful reasons for economic development pros to make commercial real estate a bigger priority:Read… Read more »

Status check – Is the fed gov actually teleworking?

The number of people teleworking in the federal government is a bit murky. The reason for the unclear percentage is that agencies are struggling to report actual numbers to the Office of Personnel Management. Those were the findings of a Government Accountability report. Yvonne Jones is the Director of Strategic Issues at the GAO. SheRead… Read more »

Slaughter in Syria: Evil Triumphs When “Good Men Do Nothing”

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing“ — Edmund Burke. America and our allies would be wise to heed Burke’s warning in regard to the ongoing slaughter in Syria by Bashar al-Assad, the megalomaniac of the Middle East. Appeasing Assad through military inaction only damages America’sRead… Read more »