I decided I was going to read a book a week for a year, here’s a quick review of this week’s book. You can see the ongoing list here. Basic Info Bureaucratically Incorrect: Letters to a Young Public Servant by Bob Chartier Why I bought it Although I had been looking for this book forRead… Read more »
Still not certain whether you should take the Twitter plunge? The best way to determine its value is to give it a try. Focusing on using Twitter professionally rather than personally – including staying current with local, national, and global news – this post offers simple best practice suggestions for setting up your profile andRead… Read more »
Take 5 minutes and help us, help you. Take the GovLoop Customer Service in Government Survey. Survey Link I’m conducting a research study on “Re-Imagining Customer Service in Government.” Our study hopes to understand current trends in government customer service and opportunities for improvement.The results of this survey will be used to create a GovLoopRead… Read more »
Cities, counties, and states should adopt a Restaurant Impossible model to transform their small businesses. Restaurant Impossible is a popular show on the Food Network where Chef Robert Irvine renovates failing restaurants in two days on a budget of $10,000. These restaurants are deep into debt, have lost most of their customers, and are oftenRead… Read more »
Detroit is dealing with a host of financial issues as the city struggles to survive and reinvent itself. As a recent article pointed out: “The city’s badly strapped bus system recently halted late-night service (between 1 and 4 a.m.) and even cut off some routes at 8 p.m. Those buses that do run rarely showRead… Read more »
Lazy Peep by Flickr user [F]oxymoron I attended the PRSA Digital Impact Conference last week, and like many PR events, it had a mix of really great presentations but I also noticed the continuation of a disturbing trend throughout our profession – laziness. Laziness disguised as “social media best practices” and cool new tools. Don’tRead… Read more »
The DorobekINSIDER Issue of the Week: The Washington Post has declared that GSA clearly had the worst week in Washington. This week, GSA administrator Martha Johnson resigned amid allegations of excessive spending at a conference. GSA Inspector General Brian Miller issued a report detailing contracting irregularities and excessive spending after a Las Vegas conference. TheRead… Read more »
(Guest post) Last Wednesday I volunteered as a Washington Academy of Sciences Science Fair Judge at Paint Branch High School. I was a bit nervous, because I never judged a Science Fair before, and my only experiences judging young adults and children were for student horse shows. When I arrived, a nice student led meRead… Read more »
Seeing a number of senior officials in the last year “ousted,” I find it sort of scary the risks and travails that executive leadership can entail. There are so many good, hardworking people at GSA making progress for the Government in terms of property management, contract management, fleet management, and more, that it was aRead… Read more »
The political winds are blowing favorably for government reorganization for the first time since Jimmy Carter’s efforts in the 1970s. As a result, the conversation on government reorganization is shifting from “should we” to “how do we” reorganize. What are some of the lessons from past efforts? At one point, the advice was: don’t doRead… Read more »