Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, or whatever greeting is appropriate to you! I sent a version of this out to those of you on my newsletters earlier (New PM, PMP Guide) and received some great responses. And, some new ideas for next year! My wife and I have 3 awesome sons, and in past years we’veRead… Read more »
OK, holidays are nearing an end; and I’m back to thinking about government communications and customer service. What a year it’s been! Great progress in some areas, like social media. Modest progress toward our long-time goal to make top customer tasks easier to find and use. Not much progress at all (in fact, slippage) inRead… Read more »
FedinsiderTrying to change the government is like running up a hill that gradually gets steeper. The going gets more difficult and eventually you tire out. Two years since President Obama was inaugurated, his team managing the government itself has been stable. And it enters 2011 still having pretty good momentum. The one big change wasRead… Read more »
Prizes and competitions provide one way to stimulate innovation and tap “solver communities” that may not have been leveraged previously when considering some of our nation’s grand challenges. As I wrote this past summer, both on my featured jennovation series on Govloop and the Phase One Consulting Group Transformation in the Federal Sector Blog, thereRead… Read more »
“Great wisdom is generous; petty wisdom is contentious” ~Zhuangzi A generosity of spirit for people of any station is an appropriate attitude for everyone to have and exhibit year round in the workplace, in the community and in the home. It is even more appropriate for a generosity of spirit to be exhibited at theRead… Read more »
As I noted in yesterday’s review of 2010 predictions, 2010 was the year of open data. Great strides were made throughout the world and in the United States we saw Data.gov thrive and San Francisco pass an open data law. Focus on sharing government-maintained data has led to information transparency at a level beyond whatRead… Read more »
[Also posted here] Now that the 2011 Presidential Management Fellows semifinalists have been chosen and the PMF Program Office has posted the list, it’s time to think about the next hurdle, the in-person assessment. 1530 people (congratulations to you!) will convoke in four cities around the country between mid-January and late-February for a day-long assessmentRead… Read more »
This is my twice yearly public service blog about Restaurant Week in DC (January 17 – 23) and this time I’m doing it early. Do you take advantage of this? Restaurant Week takes place twice a year, once in the frigid cold of the post-holidays and then again in the dog days of August. TimesRead… Read more »
With a population of less than 5,000 and a median household income of around $50,000, Manor, Texas, is an unlikely place to find the cutting edge of government e-participation technologies. But thanks to a young and enterprising Assistant City Manager (Dustin Haisler, now of Spigit), Manor has attracted significant investment from a variety of firmsRead… Read more »
It’s that time of year when many publications produce their lists of the best books from 2010. I’m going to embrace the concept of a list and share with you my favorite five leadership books from 2010 as well as five classics. Each book is an easy read and includes actionable ideas for federal leadersRead… Read more »