Miscellaneous

Christmas Card Stuffed With Cash

“Who would ever send $500.00 in twenty dollar bills through the mail?” wondered my friend, Debbie, who was amazed when she opened the bulging envelope with extra postage on it. Several weeks ago Debbie’s husband, Jeff, had been hard at work replacing a rotted floor and laying new carpet for Christmas when he had aRead… Read more »

As a Leader – Do You Broadcast on ‘AM’ or ‘FM’?

“What we have here is a ‘Failure to Communicate’” is a memorable line from the classic movie, Cool Hand Luke. Without a doubt, ‘Failure to Communicate’ is a problem found in many organizations. I witnessed ‘Failure to Communicate’ early in my military career and it taught me a valuable leadership lesson. I often relied onRead… Read more »

Have citizen expectations REALLY changed? Maybe…

For years now, governments around the globe have been working to bring services online. And this trend has generally resulted in easier access to services for most constituents, which is a good thing. However, when asked, government officials will, more often than not, cite the driving factor to be that of economics, it’s simply cheaperRead… Read more »

Excellence on Display – The Oscars for Federal Employees

The Service to America Medals are the Oscars of public service awards. The annual awards – by the Partnership for Public Service – are given to outstanding public servants. Last year’s recipients included a NIH scientist who found the superbug infecting patients, a NASA rocket scientist who helped create the Mars Rover and a youngRead… Read more »

Hats (and helmets) off to Gary Trudeau

A recent spate of suicides in Canadian vets from the Afghanistan campaign has drawn attention to the role and challenge of PTSD in vets. Canadian Senator Romeo Dallaire, former head of UN troops during the Rwandan genocide, and the subject of the film/book “Shake Hands With the Devil”, crashed his car the other day, afterRead… Read more »