Everyone has been on a conference call in their work lives. For many people, they have at least one a week. For others, 2-3 a day. One thing I’ve noticed is that it can be difficult to run a conference call well. There is no training but it is really important. Here are my tipsRead… Read more »
I thought this Father’s Day I’d talk a little bit about some of the things that I learned from my dad. Things that have translated over, or at least things that I like to keep in mind, as I go about my daily business. I want to talk about the things that I see thatRead… Read more »
Norma, a federal employee that elected to collect Social Security while still working, commented on my last article on this subject. She stated that while it is true you don’t decrease social security benefits if you are still working at age 66 or older you may be subject to taxes on some of the socialRead… Read more »
As followers of this site know I am very interested in encouraging and applying creative ideas in government. There are many creative individuals working in government jobs but bureaucracy and poor leadership does not allow them to contribute their creativity. Hats off to the folks that came up with the interesting idea described below thatRead… Read more »
I’m going to try something new out today. I’m not going to tell you that this is a tried and true method I’ve used to maintain a healthy network or that this has led to me being a happier or more successful person because I’ve never tried this before. All I know is I wasRead… Read more »
Carl Friedrich and Herman Finer debate the most effective way to ensure accountability of public officials In the Public Administration world, this question is almost always referred to as the Friedrich-Finer debate. In the beginning of the 1940s, Carl Friedrich and Herman Finer debate the most effective way to ensure accountability of public officials. ThisRead… Read more »
Summer is vacation primetime. People coming and going from the office can be stressful for everyone. In order to reduce the stress on yourself and those you leave behind at work, I thought I’d list some ideas for how to make sure your summer vacation goes smoothly. So before you check out this summer takeRead… Read more »
Many Americans are not aware that the standard railroad gauge in the U.S. (the distance between the two metal rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. Why the heck did our government leaders ever establish such an odd size for spacing the tracks when building our nation’s first rail lines? Well, that is because, when ourRead… Read more »
I certainly don’t claim to be a scientist or somebody who has an incredibly nuanced opinion of nature vs. nurture but there are certainly a lot of folks on the market right now that talk about what motivates people. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us is a great example, by Daniel Pink. There’sRead… Read more »
Performance Measurement, Program Evaluation, Or Both; plus the importance of data in evaluation. The government is pushing evaluation, especially President Obama and the OMB. However, not many people have a clear understanding of the difference between performance measurement and program evaluation. Below, I outline the differences and discuss the importance of data. Performance Measurement: PerformanceRead… Read more »