If you haven’t yet heard of “If This Then That (IFTTT)” you might want to have a look. If you are already familiar with it read on, because I think organizations – especially large ones – have a lot to learn from this particular service. Here’s why. The premise is simple: if this happens, thanRead… Read more »
Every year millions of low-and moderate-income residents have their tax returns completed and receive refunds from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) — and they do it at no cost. Yes — free. No third-party tax preparer. It’s thanks in large part to the work of Michael McBride. McBride is a Supervisory Financial Analyst at theRead… Read more »
As agencies grapple with budget shortfalls, learning leaders are looking for ways to make the most of what’s left of their training dollars. Many look to technology, such as blogs, mobile learning, HTML 5 and social media, as a means to stretch each dollar invested. But while these tools may enhance the learning experience, theyRead… Read more »
On Today’s DorobekINSIDER Stretch goals — you might be able to guess what they are, but do they work? Click here for the full story. Government needs a reboot. That’s what Mario Morino says. He is one of the keynotes at GovLoop’s Next Generation of Government Training Summit coming up next month, and we’ll talkRead… Read more »
Stretch goals — are they a motivator or a de-motivator? Stretch goals are the often employed tactic of giving your employees a goal that is just out of their reach. The idea is motivate them to work harder. But does that work? Daniel Markovitz is the President of TimeBack Management and the author of ARead… Read more »
Great White flashback to 1987 – Is he wearing a robe? To my wife’s dismay, this is not a post about the 80’s hair band, Great White. (Thank goodness!) This is about project communication and estimation. Mark had done his best. Being new to project teams, he tried to estimate his tasks as well asRead… Read more »
Getting the right answer is important. But it is impossible to get the right answer unless we ask the right question. Time and effort invested in better questions pays off in better answers. There used to be a zebra crossing across the main road. Pedestrians could get across easily and motorists were discouraged from usingRead… Read more »
Which risks can be managed using a compliance model vs. which risks need other approaches? Robert Kaplan and Anette Mikes provide a framework in a great Harvard Business Review article. In their HBR article, “Managing Risks: A New Framework,” Kaplan and Mikes say: “risk management is too often treated as a compliance issue that canRead… Read more »
“I don’t know how much more emphasized step 1 of refactoring could be: don’t touch anything that doesn’t have coverage. Otherwise, you’re not refactoring; you’re just changing shit.” – Hamlet D’Arcy It’s no secret that Agile and Lean methodologies have a lot in common. At Code for America we try to apply them both: inRead… Read more »
Today on the DorobekINSIDER BYOD — bring your own device. It is something that could be possible, but there are issues. We’ll talk to somebody who is actually doing it, Kimberly Hatcher at EEOC. Click here for the full post. There are challenges facing federal agencies, but there are many challenges facing cities and countiesRead… Read more »