Project Management

New Thinking to Resolve Old Problems: The Partnership Fund for Program Integrity Innovation

The National Academy of Public Administration, the Partnership for Public Service, and the IBM Center for the Business of Government recently hosted a roundtable to engage a diverse set of thought leaders in envisioning how the Partnership Fund for Program Integrity Innovation and related efforts can improve outcomes and efficiency in benefits delivery. Specifically, thisRead… Read more »

Success Rule #17 – Know Thyself

Attributed to Socrates, it is a foundational rule in place for centuries and followed by many. What baggage do you bring to the table of life? We all have baggage. I have 50 years of baggage. Unfortunately we perceive “baggage” as a negative when in fact it is simply our life experiences, some good, someRead… Read more »

Eight Reasons Why Your Collaboration System Is Failing

The recent media frenzy over the latest social media offerings introduced at SXSW last week demonstrates that collaboration is one of the app themes for 2011. This isn’t the first time collaboration software has been the “next big thing’” I remember back in the early 90’s when computer-supported work applications were all the rage (rememberRead… Read more »

Member of the Week: Vicky Marquez

This week we’re honoring Vicky Marquez, who began her career in public service via the HHS Emerging Leaders Program. She’s got some great ideas for improving government, as you’ll see below, and I hope she gets the chance to implement some of them in a future role. Here’s her story. 1 – What was yourRead… Read more »

Questions to ask before applying to grad school

Continuing on a prior post about whether to pursue additional graduate school, here are some basic questions you should ask before applying to a graduate program: What are the employment outcomes of their graduates? Can they point to specific successes? Beyond the nice success stories, what is the average grad doing—what percentage got jobs inRead… Read more »

Let Sellers Talk to Buyers Early in Procurement

This piece was originally published for Bloomberg Government on 03/11/2011. The Obama White House announced plans in December to transform the way federal information technology projects are managed and executed. Its 25-point implementation instructions to federal agencies include many good ideas, from the adoption of light technologies and shared services to aligning the budget andRead… Read more »

The Courage to Trust

Courage: the ability to do something that frightens one. Trust: firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, and strength of someone or something. One need only turn on the news for a few moments to be overwhelmed with the human drama playing out in the world right now. Revolutionary movements attempting to topple dictatorships, naturalRead… Read more »

Blunders Happen

Like anything, we often have the best intentions in our creative initiatives and miss the mark. Hence, the fail fast concept. Sometimes we get so excited to unveil a new idea or experiment, we have laser focus and don’t see the big picture. I’ve noticed a few of these blunders and faux pas lately, andRead… Read more »