New Year Resolutions

So what do you think about making resolutions at the beginning of a new year? Do you find them helpful or not? How have you done in the past in keeping them? I’ve never been big on them, though I do often take the occasion to reflect on the year just passed and what IRead… Read more »

The Three Best Things I Learned In 2010

I have been known to ask customers and associates, “What was the best thing you learned?” at regular intervals. Jack Gates asked me what I would post as the best thing I had learned in 2010 as we were setting blogging goals for next year. Here are three. Multiple Landing Pages – When I figureRead… Read more »

It’s time for me to get naked

I’m so excited! Only three days left before I quit mail. The last days I’ve been very busy unsubscribe newsletters, answer the last emails and finding smart solutions to productivity. The only thing I have to do is writing down my out-of-mail reply. Your suggestions are welcome! And finally, on New Year’s day it’s timeRead… Read more »

What are the Gov 2.0 Let Downs of 2010?

GovLoop and its members recently put together a fantastic slideshow — “Best of GovLoop 2010 and Beyond.” It highlights our successes and that’s wonderful. What we have not done is illustrate and discuss the 2010 let downs of Gov 2.0. This is a very important step we must take. Understanding what went wrong is atRead… Read more »

Operations Managers – what is your opinion of Human Resources within your Gov. Contracting firm?

I have a question I’d like to ask: As a Operations Manager in a Government Contracting firm, what – in your viewpoint – is missing from Human Resources? What elements of Human Resources does a HR Practitioner needs to know about ‘the rest of the company’ and the departments or elements within a government contractingRead… Read more »

My Retirement

Today is the last day of my career in Government, which came in two parts (1971-92 and 2003-now), separated by 11 years in the Private Sector. I have had the wonderful opportunity to have worked with many talented, dedicated, and otherwise great people (present company included). I’ve admired your dedication and expertise, and am gratefulRead… Read more »

Growing Facebook

A year ago, I launched our government organizations facebook page. We have over 15,000 members and by extension, all their immediate family, not to mention friends and others interested in our organization. That number should be in excess of 50,000 people. After one year, we have 1,500 followers on facebook. Now I’ve read the literatureRead… Read more »

Federal Hiring Reform, Round 2: Pathways

As those who follow the intricacies of federal hiring already know, the Merit Systems Protection Board found that the Federal Career Intern Program (FCIP) violated merit systems principles because positions were not advertised enough to allow veterans to apply, and thus violated veteran’s preference. (For those not familiar with federal hiring, this last sentence willRead… Read more »

Security Clearance: The Whole-Person Concept

Among people who have been involved with national security clearances the “whole-person” concept has become widely known and often misunderstood. Applicants for security clearance are evaluated on potentially disqualifying and mitigating conditions listed under 13 separate guidelines in the “Adjudicative Guidelines for Determining Eligibility for Access to Classified Information.” The adjudicative process is an examinationRead… Read more »