What the Government Shutdown Taught Me

We’re all familiar by now with the impact the 2013 Government Shutdown had on government employees, the American people, and the economy. Just to recap a few statistics from the shutdown; 6.6 million days of lost work, $2 billion in back-pay costs, 120,000 private sector jobs lost, estimated decrease of fourth quarter real GDP of 0.2-0.6 percent, and roughly 850,000 Federal employees furloughed per day. You can read additional statistics in the full report, Impacts and Costs of the October 2013 Federal Government Shutdown, issued by The White House.

These are difficult facts to think about and acknowledge. Additionally, the 2013 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) results were posted last week by the OPM and it shouldn’t be a surprise that of the 77 areas included in the survey, 53 show decreases in satisfaction among Federal employees. Since I work for a leadership development organization, I try to seek out the learning opportunities in every situation. Fortunately, I received an email from my friend, Jeffrey Vargas, Chief Learning Officer at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that outlined what he learned from the shutdown. I found it to be an impressive list that can be applied to both the public and private sector. I hope you enjoy the list as much as I did and find at least one silver lining from it.

Well done, Jeff!

What I learned from the shutdown – Jeff Vargas

1. Save, save, save $$.
2. Trust in God, even when he is silent.
3. Appreciate your job/coworkers.
4. Anxiety produces no fruit, prayer calms the soul.
5. Import and export encouragement.
6. Appreciate your friends.
7. Honor your medical needs/health condition – don’t always eat in a hurry, enjoy lunch.
8. Appreciate your church.
9. Appreciate your role as a parent.
10. Dare to dream.
11. Control what you can control and let go of the rest.
12. Develop plans B, C, and D for your life.
13. The one who has power has a plan – discover Gods plan for your life, listen to the everlasting architect.
14. Government executives and members of congress should dress in jeans, shorts and football jerseys; builds a sense of team and belonging.
15. All opinions don’t warrant a response.
16. Truth – Don’t pay attention to uninformed idiots who have never worked a day in a federal agency but believe they know how to run a government better than you do. Trust your experience.
17. Walk at least 30 minutes a day.
18. Having a daily routine isn’t so bad.
19. Your biggest investment of self should be in people, not technology, systems, or process.
20. The Good Shepard takes care of His sheep – God has blessed me with a better life than I ever deserved and I am forever grateful for His grace, love, and provision. He gets all the praise.

Read more about leadership in the Federal Government at www.howgovleads.com.