How to Master Decision-Making
How can we make smart decisions that will impact an entire team, city, or nation? To improve your decision-making skills, follow these six tips.
Posts Tagged: decision
How to Thrive in a Really Toxic Culture
We all find ourselves in negative environments and attached to negative people. How do we affect positive change rather than being permanently damaged?
Let’s Meet — In Person
Let’s assume that, as an IT leader and decision maker, you understand the importance of clear and efficient communications. Whether with superiors, subordinates, peers, vendors, or customers, good communications are a key ingredient to your success. And you’ve probably read or heard somewhere that 93% or some similar percentage of interpersonal communications are non-verbal; thatRead… Read more »
Leaders as Architects: Integrative Thinking Part Two
In part one of this two-part blog series, I described integrative thinking as simultaneously embracing two differing views or ideas, and considering multiple options while solving a seemingly “either/or” dilemma. This key leadership skill allows teams to break conventional “We have always done it this way” or “Let’s just go with the easy answer,” thoughtRead… Read more »
Are You an Integrative Thinker?
It’s one solution or the other. If “A” is true, then we should definitely do “B” – it’s so obvious! Let’s solve this problem one step at a time. As government officials, we often feel our job duties are closer to those of an ‘inferno abatement specialist’ (government speak for “firefighter”) than those of aRead… Read more »
Bridging the Gap Between Academics and Practitioners
Academics don’t always speak the same language as practitioners. But they oftentimes have useful ideas to convey. So how do we bridge the gap between research and practice? I’ve been asked to participate as a “practitioner” on a discussion panel at the upcoming conference of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) ItRead… Read more »
Fish-bone diagrams and leadership
The following was part of a dialogue with a colleague regarding leadership influence in an organization, problem-solving, and my thoughts on my approach to leadership from 2007. The response uses several concepts from books we were discussing regarding strategy, change, and leadership to highlight one approach to leading change and facilitating innovation. The references areRead… Read more »
Towards a More Transparent and Collaborative Government: One Year In
The other day I was having lunch with Rich Dougherty, the CEO of Expert Choice, a collaboration software company in Arlington, VA that is a client of mine. We were discussing the trends towards a more transparent and collaborative federal government. I decided to record it with my iPhone and turn it into an interview.Read… Read more »
Why Does Anybody Play Chess?!!
So there’s this little chess gadget, wherein a user can play a computer opponent… I have probably played a thousand times on the “easy” level and I have won exactly one time. And yet, I keep trying…. In frustration I rhetorically blustered “Why on earth does anybody play this game?!!!” Really, sometimes the computer beatsRead… Read more »
Decentralized, Delegated Disappointments
The spouse of a friend of mine was denied a visa yesterday. Knowing something of the visa system myself I had explained how the system worked and given reassurances about the professionalism of the consular officer. And, ultimately, while I have no doubt about the officer’s professionalism, it’s clear that the officer’s approach was differentRead… Read more »