How do you learn? Do you take classes? Use Internet tutorials? Read books? Do you find useful tips and ideas on blogs and websites? Guess what? You have something to share, just like the authors of the blogs and sites that you gain new information from. Your experience, your perspective, your frustrations are all thingsRead… Read more »
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to hear the Dalai Lama speak when he was in Calgary, Alberta. At the conclusion of his talk, he took a few questions from the audience and I was fortunate enough to be able to ask him about public engagement. I asked, “What, if anything, should weRead… Read more »
How can social media make government more transparent while minimizing legal risk? At this point, most public agencies employ at least one or two social media platforms and understand their value. They may tout their cool Facebook pages as pre-teens scoff and double-tap photos on Instagram, but any social media presence is better than noRead… Read more »
As we approach the 151 anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address[1], certainly one of the most significant orations ever delivered, we do well to remember the closing; the very end of the last of the ten simple and deeply moving sentences that make up the Address. In these few, memorable words, a war-weary Lincoln charges allRead… Read more »
Jer Thorp is a data artist. He literally breathes life into data, by creating interactive visualizations of immense data sets. At today’s GovDelivery 8th Annual Federal Federal Communications Summit, he introduced what he calls the Ohh/Aah Principle. This idea guides how he presents data and, after today, it should guide the way your present dataRead… Read more »
The Outreach & Impact Awards, designed to honor the best in digital communication in the public sector, were announced yesterday at GovDelivery’s 8th Annual Federal Communications Summit in Washington, D.C. The 2014 awards were given to four outstanding public agencies that use digital communications to drive public engagement and action: The Maximizer Award honors organizationsRead… Read more »
Quad charts…ugh. Stakeholder mapping…blah. Precedence Diagramming …don’t even get me started. If you work anywhere near the field of Project Management you have most likely heard of and probably executed these traditional “proven methodologies.” And if you’re like me and the majority of project management professionals I know, you probably groan/sigh/roll your eyes/{insert any otherRead… Read more »
Employee engagement is one of the biggest challenges facing the public sector. As agencies’ missions continue to grow increasingly complex and many senior staff prepare for retirement, the public sector must place an emphasis on recruiting and retaining the next generation of public leaders. This crucial topic was the basis of Tuesday’s Governing webinar, Engage,Read… Read more »
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 »
We’ve all heard the phrase, “There are no dumb questions, only dumb answers.” That is patently false, as any one who has been the victim of a terrible question at a public event can attest. Participation is important, whether at an internal brown bag or plenary at an annual convention. Asking a question is aRead… Read more »