Have you ever opened your closet only to find that that your wardrobe is no longer suitable for your position? It is an important awakening. What you wear to the office makes a statement, whether you are aware or not. According to Forbes, career counselors still advise clients to dress for the job they want,Read… Read more »
I had a really great conversation with one of my coworkers the other day about the concept of “plain language” which really got me thinking about writing across all parts of government–local, state, federal… Here in the federal government, we talk about plain language–which is the idea that language should be easy to understand forRead… Read more »
Keeping people’s attention is important for government communicators. When we tell a story, people need to remember more than one weird trick.
People move around a lot in the field of city and county management; I have an Outlook database that can prove it. And when the city manager or another leader leaves, it’s tempting for a government to try to have other staffers cover that work until someone new is hired. I think it’s almost alwaysRead… Read more »
It’s been a rough nine months for federal cybersecurity. The huge Office of Personnel Management (OPM) hack is just the latest in a series of incidents that make people skeptical of Washington’s ability to protect their personal information. Since last fall, we’ve witnessed hacks of the: OPM. Last week’s cybersecurity failure at OPM wasn’t its firstRead… Read more »
Rapport makes small talk HUGE! Taking the time and getting to know people speeds learning names and fosters active engagement, increasing productivity. Rapport is the glue that binds personal and professional relationships. It reinforces the concept that people prefer to do business with those they consider friends. Successful networking can be accomplished simply by exercising… Read more »
Data visualization software can help data analysts more efficiently distill and communicate pertinent information to their customers. Likewise, the customization available in many data visualization packages enables consumers of data to more easily obtain and sort through the information they need. In a previous blog post, I explored how the U.S. General Services Administration isRead… Read more »
WWSJD? What Would Steve Jobs Do? Could Apple employees ask themselves this and know what to do in a tricky situation? Can your employees ask themselves what YOU would do in an unusual situation and know what they should do? In last week’s blog I introduced the Malcolm Baldrige and Florida Sterling business management modelsRead… Read more »
Please share a success story from your work in the last month. Last year, I asked staff to respond to this request in a meeting. And the response I got surprised me: silence. Unfortunately, staff could not identify one; not because they hadn’t done great work, but because they were lost in process, policy andRead… Read more »
How many times have you made a mistake at work only to find yourself blaming it in someone or something else? It probably happens more than you think. You arrive at work late so you blame it on traffic even though you know the route you take is bumper to bumper. You miss your project deadline becauseRead… Read more »