Are your workplace interactions motivating and engaging? Or stiff and stale? Other than email, in which format do most of your professional interactions take place? Presentations? Status reports? Discussions? Brainstorming sessions? Whatever your answer, ask yourself if the primary formats are particularly engaging or effective. If not, consider the contributions of “liberating structures,” an innovation broughtRead… Read more »
Use this checklist of email design best practices to deliver messages that are not only tailored to your audience, but also look professional, function properly, and capture the attention of increasingly-busy and multi-device-connected constituents to invite opens, attract clicks, and inspire action.
“Be careful what you wish for!” – Teachers and parents probably admonished you with that warning. But, here you are, all grown up. Working for your government and loving the whole concept of it! So, why would this vestige of days gone by be of any consequence for you? Well, because we forgot its meaning.Read… Read more »
A few weeks ago I wrote about my memorable December 2014, when I saw some original, founding historical documents. While I was busy time traveling, our City IT staff was spending the Christmas holidays struggling with a very nasty gift from a very bad Santa. It has passed into our lore as the “Christmas DDoSRead… Read more »
Lately I’ve noticed that whenever I watch a game or reality show with a cash prize, I get a little more engaged in the outcome in a way others most likely don’t. At the end, rather than just enjoy watching contestants celebrate that they’ve won what could be a life-changing amount of money, I findRead… Read more »
In addition to my Federal gig, I have a side job that I adore: I’m an adjunct professor at a local college. I don’t do it for the money (I often wonder if it costs more for them to prepare and print my W2 than to pay me for a semester). It’s a labor ofRead… Read more »
“We have to understand that the world can only be grasped by action, not by contemplation. The hand is more important than the eye…The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.” (Bronowski, 1973) Designing government Like most governments right now, we’re very excited about the potential of design to transform service delivery and policyRead… Read more »
When I meet people I can always find something interesting and unique, either in their professional or non-work life. This extraordinary person is an example to all of you out there that the path you are on as a government employee can someday vault you into something unexpected and noteworthy. And there’s a very good… Read more »
Three previous blogs examined how innovation causes conflict and how individuals can make it constructive. This blog offers techniques for groups to make conflict constructive in the service of innovation. Recall our definition of conflict: A situation in which two or more parties contend over something valued, with the intent of prevailing. The goal isRead… Read more »
There are days when things get moving so fast that inevitably there is a moment where I have to set everything down, take a breath and smooth out the tangle of my thoughts. It’s as if by taking a few moments to sit still and re-connect with myself, I have run a comb through myRead… Read more »