Everyone planning their retirement needs to know how much they will have to live on in retirement and how much their spouse’s survivor benefit will be. Frank Cullen, a retired federal manager, friend, and former associate, sent me a comprehensive spreadsheet prior to my retirement that projected my annuity and survivor benefit for the nextRead… Read more »
A well-designed leadership development program is essential to identifying, attracting, filling, and retaining employee leadership. By using a consistent talent management program at all levels across the organization, future leaders are developed fruitfully. Leadership programs truly shape the success of business processes like hiring strategies, employee development, and career succession planning. Did you know thatRead… Read more »
July is National Parks and Recreation Month! To celebrate, MPA@UNC created a series of graphics highlighting interesting facts about the many benefits of parks. Click here to view the full series: Why Are Parks Important? Parks, whether they are city, state, or national parks, play a major role in the health of a community. NotRead… Read more »
RationalPlan Project Management Software version 4.4 is ready for the public. Current version offers support for opening and saving files from/to Google Drive and Dropbox platforms. Plus it was added the possibility to handle Microsoft Project 2013 files along with a new look for the web-based module. Important changes for this version: Dropbox integration GoogleRead… Read more »
If you were about to build a house, would you start by putting out an RFP asking for bids on a three-bedroom house? Of course not. The bids would be all over the map. You’d have no idea what the house would look like once it’s built; and the chances of being happy with theRead… Read more »
Does it make any sense for the government to think long term? One agency, NASA, developed a 200-year strategic plan, at one point. They engaged futurists and science fiction writers to help develop a plan for interplanetary exploration. Maybe it makes sense for NASA, but what about other agencies? Strategic foresight is not futurist forecasting,Read… Read more »
The objective is the most important element of a successful endeavor; it drives everything. If not well defined and understood, you will “miss the mark” – you will waste time and resources. There can only be one objective; if there is more than one objective you have more than one project or initiative. What isRead… Read more »
Solutions come from discussions. Strategic solutions develop from structured discussions. For strategic planning, a facilitator is like the conductor of an orchestra – does not write the music or play the instruments, but does bring it all together for the desired result. The facilitator is an asset to a critical planning session bringing their experienceRead… Read more »
When it comes to fixing things around the house, I range between Unconscious and Conscious Incompetence depending on the task, (or the prior evening’s indulgences). Recently, while standing in the checkout line of my local Home Depot, (for the second time that day), I looked at the guy behind me and said “What is itRead… Read more »
What’s the distinction? A strategic plan is a project, initiated by others – e.g., the CEO, the Board, Department Head – with some input from the originator but little participation. Planning strategically is a team project, initiated by the leader of the team, with the leader’s input and participation. First thing to determine for eitherRead… Read more »