I was struck last month by a story I read in The New York Times. The Prime Minister of South Korea announced he was stepping down after 302 lives were lost in a ferry disaster. In that article, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won is quoted saying “when I saw the people’s sadness and fury, I thoughtRead… Read more »
As much as I would like to jump on the “sequester bandwagon” and write yet another article about the impact this enormous change will have on our country, I’m going to take a different approach on the topic that is monopolizing water cooler discussions these days. I, like the rest of us, have been readingRead… Read more »
Jonathan Breul retires today from his role as executive director of the IBM Center. He has had a long and storied career in public service over the past four decades, where he has left a lasting mark. I’ve worked with Jonathan directly or indirectly over the past 30 years. His retirement is a good inflectionRead… Read more »
Hi Folks I’m guessing that many Govloop members are not aware of the AGIMO Blog recently set up in Australia. What struck me was the absence of something really simple to assist people who do not ordinarily blog to engage. With that thought in mind I whipped up something for AGIMO and they have postedRead… Read more »
So what would a new public servant look like in the States? Last weeks Public Sector Informant published an article by Terry Fewtrell on the implications of the work done by the Gov 2.0 Taskforce. Terry is principal consultant with Yellow Edge Consulting. The article New times demand a new public servant, highlights the fundamentalRead… Read more »
True Confession: Yes, I’m bureaucrat. I prefer the term, civil servant — though that implies work is civil, doesn’t it? Au contraire. If I could give you one visual image to describe my experience in the government, it would be this one of Catherine Zeta-Jones from the 1999 movie “Entrapment”: No. I don’t look atRead… Read more »
In the media, government employees are cast like they are a different species. Living underground in caves, we speak a different language (bureaucratize), have different morals (obscurity), and generally make your life difficult. One of the most interesting things I’ve found working in public service is the diversity of the public service. I’m particularly interestedRead… Read more »