How Does it Feel to Join the Dark Side?
Social Entrepreneurship
Since I went full-time on GovLoop, the number one question I get every day is “how does it feel to join the dark side?”
I know it is innocent question but the connotation goes to the fact that being a government employee is good and serving government from the outside is bad.
To me that is a very simplistic version of public service that I think is changing. Public service is truly multi-sector and I think you can serve the public good via for-profit, non-profit, and government employment.
Neither is inherent superior but I think depending on the task different forms of public service can help solve it easier.
And it is often not alone but public-private-nonprofit partnerships.
With GovLoop, I hope to speak more about social entrepreneurship and how I see the future of public service and social enterprise.
I also will walk the walk and let my actions speak louder than words. As you can see with the launch of the Awesome Government fund.
Since I went full-time on GovLoop, the number one question I get every day is “how does it feel to join the dark side?”
I know it is innocent question but the connotation goes to the fact that being a government employee is good and serving government from the outside is bad.
To me that is a very simplistic version of public service that I think is changing. Public service is truly multi-sector and I think you can serve the public good via for-profit, non-profit, and government employment.
Neither is inherent superior but I think depending on the task different forms of public service can help solve it easier.
And it is often not alone but public-private-nonprofit partnerships.
With GovLoop, I hope to speak more about social entrepreneurship and how I see the future of public service and social enterprise.
I also will walk the walk and let my actions speak louder than words. As you can see with the launch of the Awesome Government fund.
Comment
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Comment by Kathleen Smith on November 23, 2009 at 12:01pm -
well I am reminded of a great bumper sticker that I saw once " come to the dark side, we have cookies!"
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Comment by Candace Riddle on November 20, 2009 at 7:29am -
The "dark side" is going to be debated even more as the globalization process continues to change social structure. As a result the way government communicates, regulates, and creates is going see changes, which includes multi-sector facets.
One of the biggest issues debated by theorists going forward is the problem of regulating. With so many government and non-governmental actors involved in political affairs and domestic/ international relations, to whom do we look for standards, norms, and values?
For example, the upcoming convention at Copenhagen has received major non-governmental support from compaines like Coca Cola, Johnson &Johnson, and Nokia (to name a few). Execs from these companies hosted an online panel discussion yesterday to promote and debate global climate issues. Coca Cola is sponsoring a commercial on major networks right now "Make Copenhagen ...Hopenhagen".
I don't think we can necessarily refer to it as the "dark side" anymore. The lines have been skewed and non-governmental actors are now almost as equal in influencial power as governmental actors.
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Comment by Tom Vannoy on November 19, 2009 at 3:41pm -
You can be awesome anywhere....
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Comment by Tricia on November 19, 2009 at 3:30pm
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Even members of the dark side have good in them....
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Comment by Adriel Hampton on November 19, 2009 at 3:19pm -
Funny, when I was in journalism, "the dark side" was going to government.
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Comment by Terrence (Terry) Hill PHR on November 19, 2009 at 2:58pm -
I promise to stop mentioning "the dark side" any more. We are all in this together. By the way, I think your Awesome Government fund is a great idea, especially the voting on which charity will benefit. Very innovative! Thanks and I'm sure that you are doing more for the common good now than you ever could as an ICE employee.
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Comment by Christoph Berendes on November 19, 2009 at 2:29pm -
Steve - A practical question: how have your incentives and constraints changed? Sometimes, when I've switch venues, I find that some things I really want to do become easier - my idealism is aligned with "bread and butter" incentives. Of course, other things may become harder, and others still impossible.
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