Career

Need 50+ responses to a 10-minute online survey by Thursday for class project

I NEED TO FIND 50+ SURVEY RESPONDENTS BY THIS THURSDAY! To complete my final project for my master’s in integrated marketing communications, I have to collect responses from 50-100 people by Thursday for my 10-minute survey, and I only have a few thus far! I think Hurricane Sandy has affected a lot of my EastRead… Read more »

Performance Appraisals

Why do we use performance appraisals? It seems when we use these appraisals we are knocking “hard workers” down to nothing, kind of like a form of bullying to power play. If you don’t like that employee or if the employee had to testify against upper management, they can use your appraisals against you –Read… Read more »

Mindfulness at Work

I found this interview from a Mindfulness Group in Linkedinhttp://blogs.psychcentral.com/mindfulness/2012/11/working-with-mindfulness-an-interview-with-mirabai-bush/?goback=%2Egde_2042793_member_181354768I am noticing an increase in mindful awareness groups, discussions, and blogs in the social media outlets. Is anyone seeing mindfulness practices in the workplace? Do you think it would be beneficial if you did?

Watching Government Sausage Get Made

This week (as part of my official duties) I had the opportunity to sit in on a meeting for the Senate Committee on Human Rights. It was an incredibly rich experience, and an opportunity that I would encourage you to take advantage should it cross your plate. It was interesting for a couple of reasons,Read… Read more »

Are You Up for a Challenge?

In the tech world, weekends spent at “Hackathons” or “Mobile App Challenges” are becoming more and more common. And the public sector is starting to catch on. These challenges are exciting becuase lots of real work gets done in a short amount of time. Xavier Hughes, the Chief Innovation Officer with the Department of Labor,Read… Read more »

What Is School For?

Here is a remarkable 17 minute video of Seth Godin, giving a TEDxYouth presentation at the Brooklyn Free School riffing about the purpose of school. Some of Seth’s ideas that may be unfamiliar, but nothing doesn’t make sense, showing what happens when someone gets beyond the excuses that pass for thinking about education, focusing onRead… Read more »

Mayor Alex Morse speech

23-year-old Mayor Alex Morse of Holyoke, Massachusetts delivered a powerful presentation at the Next Generation of Government Summit this past July. I’d like to break it down, and analyze what I think made it so effective. The speech in its entirety can be viewed here: Audience and Theme Mayor Morse is speaking at an innovativeRead… Read more »

Want to Help Your Fellow Feds Devastated by Hurricane Sandy? Need Disaster Relief? Consider FEEA

With Hurricane Sandy bearing down on the East Coast, the Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (FEEA) stands ready to assist civilian federal and postal employees impacted by the storm. Disaster grants of up to $500 will be available to employees in hard-hit areas experiencing verifiable hardship. Due to limited funding, FEEA will prioritize grantsRead… Read more »