Given the turbulent and changing times facing government organizations, it seems that trying to go it alone no longer makes sense but can result in serious downside risks to long-term survival. We all have to learn how to work smarter within the reality of ever declining resources. The importance of collaboration is more apparent thanRead… Read more »
I had a great time last week at the Federal Mentoring Roundtable. It was such a pleasure to see some old friends and to meet new faces. One of the things I enjoy most about attending events like this is getting to hear all the different situations people are encountering. As I was reflecting onRead… Read more »
Figuring out how to manage your LinkedIn connections can be a challenge. To help, LinkedIn has developed ‘Tags’. Tags are simple keywords that you create to organize your connections for quick filtering. It’s the same concept as circles on Google+. How tags are helpful: Context When you view a contact, tags appear in the right-handRead… Read more »
The other day I stumbled over this intriguing article which describes how a group of residents in Vancouver have started to surveille the police as they do their work in the downtown eastside, one of the poorest and toughest neighborhoods in Canada. The reason is simple. Many people – particularly those who are marginalized andRead… Read more »
Last year, a couple colleagues and I put together a workshop (full slides below) entitled, “How to Use Social Media and Not Jeopardize Your Job.” I delivered a variation of it at the Philadelphia Federal Executive Board’s EEO and Diversity Day back in November. During the workshop, participants break into small groups to grapple withRead… Read more »
TESTIMONY ON POLITICAL FILE ISSUE. The Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government of the House Appropriations Committee held a hearing yesterday. The FCC’s potential changes to political file requirements was an issue in Commissioner Robert McDowell’s testimony, online here. FCC Chair Genachowski’s statement is online here. NONPROFIT NEWS. Roll Call. “In an election thatRead… Read more »
A government-wide emphasis on passing along knowledge from one generation of federal workers to the next was underscored last week when the Senate passed legislation that includes a plan for Feds to work part time while mentoring newer hires and easing into retirement. Even OPM Chief John Berry was mentored early in his career andRead… Read more »
This is the third part of our series exploring a few of our interns’ views on life as a govie. We’ve all been in those training classes where the instructor challenges us to channel our creative thinking, pauses for moment, and then asks the dreaded desert island question. As in, if you were trapped onRead… Read more »
Starting in 2013 newly hired FERS employee’s retirement contributions will increase from .8 percent to 3.1 percent of salary. Originally this was intended to apply to all FERS employees. There is another vote pending in the house that proposes increasing all employees’ contributions by 1.5 percent that will be phased in over a three yearRead… Read more »
If you’ve worked IT in the Pentagon or for the military network, in general, you won’t be surprised to hear that security professionals are bracing themselves for one of the biggest national security paradigms they’ll face all year – March Madness. Bandwidth – or lack of it – has long been a concern in theRead… Read more »