The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination
Need heart? J.K. Rowling’s 2008 commencement address (video + transcript) to the Harvard Alumni Association delivers – along with liberal heapings of vision and inspiration.
Career
Surfing Democracy, a Dynamic Facilitation Conference
NCDD member and Wisdom Council guru, Jim Rough, recently touched base with us to share news of an exciting event taking place in Batchuns, Austria February 23-35, 2012 in association with the Office of Future Related Issues there. Surfing Democracy: Dynamic Facilitation and Wisdom Council Practitioners Network Conference is bringing together alumni of Dynamic FacilitatorRead… Read more »
Government Leaders: Do You Have An Apprentice?
I was just listening to a leadership podcast entitled “The Power of Apprenticeship” and I wanted to share some of the lessons from it. In essence, there are three steps to successfully engaging in apprenticeship activities: **************** 1. Selecting – when you see someone that makes you take notice, find a way to personally investRead… Read more »
Council of Federal EEO & Civil Rights Executives To Host Think Tank/Training on EO 13583 Diversity & Inclusion
The Council of Federal EEO and Civil Rights Executives will host the executive level Thought Leadership Think Tank & Training Conference on Diversity & Inclusion, Civility and Bias. The focus of the conference is compliance with Executive Order 13583, which establishes a coordinated Government-wide initiative to promote diversity and inclusion in the federal sector, andRead… Read more »
Mentoring
I’m a Fellow with the National Academy of Public Administration. We are making ourselves available as potential mentors for early and mid-career people.Let me know if I can be helpful in the mentoring program. Chris [Gary “Chris” Christopherson]
A Key Ingredient Behind Government Employee Satisfaction
Measuring leadership — and identifying federal agencies that breed effective leaders–has rarely been a simple undertaking. While the the Office of Personnel Management‘s 2011 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey captures a surprisingly comprehensive view on the state of leadership at various federal agencies, finding actionable measures of leadership at work remains an elusive science. That’s oneRead… Read more »
The Impending Exodus of “Experienced” Contracting Personnel: Crisis or Opportunity?
It seems that every few months we see a new article, report, or hear testimony predicting a mass exodus of “experienced” 1102s from the Federal workforce. Citing workforce data, the conclusion that is commonly drawn is that a “crisis” will result. If we just look at numbers it would seem that this would be aRead… Read more »
Public Servants Self-Organizing for Efficiency (and sanity) – Collaborative Management Day
Most of the time, when I engage with or speak to federal public servants, they are among the most eager to find ways to work around the bureaucracy in which they find themselves. They want to make stuff happen, and ideally, to make it happen right and more quickly. This is particularly true of youngerRead… Read more »
VA Launches Wounded Warrior Acquisition Academy
As FCW reported, The VA launched Acquisition Academy Acquisition Internship School’s Warriors to Workforce Program -a 3 year internship for contract specialists. Smart idea. VA is in great need for more contract specialists and I think this is a great win to recruit from wounded warriors. Will be interested to see how it turns out.Read… Read more »
Apple joins e-textbook party with iBooks, iBooks Author apps
Apple joins e-textbook party with iBooks, iBooks Author apps http://bcove.me/rmn7l58z By Edward C. Baig, USA TODAY Apple is bringing its brand-name power to the fledgling market for electronic textbooks. New York by Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president for worldwide marketing. Apple also announced iBooks Author, a free software application for Macintosh computers with customRead… Read more »