I decided I was going to read a book a week for a year, here’s a quick review of this week’s book. You can see the ongoing list here. Basic Info The Captive Public: How Mass Opinion Promotes State Power by Benjamin Ginsberg Why I read it Sitting on my shelf unread; I acquired theRead… Read more »
Does the Federal Government need to rebrand itself, as some have recently suggested, due to low public approval, politically-charged rhetoric, and negative stereotypes of Federal employees? I think not. Rather, I stipulate that: 1) Rebranding Feds is unnecessary and inadvisable at this time, and 2) There is no real “crisis” for Feds that warrants aRead… Read more »
He is a financial manager, whose his job typically means supervising other salespeople and involves extensive use of presenting materials to people. He says, “As a manager or employer, I want people who are good at PowerPoints. It’s an essential skill. What do you think?” The above quote is from a colleague on Gov Loop.Read… Read more »
As of late, I’ve become a huge fan of The Colbert Report. I am interested in politics and media, which are Stephen Colberts biggest targets for satire, and he does a great job at making both look absurd. The right-wing political pundit’s show is full of memorable quotes, such as “Democrats lead in all theRead… Read more »
Organizations get feedback from a number of sources – email, social media, word of mouth, even from other employees. There is a strong tenancy to jump into action when a complaint is registered – all in the name of customer service. The urgency and energy spent to respond is almost obsessive in nature – weRead… Read more »
I am sure I am not the only one but I am sick of email. It is a technology that has run its course but never seems to go away. I am sure most of you are in the 100 email club like me, meaning we get 100+ emails a day and it is sickening.Read… Read more »
On today’s DorobekINSIDER We often talk about the challenges of government work — and one of the real challenges is measuring results. Today, we’re going to introduce you to somebody who works on one of the most challenging issues — nuclear proliferation. That work has made her a finalist for the Service to America MedalsRead… Read more »
Here are some verbatim responses I often get when asking clients the following question: “Have you ever monitored social media while at work?” “social media monitoring is not our responsibility, it’s done by the [comms/web/IT] people]” “we have a social media monitoring tool gathering info for us” “we already do media monitoring” “our [branch/department/organization] doesn’tRead… Read more »
Big Data — it’s the latest buzz word making its way across government. “Trends emerge and they get labeled. Provider flock to the new label, align themselves and say, ‘look we’ve always been doing this,’” says Paul Wohlleben the President of Wohlleben consulting and a former federal CIO. But what really is Big Data? WohllebenRead… Read more »
New research: Nearly 15 Percent of Work Email Is Gossip When leaders “embargo” or “close hold” information about upcoming changes, I try to explain the conversations are already happening. The question is—do you want to be a participant? Here are data that show “negative” gossip, characterized through a Natural Language Text Processing analysis, was inRead… Read more »