Federal agency managers routinely talk about transformation and improving their infrastructures. For Federal Trade Commission (FTC) CIO Stanley Lowe, transformation of the infrastructure meant the infrastructure. In a building first occupied in 1938, that meant reinforcing floors and ceilings, adding new conduit, boosting power and putting in new racks, all without disturbing the appearance ofRead… Read more »
From The Acquisition Corner As collaboration tools, Gov 2.0, and other initiatives to encourage transparency and solicit input from stakeholders move forward, a pilot on this front met today to discuss implementing these ideas and creating further momentum via proof of concept. The Better Buy Project, as I discussed in a previous post, is aRead… Read more »
OCB is lately getting some increased buzz in leadership circles. No, I’m not talking about obsessive-compulsive behavior, at least for now anyway. Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) is a fancy term for employee discretionary effort. In other words, OCB is discretionary behavior that is not part of an employee’s formal job requirements, but that nonetheless supportsRead… Read more »
As the end-year reviews and new-year predictions and resolutions arrive in my inbox, I have been thinking about what has been the biggest impact or change in the collaboration arena. The biggest change I find is that the differentiation between social media software and collaboration applications has almost disappeared from the positioning messages. Traditional CollaborationRead… Read more »
If you have experienced a successful outcome from a collaborative initiative, you understand what the commitment can achieve. However, most people have experienced unsuccessful collaboration, thus they come into projects with biases and pre-conceived low expectations for success. The job of the process facilitators is to manage those notions and foster real collaboration within theRead… Read more »
Back around year 1990 I remember my amazement at learning that Iceland had the largest router network at around 50 routers of any European business or government. There was a pretty sensible explanation around the low density of the population and the realisation that a step change in the country’s economy as well as socialRead… Read more »
“You’re being negative!” Recently I led a team building workshop, and that was a federal government Division Director’s reply to my questioning, “Why the ‘Front Office’ meeting had not been working?” Preceding my operational assessment a number of people noted: a) that for several months people were not bringing relevant agenda issues to the meetingRead… Read more »
How to Hold a Meeting and Survive Adam Sulewski “A committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours.” – Milton Berle We all have had the pleasure of attending a poorly-run meeting. Hopefully, these experiences will motivate you to ensure your own task-driven gatherings do not earn the same evaluation. Meetings can beRead… Read more »
My colleague (and new GovLoop friend) Andrew posted a bang-up deck on measurement earlier today. I love metrics and poring over data, so I refer you to it. Good stuff. Already, organizations that are focused, proactive and disciplined about measurement are seeing good results. For example, last week, my nGenera colleague Laura Carillo presented atRead… Read more »
Happy Wednesday! Know of a government worker that deserves recognition? Nominate your favorite Fed for a Service to America Medal by the end of January and they might win up to $10,000. The Partnership for Public Service collects the nominations, selects the winners and then distributes eight “Sammies” at a big ceremony in September. There’sRead… Read more »