Project Management

Do Brainstorming Sessions Work? Studies Say No.

This morning I read a fascinating article from The New Yorker, Groupthink: The Brainstorming Myth, by Jonah Lehrer. The article points to one of the early founders of the concept of brainstorming, Alex Osborn. During the 1940’s, Osborn was one of the advertising agency industry titans, his book, “Your Creative Power,” was received very wellRead… Read more »

The Art of Video Games: Announcing GameFest

Join us for the documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters To celebrate the opening of The Art of Video Games exhibition, we will be holding three jam-packed days of events and activities from Friday, March 16 through Sunday, March 18, 2012. The schedule kicks off on Friday with panel discussions that includeRead… Read more »

AFGE Defends Democracy

The theme for AFGE’s 2012 Voter Protection Program is “AFGE Defends Democracy.” In 2011, state legislatures introduced numerous bills and passed laws that are invading and destroying the voting rights of honest working-class Americans. The increased efforts of the Republican Party to disenfranchise voters and make it difficult to get to the polls can notRead… Read more »

When you can’t fire ’em – 5 Ways to Approach “Dysfunctional” Team Members

We’ve all been there. There’s someone on the team or on the project that’s juuuuust not quite cutting it. And wouldn’t it be great if we could all work under the Zappo’s employement philosophy: Hire slowly, Fire quickly. But how often do you have complete control over everyone working on your projects? You’ve likely gotRead… Read more »

Managing Organizational Change – Valuable Input from Our Clients

Here are the highlights from the First Annual Signature Development Organizational Development Roundtable discussion on Managing Organizational Change. Below you will find the major questions clients asked during the discussion as well as some of the best practices CHENEGA, U.S. Department of Energy and other client organizations are implementing to manage organizational change. Challenges: CreatingRead… Read more »

Notebook Or Pad?

I’m really low tech. I take notes when I talk with someone because I’m trying to figure out and remember what they mean. Also, I’ve noticed if I take notes, people lie less. I use paper, usually graph ruled, because the placement of the notes is an important part of the meaning. I tried toRead… Read more »

5 Tips on a Website Redesign

Cross-posted from Reach the Public Last week GovLoop, the online knowledge network for government employees, launched a redesign where we redesigned our home page and launched 7 new sub-communities. The purpose of the change was to increase the overall readability of the site and organization of the site. We had been hearing from our membersRead… Read more »

Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group: GOP lawmakers reopen fight over Keystone XL pipeline

As House Republicans reopen efforts Wednesday to win approval for the Keystone XL energy project, new lobbying records filed over the weekend reveal a lopsided spending battle over the controversial proposed pipeline. The Keystone pipeline has become an emblematic fight for those who see the pipeline as a North American job creator versus those whoRead… Read more »