In Preparing your agency for big cuts ahead, Tom Fox wrote this about the coming Federal agency staff reductions: Kill the rumor mill. Agencies have well-developed rumor mills, and I’ve heard from many federal employees that the anxiety and frustrations associated with the budget uncertainties is high. While water cooler gossip is inevitable, as aRead… Read more »
*** The blog below was originally posted on February 22, 2011. *** I am a second year Master of Public Policy candidate at American University in Washington, D.C. I decided to apply for the Presidential Management Fellows this year because it’s a great opportunity to work for the federal government and get 160 hours ofRead… Read more »
Over the last few days, Florida Gov. Rick Scott has been a subject for conversation among some of his fellow governors. Following news of Florida’s rejection of $2 billion in federal grants for high-speed rail, governors from Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island and Maryland sent letters asking US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for those funds.Read… Read more »
The Government Man (retired) is back from vacation and ready to blog again, posting excerpts from my book, Confessions of a Government Man: How to Succeed in Any Bureaucracy. A few blogs back I told the story of how, as a trainee, by default I essentially made the decision on the sequence of funding forRead… Read more »
I’m someone who works with social tools for a living. My job is defined by the level of expertise I bring to using them and the way I can use them to connect with people in communities of expertise, mostly in a business context. In a grand failure (or, is it?) of work-life balance, myRead… Read more »
There are multiple Critical Success Factors (CSFs) that a successful Change Management (CM) program needs, so I decided to devote two separate blogs to the concept. After working with several public sector clients, helping spearhead their change initiatives, I have identified the following CSFs: Effective program management Strong support from the executive champion Clear goalsRead… Read more »
Last week, Andre Blackman reported on an initiative in Salt Lake City called “Clear the Air.” Truth be told, he beat me to the punch! I had interviewed Kate Lilja just a few weeks prior and couldn’t wait to post this Project of the Week…and Andre’s post affirmed the fact that this is an effortRead… Read more »
Okay, I’m a nerd. But a confident nerd. Because of that, I don’t mind tell you that I am who I am because of Star Wars. A Long Time Ago… It started when my oldest brother showed me Star Wars: A New Hope. I was hooked. Now I really like epic stories and mythology. However,Read… Read more »
A new report issued earlier this month predicts nearly 400,000 new plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) will be cruising American streets per year by 2017. Clean technology market research firm, Pike Research, says that three California cities, Chicago and New York City will lead the way in adoption of these electric vehicles over the next fiveRead… Read more »
If you don’t know where you are AND, you don’t know where you’re going, like a rudderless sail boat, you’ll surely end up somewhere. . . but where won’t be up to you. Plan ahead, prepare for contingencies and be preventive. The extraordinary leader will prepare for where they’ll be tomorrow, they’ll have a planRead… Read more »