My last few blogs departed from the fun stuff from Confessions and shifted to some caustic commentary about the GSA scandal with just a few barbs pointed at the Office of the Inspector General. My You Tube videos did the same. Given the recent well-publicized and hard to justify midnight raid on someone’s hotel room,Read… Read more »
This summer, GovLoop hosted its first ever multi-week social online training, called “Your Path to Leadership: Mastering Core Competencies to Get Ahead in Government.” The course examined 10 traits of a great leader, each of which corresponded to one of the Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) of the Senior Executive Service (SES). The course consisted ofRead… Read more »
The fact that Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown has $1 million dollars in his campaign war chest is good news for the mayor but bad news for the citizens of Buffalo. It means there will not be a real election for mayor of Buffalo next year. No challenger will be able to compete in a significantRead… Read more »
The Balanced Scorecard Institute is a well-respected organization that has a popular method for measuring organizational effectiveness. I’m going to work on building its lessons into my office. The basic idea behind the Balanced Scorecard comes from its creators, Drs. Robert Kaplan and David Norton: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” AccordingRead… Read more »
Is Parliament House the peoples’ house or the government’s house? This is one of the fundamental considerations within the open government movement. Does government exist to serve the public? Who participates in developing policy, creating laws and deciding what is best for citizens and communities? Beth Noveck, in her TED Global presentation, Demand a moreRead… Read more »
The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently announced the induction of its inaugural class of the newly developed FEMA Corps. The ceremony was held in Vicksburg, Mississippi, honoring some 240 enrollees into the emergency management program. The aim is to establish a 1,600 person workforce that will supplement existing institutions and personnel in disaster preparedness, response,Read… Read more »
Craig Thomler’s post about redesigning government got me thinking about the other ways that legacies from the Industrial Revolution are no longer serving us well. The language could use some updating. So could the ways we think about how best to structure work. One of my recent favorite non-fiction books is “Shop Class as SoulRead… Read more »
by John Verrico, Director of Professional Development for the National Association of Government Communicators “The times in which public policies were created away from the public eye remain far behind us,” said Prime Minister Igor Lukšić of Montenegro at the opening of the first South Eastern European Communicators (SEECOM) conference on Friday, September 14. “Nowadays,Read… Read more »
There’s a reason I bring up the Washington DOT every time I give a presentation about using social media in public works. They were early on the scene to realize how much social media could assist them in public relations, and they’ve done a great job figuring out how best to engage the public. AndRead… Read more »
Finance managers across government are looking at ways to reduce the cost of Finance and government operations in response to flat or reduced budgets for the foreseeable future. The initial rounds of budget cuts are being achieved though quick, short-term actions, e.g., reduced travel, training, and contracted services. What I see less of are longerRead… Read more »