RightClick 2012 round-up

I attended and keynoted RightClick 2012 yesterday in Perth and wanted to share my notes, which I presented as a round-up at the event, as well as my presentation. It was a good event, with an excellent turn-out of WA public servants. From the feedback I overheard, the attendees were pretty happy with the event.Read… Read more »

One week to NAGW! Can’t wait.

In just one week, I’m heading to NAGW’s 10th National Conference, which begins Wednesday, September 12 in Kansas City. I can’t wait. I always come back so fired up, and full of new ideas. If you’re like me, and want to get the most out of the conference, you’ll attend a couple of pre-conference sessionsRead… Read more »

Are 35 Town Government Committees, Too Many?

Committees/boards are a necessary evil for most organizations as a way to focus efforts and get things done. Local governments have a lot of committees/boards, for example the Town of Amhers, NY (population 122,000) has 35 of them. The Town of Tonawanda, NY (population 73,500) has 28 committees/boards. I don’t know what the right numberRead… Read more »

CFC Recognizes Its Heroes Within the Federal Government

Today, at the Combined Federal Campaign of the National Capital Area (CFCNCA) 2012 Campaign Kickoff, the organization recognized two outstanding public servants that have helped make the Campaign successful through their Hero Awards. The Award winners were Edward Gingold of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and Lieutenant Commander Michael Edwards of the U.S. CoastRead… Read more »

The Legend of Bagger Vance

I’m reading The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield (in the movie Will Smith plays Bagger and Matt Damon plays the golfer) which is about a mystic caddy and has-been golf champion. The story is told and retold over time and has become a legend. Within the community everyone knows about Bagger, his oddRead… Read more »

Create a Social Community of Trust Along With Your Digital Services Governance Framework

The Digital Services Governance Recommendations were recently released, supporting the US Federal Government’s Digital Government Strategy Milestone Action #4.2 to establish agency-wide governance structures for developing and delivering digital services. Figure 1 – From: “Digital Services Governance Recommendations” While extremely important from a policy and procedure perspective within an Agency’s information management and communications enterprise,Read… Read more »

Chasing Dragons and Dreamers

If you haven’t seen the 2011 documentary Chasing Madoff or read Harry Markopoulos’ book that the film was based on, No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller, you might not appreciate the risks and costs of his whistleblower heroism. Knowing that the dragon was slain and Mr. Markopolos and his family survived – heRead… Read more »

It’s Not About The Pay, It’s About The Passion

In my last post, I wrote about disengaged, yet loyal, employees. I received several comments from readers and colleagues about the message contained in that article. Some wanted to know more about the personal experience that I included in the article, others questioned who would stay in a job that they didn’t enjoy, and severalRead… Read more »