Code for America on the TED stage

This week I did something I never thought I would do: I gave a talk at TED. I’ve given several TEDx talks now, but TED in Long Beach has been the stage of such world-changing talks as Sir Ken Robinson’s indictment of traditional education and Jill Bolte Taylor’s insights from her stroke, and I tookRead… Read more »

The Person behind the Person

They have many titles [Chief of Staff, Sergeant Major, Senior Adviser, Policy Counselor, Special Assistant, Confidential Assistant/Adviser etc.] but one thing in common. They extend the eyes, ears and managerial control of a decision maker while having little, if any positional authority of their own. Project/program managers need to understand the role of these individualsRead… Read more »

This Week in Computer Security

Anonymous Arrests, NASA hacks, and more this week Linode Hacked, Bitcoins Stolen: Linode.com, popular provider of virtual private servers (VPS) systems responded to a morning breach of it’s control panel software, which apparently enabled a malicious attacker to gain control over several virtual servers of a bitcoin service named Bitcoinica. The Register has a conflictingRead… Read more »

Citizens as a Platform for Civic Improvement

Recently the New York City Council passed what some open government advocates see as a “landmark” bill to increase government transparency and citizen access to machine readable data sets. While this legislation is definitely a welcomed triumph for the Gov 2.0 movement and a positive example for “closed” or “inert governments everywhere, should transparency legislationRead… Read more »

My TEDxBigApple Talk [Video]

Here is the talk I gave at TEDxBigApple a few weeks ago, The Disruptive Future of Cities. I had a great time giving this talk. Would love to do more like this one. Give it a watch and let me know what you think. Tweet Original post

Coaching from the Other Side of the Desk

Webster’s Dictionary defines experience as direct observation of or participation in events as a basis of knowledge. In executive and leadership coaching this definition often translates simply into having coached many executives over a long period of time. However, there is another way of understanding experience in coaching, namely having spent time in the shoesRead… Read more »

Top Ten Things You Need to Know to Manage Performance

Performance management is all about clarity: clear expectations about both performance and on-the-job conduct or behavior. While it takes time and effort to set up a performance management program, there are some things managers and employees can incorporate into their regular work activities. Here are ten things to know about performance management: Remember that performanceRead… Read more »