When Donald Rumsfield was in the Pentagon, his staff talked about his incessant memos asking for information or direction action as “snowflakes.” Well, there’s a blizzard of memos and guidance coming from the White House on a range of management improvement and cost-cutting initiatives. Is this an opportunity to connect the dots? It is notRead… Read more »
“Are you listening to me?” It’s the question that I most fear from my wife. Usually, the answer isn’t in doubt. I wasn’t listening, and even worse, I’ve been caught. A spouse can be honest and confront you when you’re not paying attention, but it can be difficult to have that kind of candor inRead… Read more »
There are good reasons for scheduled, repeating meetings. However, without a clear understanding of how to use them, I have seen repeating meetings get mired in processes that go nowhere, I guess expecting that donuts are infinite. There are as many processes for describing work as there are serial numbers on dollar bills. However, thereRead… Read more »
Discovered this resource this morning on YNPNdc’s Facebook page! THANK YOU for posting! Three financial aid resources for people in public service. Includes a link to Heather Jarvis’ new website. She is an expert in Student Loan Forgiveness for people in public service. http://www.idealist.org/blog/en/three-financial-aid-resources-for-public-service-people/#comment-17042
A friend recently asked me, “You work in recruitment for the government, but you’re under a hiring freeze… What do you do all day?” I resisted the urge to say something snarky like, “Recruiters aren’t bears – we don’t hibernate and wait for the freeze to thaw.” The business of recruitment isn’t a 100-meter dash,Read… Read more »
Thousands of commuters in the DC area may show up to work just a little sweatier than usual this Friday, May 20th. But that’s a small price to pay for the way they’ll feel once they get there—invigorated, glowing with a sense of accomplishment, and maybe a little more convinced that bicycling is a viableRead… Read more »
According to Steve Towns at Government Technology,”cloud computing” is among the developments that have received the most attention in government in recent memory. It is, one might say, the LeBron James of government technology… lots of hype, but no championships… yet Cloud Computing Meets Reality It’s hard to think of a technology that’s received moreRead… Read more »
At long last, The Transit Wire has a Twitter account. I’ll continue posting stories via @OakSquareSusan, but now you can follow @TheTransitWire directly. If you’re not a Twitter user, you still can visit The Transit Wire on Facebook or subscribe by email and RSS using the links on the home page. Or do it theRead… Read more »
BLAGO TRIAL UPDATE. The Times. “Disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich did not want to mix fundraising and governing, a former aide said on Monday, but other witnesses said political donations and government favors were linked.” COALITION AGAINST DRAFT EO. Story here. “In a letter sent Monday to Obama, groups such as the U.S. ChamberRead… Read more »
I am giving a talk to future civil servants at the JSSA Employment and Career Services. http://getagovjob.eventbrite.com/ I am talking about developing internal champions within the agency they want to work. Richard Nelson Bolles, in “What Color Is Your Parachute” suggests doing research to find needs that the job seeker is uniquely qualified to meet.Read… Read more »