TSP Weekly Wrap-Up – Tis the Season

Seasonality becomes a big factor (I don’t know why this formats the way it does. Please bear with me. Thanks) Stocks started last week on a down note, continuing the pullback from the recent highs. But by the end of the week the market began to rebound and most of the stock indexes finished higherRead… Read more »

Robert Duffner Interviews Chris Kemp, NASA, and Kevin Jackson, NJVC, on GovCloud

Recently, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Mr. Robert Duffner, director of Product Management for Windows Azure, as part of his “Thought Leaders in the Cloud” series. In this interview, we discussed: Actual government IT successes, especially using cloud computing Deconstructing the hype around cloud computing and talking about its real characteristics andRead… Read more »

NIST Moves Forward on Cloud Computing

Last week the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) held their second Cloud Computing Forum and Workshop. Skillfully shepherded by Ms. Dawn Leaf, the agency’s senior executive of cloud computing, the event reinforced the US Federeal government’s move towards the cloud. Of particular note to me was the cloud computing simulation model project, knownRead… Read more »

Interesting business development article release.

Part 1 in the series, Business Development is to Marketing, comprised of excerpts on Ms. Quesinberry’s Suite101 column of her upcoming business development book due for release in 2011. Whether in the throes of an initial business plan or evaluating a success-driven international enterprise, BD (business development) is the mechanism deployed to secure or maintainRead… Read more »

Top 5 Ways to Make Creating Meeting Minutes More Efficient

Your email inbox is overflowing, your phone is ringing constantly, and your assistant is on vacation. Requests are pouring in for more detailed information about the council meeting, and you haven’t even turned on your computer yet. If only you could check-off the most important post-meeting task, “Finish Minutes,” within an hour of arriving intoRead… Read more »

Code for America 2011 Projects Overview Video and Deck

This week, Code for America hosted a webinar to discuss our plans for the 2011 projects and how you can get involved. We were thrilled to see the great turnout, as well as the lively conversation happening on twitter. (For example, @govnerdgrrl: “Code for America webinar just talked about a Foursquare type app built on…JohnRead… Read more »

Good Stories

Good stories are a basic unit of communication. Gets to the point in a minute or less. Good stories go beyond words to form a lasting mental picture in the listeners’ mind. In Talk Your Business – How to make more and better sales right away! everyone gets to develop a story that interests them,Read… Read more »

CFCNCA Message from DHHS Deputy Secretary Bill Corr

Dear Colleagues: I am pleased to report that HHS employees in the National Capital Area are again stepping up to support the Combined Federal Campaign. Your contributions to the 2010 CFCNCA will help more than 4,000 charitable organizations provide health care, housing support and other important services that are in even greater demand this yearRead… Read more »