At a recent professional networking group event one of the other members asked me if I could tell him about organizations like the Federal Communicators Network (FCN). By way of background, FCN is a listserv that communicators in the federal government use to exchange ideas about the field of communications. The group, which also hostsRead… Read more »
Before my current state government position supporting AmeriCorps programs, I spent two years working as a community development consultant in Madagascar, the large island off the southeast coast of Africa. While living and working in Madagascar — a country and culture so different from our lives here in America — I learned a lot about perspective. And perspectiveRead… Read more »
We’ve all said at some point we wish that we had more time in the day. Chances are we would put more on our plate and complain about the same issue. Time is a commodity. Everyone has 24 hours in a day-how you spend them makes the difference. Invest some of my spare time workingRead… Read more »
We disagree with things people say or do all the time. At work we may disagree with a method, an outcome, a piece of data, a decision, what is said, or how something is said. We shouldn’t be afraid to disagree; it is a natural part of good communication. Topics of great importance inspire passionateRead… Read more »
Herbert Simon once said “Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones.” Before hearing that statement, I had a very narrow view of design. I thought design was for creative types or artists who made shoes, furniture or cool new technology products. I didn’t realize that design encompassesRead… Read more »
We all have that task or two on our to do lists that we just can’t make happen. The one that’s actually pretty important, but gets prioritized somewhere below cleaning out the litter box and doing all the dishes in the office kitchen. There are tons of reasons that we humans avoid work: It’s hard,Read… Read more »
A/B testing is a method of experimenting with one variable within your product, and then capturing how your users react to changes to that variable. What makes A/B Testing so important? It may be the BEST way to get timely and accurate feedback from your client base…
In my camaraderie series, I discussed declining camaraderie in my office, some of the reasons for the decline, and ideas to bring camaraderie back into the workplace. But what if these events are already available, and workers choose to not participate? This is a symptom of low morale. If your office suffers from low morale, it willRead… Read more »
When I first started working in an office, someone wise passed down this sage advice, “Make friends with the custodians and IT staff and your life here will be a piece of cake.” This turned out to be some of the best advice I’ve ever received. The custodial staff knows where everything is and theRead… Read more »
The weakness of August has now rolled into September, historically the worst month of the year. As the VIX sits near 30, which is a dangerous level, stocks are vulnerable for another panic-like sell-off. It’s possible we will see a bottom in September but first the market seems to want to test the August lows,Read… Read more »