10 Tips for Leadership

Have no illusions: being a good leader takes work. Even if you are a “born leader” you must continually work and learn to remain at the top of your game. The below tips are not intended to be a cure-all for poor leadership or an unwillingness to learn, but a starting point for aspiring goodRead… Read more »

ICYMI: Looking Back at 2014

Looking back at year’s end, what themes pop out from the various blog posts written over the past year? What’s worth revisiting in 2015? Here’s a list at this link: http://bit.ly/1rveQzm (I haven’t figured out how to cut-and-paste text into GovLoop blogs without losing hotlinks, and since this is just a list of hotlinks, I’mRead… Read more »

The Ugly Truth About Promotions

There are two schools of thought when it comes to promotions: Promotions are based on a checklist: if you match up against these criteria (ABC) and do these things (1234) when you have them all checked off, THEN you’ll be promoted. You don’t need to worry about the promotion, the checklist, or the politics –Read… Read more »

The Point of Darkness is Light

We’ve been in Santa Fe observing the rich. There they are, in packs of two or three or five. They wear $3,000 cowboy boots and ski pants and fur hats. The waiters and waitresses wait on them hand and foot and I can see them spitting contemptuously when nobody’s looking. I totally hate their vibe.Read… Read more »

Intelligence Analysis Methods in Scientific Literature

Intelligence analysis methods in scientific literature In a case study I recently completed I had the welcome opportunity to explore in more detail an interesting phenomenon in scientific publications: selective presentation of study results to scientific audience. The example below illustrates publication bias and multiple publication bias at its “best”. Whilst I do not underestimateRead… Read more »

How Racism Begets More Racism

Amanda Blackhorse is a Diné American Indian and lives on the Navajo Nation in Arizona. She is the lead plaintiff in Blackhorse v. Pro-Football which challenges the trademark protection of the term “Washington Redskins.” She and four other plaintiffs won their case against the Washington football team in June 2014 when the Trademark Trial andRead… Read more »

Creating a Cadre of Cross-Agency Executives

President Obama recently proposed a new White House Leadership Development Program. The goal is to expose rising leaders to the experience of solving challenges across agency boundaries. This could ultimately lead to a new capacity in government – a cadre of experienced executives who know how to get things done collaboratively.  Cross –agency collaboration isRead… Read more »