Breaking Into the Boys’ Club
What tactics can you use to get ahead?
Stop Failing, Start Learning: Try Rapid Prototyping
John Godfrey Saxe, an American poet, introduced the Indian parable “The Blind Men and the Elephant” to a Western audience. In this tale, six blind men touch the same elephant, but each perceives something different about the animal. “And so these men of Indostan disputed loud and long, each in his own opinion exceeding stiffRead… Read more »
Magnifying the Voice of the Future
Can leaders in a democracy think beyond the next election? This is a key question posed by a New Zealand academic, Jonathan Boston, who is studying how different countries attempt to address long-term risks to society, the environment, and fiscal sustainability. Dr. Boston, visiting the U.S. on a Fulbright Scholarship, sums up some of hisRead… Read more »
Stop What You’re Doing — Engage Your Employees!
Agency leaders and managers — stop what you’re doing – focus and engage! You’re looking at a whirlwind of challenges and problems that seemingly feed on each other as you drown in an ocean of HR calamities: It takes too long to hire someone You can’t attract the talent you need New employees are boggedRead… Read more »
How One Man Made an Extra $1,000 Teaching What He Knew
In my last post, I spoke about how the US Postal Service is leveraging its existing expertise in the delivery business to begin a two-year grocery delivery test in San Francisco, CA, and how you can emulate them leveraging your existing skills by teaching what you already know. There are a number of ways youRead… Read more »
Signs Your Team Has Communication Problems
Nothing can be more frustrating – or costly to an organization – than team communication problems. As a manager, your job is to ensure your employees are up to speed on goals, priorities, and their assignments so they can perform at their peak. If you know you have good people, but you’re running across constantlyRead… Read more »
Innovate From Where You Are
Every manager responsible for doing something different to get a better result must find a starting point. Much has been written about how to innovate, and good research informs us about phases, stages, and steps. Almost all of what is written comes from commercial innovation, but the basic lessons and best practices work in government,Read… Read more »
10 Ways to Undermine Performance Management
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) is an umbrella term used to describe the methodologies, metrics, processes, and systems that help enterprise companies monitor and manage their business’s performance. Executives seeking deeper insights into business trends and potentially ambiguous opportunities utilize Performance Management. Sub-components of EPM include: Enterprise Planning, Performance Monitoring & Measurement, and Enterprise-Wide Reporting. BenefitsRead… Read more »
CDM – Driving Convergence in the Federal Security Landscape
In 2003, Xceedium’s CSO Ken Ammon testified to Congress on the core issues of cybersecurity. Over a decade ago, he described the connected world in which we live, where a singular event can affect the rest of a system. Ken asked the House Reform Committee to consider two recommendations: spending needs that were more pragmaticRead… Read more »
Waking The Government Up From Its Slumber
“They get you, one way or another.” She had come up to me from behind. And hearing that voice I gave her a GIGANTIC hug, gigantic. ” —–! ” I roared. “It is so good to see you!” We stepped back for a second. Took each other in. “Well you haven’t changed,” she said. “AtRead… Read more »