I don’t know if I can trust you. I’m not listening to your speeches or reading your blogs. And I skipped the town hall as well. It’s true. Your official emails are very long. But they don’t say too much. Did you know that your eyes dart back and forth in conversation? Most of theRead… Read more »
Switchboard’s mission is to provide HUD’s citizens, stakeholders, and staff with the tools and channels necessary to interact meaningfully with their government in the following ways: By welcoming and encouraging creative ideation to improve HUD’s programs, policies, and operations, and engaging those interested in the process of putting those ideas into action; By creating avenues of feedback for individuals or organizationsRead… Read more »
The other day, as I sat among an honored crowd of Veterans, I wept quietly for a number of reasons. You see, my youngest children both are in schools where Veterans are honored in beautifully displayed ceremonies full of patriotic pomp and circumstance. I sat there as the only woman Veteran. I sat there asRead… Read more »
The mere mention of a meeting can send people scrambling for the solace of a long email chain. But meetings don’t have to be catalysts for eye rolls or iPhone games. Creativity is key. Within the EPA Innovation Team, we occasionally have walking meetings. I’m a big fan. Coffee meetings? Not as much. Despite meetingsRead… Read more »
This last weekend, I took a fiction-writing class with a local author, Ken Scholes. As we went around the room to introduce ourselves, a common theme emerged. Most of us thought we should be writing more words, we should be submitting more short fiction, we should be taking more classes, we should be reading moreRead… Read more »
What tactics can you use to get ahead?
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »