I just finished reading a great article from one of my former Teradata colleagues, Chief Data Officer, Bill Franks. He makes a strong argument that Big Data is not inherently good or evil anymore than money is. What makes Big Data (or any data as I see it) take on a characteristic of good orRead… Read more »
Learning or experiencing leadership can be daunting. Every day a myriad of new theories and articles appear on what leadership skills a manager should exhibit, or what key phases or words a leader should use to motivate a team, or how better understanding strategies of a long-dead samurai warriors can help make you an exceptionalRead… Read more »
Returning from long holiday weekends and vacation get-a-ways can often remind us of the places in our lives we feel stuck: in a job, a community or a relationship. Are you feeling like this little turtle? A few month’s ago, a dear friend and I were walking along a lake shore when we stumbled uponRead… Read more »
As I get ready to head back overseas after spending three years in the U.S., I am already wondering about the technological advances (or lack thereof) that I will encounter as I re-enter Embassy life. As an example, I curiously posted a question in an online forum whether our medical records (which are required toRead… Read more »
We’re excited to announce the 2014 Code for America Accelerator class. It was a tough selection process — with strong applications from more than 112 companies. Ultimately, we decided on five key companies. The 2014 class of the CfA Accelerator includes: AmigoCloud (San Francisco, Calif.): Founded by Ragi Burhum and Victor Chernetsky, AmigoCloud is aRead… Read more »
This morning I attended the Innovation Month event “Google Glass as a certain reality”, hosted by the Department of Education. It was a great event, and extremely well attended (well over 100 people in the audience), featuring very engaging talks from Alexander Hayes, Matthew Purcell and seven of his students from Canberra Grammer School. TheRead… Read more »
In war, there is quite a difference between the crude methods of indiscriminate destruction of weapons of mass destruction and a well trained sniper on a well-funded, precisely planned mission. WMDs leave mess everywhere, make it clear to everyone something big happened and are more about fear than accomplishing specific goals. In cyber war, theRead… Read more »
My brother has his sword, and I have my mind. A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone. Tyrion Lannister, Game of Thrones We have all been there. The day in the office when you realize you have lost your edge. You aren’t as sharp as you used to be. Things seem toRead… Read more »
Many of the people I know who work in the public sector were drawn to their jobs by this desire to serve, to make a difference in their community or the country. After landing that first desk job though, I have also seen them lose their drive. If you’ve ever done it, you know, sittingRead… Read more »
Dealing with the public over social media when you are a public sector organization (PSO) posts a particular set of challenges. Some people inherently dislike and distrust the public sector and will feel the same about your organization. Some may try to use your social media channels to vent on issues that may or mayRead… Read more »