I’ll be leaving today for Austin, TX, and this year’s South by Southwest Interactive Festival. As with most years, I’ve completely overbooked myself, but this is the double-edge sword of interesting conferences: there is more to do and see and hear than two eyes, two ears, and one brain can take in. I do planRead… Read more »
I am getting tired of the cold weather. Here in DC we usually start to see Spring right about now and are able to look forward to warm weather, rooftop happy hours, and cherry blossoms. I decided, though, that instead of being negative about the everlasting winter I would look on the positive side andRead… Read more »
President Obama’s fiscal year 2015 budget proposals actually invest in programs that demonstrate effectiveness, and he invests in generating new knowledge about what works through more evidence and evaluation. While the headlines about the president’s new budget focus on the big numbers, there is a significant back story about what the Office of Management andRead… Read more »
Over coffee one winter morning, the conversation turned to the subject of teleworking. Six women from various Government agencies and contractors compared their teleworking experiences. Their perspectives encapsulate the current state of teleworking, something particularly relevant during this Telework Week. Participating in the discussion were: M from the Department of Defense. M had been forcedRead… Read more »
I personally am a big fan of the work being done by our friends at the Participatory Budgeting Project, and they made two pretty exciting announcements recently that we wanted to share with you. First, as an exercise in walking the talk, the PBP asked its donors to decide how they should spend the moneyRead… Read more »
Here’s a question. Say you are the facilities manager for a government building. How do you keep track of the operating status of all the equipment and infrastructure within the building? Would you know if a chiller was not operating at peak efficiency? Now, hold that thought… Wind the calendar back to 2008. Recognizing aRead… Read more »
If you’re a writer, that first blank page can be daunting. The blinking cursor awaits. What do you have to say? Do you really have what it takes to write a whole book? Yet, the same writer, when put in front of a friendly blog interface, will immediately start writing. After all, it’s just aRead… Read more »
The following is a brief look back over the last 20 years based on what I have seen senior executives do to enhance their leadership of organizations throughout the years. 1. Clarify expectations. Focusing on results equals creating a zone of focus. I’ve seen several leaders throughout the years, do a great job at clarifyingRead… Read more »
While the civilian agencies wrestle with improving their IT procurement—and watch as legislation like the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) makes the slow march through Congress—the Department of Defense is moving ahead with its own plans to streamline the process. The problems with defense acquisition are known and many: Cost overruns, schedule slippage, etc.Read… Read more »
Kansas City has one, and so does Washington, DC. Of course New York and San Francisco have one. Miami used to have one, but now it doesn’t. I speak, of course, about 311 maps: a data visualization that plots city service requests on a map of the area (sometimes run by city government, but notRead… Read more »