Joe Flood

I love a good history, and Lawrence in Arabia by Scott Anderson really delivered. Lawrence was a much more complicated character than his movie version, and the war in Arabia was considerably more brutal. The “desert revolt” and the European post-war settlement created the modern Mideast and the problems we’re struggling with today.

It’s like the poster, “We have a strategic plan – it’s called doing things.” Really love that.
http://baltimoreprintstudios.com/2010/05/strategic-plan-posters-are-back/

Uber is awesome. They’re a little more expensive than taxis but clean, reliable and modern. So, of course, the DC Taxicab Commission has tried to put them out of business! They’ve fought Uber from the start because they feel that their mission is to protect cabbies from competition. They’ve tried to pass regulations outlawing Uber and failed time…[Read more]

I think you’re right about distribution. The cheapest Kindle now is $69. There’s been speculation that they’ll eventually be free, since Amazon makes money selling books and magazines through them. I’d give Kindles to all subscribers and end the print edition – it would be good for the environment too.

If anyone can make the news work, it’s Jeff Bezos. The Washington Post may be a community institution but it survived only due to its Kaplan for-profit education arm. Once the government cracked down on diploma mills, the Post faced a perilous future – so they sold to Bezos.
Journalism is one of those careers like photography – I don’t know how…[Read more]

Innovation is possible in areas that are literally outside of the box. These are spaces, like social media, where policy hasn’t caught up to the latest technological advancements. Lawyers and policymakers haven’t gotten around the regulate these new tools so “proceed until apprehended” as an old boss of mine once told me.
Innovation can also occur…[Read more]

I wish this were the case! Government agencies need to be more outward-facing and empower staff to interact with the public. They have to trust them to put them front and center. However, a lot of time leadership seeks to control rather than empower staff. This inhibits communication with the public. It also demoralizes staff who see their talents…[Read more]

I know that infamous Red Cross employee! In the end, it turned into a net positive because they had a sense of humor and didn’t freak out. The Red Cross realized it was a mistake and that they had to keep tweeting.

Excellent post. Twitter, Facebook, blogs, blog comments and all sorts of other electronic communication has blurred the idea of publishing. We’re all publishers now, if you think about it. On the Internet, a blog post from a disgruntled staffer has the same “weight” as an agency press release. They are both bits of content in the ether and it’s up…[Read more]

Storytelling is a great way to communicate information. We are story-telling animals. We relate to complicated issues through stories – that’s why the evening news so often uses “real stories” as a way to illustrate complicated topics like Medicare or Social Security. For the Weather-Ready Nation initiative, we try to use stories to like in this…[Read more]

Hi Dave! Glad to be a part of FCN.
During the call, I talked a lot about National Severe Weather Preparedness Week. This was our national-level campaign to encourage people to be prepared for severe weather. In addition, each state has its own severe weather preparedness week. These weeks are timed to coincide for when severe weather is most…[Read more]

You don’t need to be a budget expert to see what’s going to happen. The easiest cuts will be made first. No maintenance, travel or training. Projects will be slowed-down and then cancelled. Unspent pots of money will be seized. Contracts won’t be renewed and contractors will be laid off. The cuts won’t be guided by an agency’s mission but by…[Read more]

I really like the sound of Theory Y. I think it’s the best way to deal with people, for it is positive and constructive. People come to work to do good things. Management’s role is to help them.
My experience has been as a project manager with no actually authority. I had to cajole people to get them to do things. But people like to do cool…[Read more]

If we’re not # 1, then who is?
Russia, ruled by a kleptocracy that puts rock bands in jail for criticizing the government? The one-party state in China that runs slave labor camps? India, which can’t provide reliable electricity for its citizens? Or maybe Europe, with an aging population and a collapsing currency?
We may be in bad shape now but…[Read more]

Filter, a coffee shop in DC, not only doesn’t have wifi but it also bans laptops! Little signs are on tables encouraging patrons to put their computers away.

Thank god for underground utilities is all I have to say. Lucky to have electricity in downtown DC! Seems like just about everyone I know in Arlington is without power. Anyway, here’s a picture I snapped during the height of the storm, when it looked like a monsoon was blowing outside.

There will be no meetings after 3 PM 😉
But, seriously, I’ve worked with people in their 70s before. There are plenty of jobs that require the wisdom, patience and experience that older people have. For example, you’d want your agency leadership to have those skills. They don’t need to keep up with tweeting or anything else. They need to…[Read more]

Last updated in 2007? Yea, that should be taken down if it hasn’t been updated in five years.