Many of us who have no formal training or background in accounting/finance find ourselves overseeing big budgets. As we continue to advance in our careers the size of those budgets continues to grow, along the expectations and LIABILITIES. Brookings Executive Education (BEE) Finance for Non-Financial Managers course addresses some of the potential pitfalls those ofRead… Read more »
When the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) urged D.C. federal agencies to let employees work from home during the Pope’s visit from September 22–24, the idea threw many govies into ecstasy. While government will officially be open for business, the OPM is encouraging “workplace flexibility options” like telework or a day off so they don’t add to the expected holy mayhem. Many agenciesRead… Read more »
Recently, I enrolled in a course entitled “Project Management for the Office Professional” at Graduate School USA. To tell you the truth, I was skeptical. In my mind, project management had nothing to do with my desk job. Isn’t a project manager supposed wear a hard hat at construction sites? I could not have beenRead… Read more »
As detailed in the recent announcement from Center for The Business of Government Executive Director, Dan Chenok, I am happy to be starting my work with the Center as Innovation and Social Media Fellow. I plan to explore innovation, social media, and the intersection of the two as government’s look to better achieve their missions andRead… Read more »
Working for a publication that almost exclusively serves the public sector and its partners, I routinely deal with practitioners and leaders at all three levels of government. Previously, I worked for an organization that archives data for government research projects. Along the way, I’ve picked up several tips and tricks for working effectively with electedRead… Read more »
At a recent professional networking group event one of the other members asked me if I could tell him about organizations like the Federal Communicators Network (FCN). By way of background, FCN is a listserv that communicators in the federal government use to exchange ideas about the field of communications. The group, which also hostsRead… Read more »
Before my current state government position supporting AmeriCorps programs, I spent two years working as a community development consultant in Madagascar, the large island off the southeast coast of Africa. While living and working in Madagascar — a country and culture so different from our lives here in America — I learned a lot about perspective. And perspectiveRead… Read more »
We’ve all said at some point we wish that we had more time in the day. Chances are we would put more on our plate and complain about the same issue. Time is a commodity. Everyone has 24 hours in a day-how you spend them makes the difference. Invest some of my spare time workingRead… Read more »
We disagree with things people say or do all the time. At work we may disagree with a method, an outcome, a piece of data, a decision, what is said, or how something is said. We shouldn’t be afraid to disagree; it is a natural part of good communication. Topics of great importance inspire passionateRead… Read more »
Herbert Simon once said “Everyone designs who devises courses of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones.” Before hearing that statement, I had a very narrow view of design. I thought design was for creative types or artists who made shoes, furniture or cool new technology products. I didn’t realize that design encompassesRead… Read more »