When I look at plans for Professional Development, I think we are missing the point. We make it all about the individual shaping his or her future. There should be more to it if one takes the notion, professional development should involve the people who have a say in a person’s career. Organizations say, maybeRead… Read more »
I don’t drink coffee, but I take my coffee breaks seriously. Coffee fueled an important span of breakthroughs in human thought, according to Steven Johnson in a popular TED talk. Johnson posits that English coffeehouses provided the necessary space and stimulant to drive a sustained era of innovations that began in the mid 17th centuryRead… Read more »
One of the first things you do when you purchase your first house is get cable. The next is to get addicted to HGTV. I didn’t even stand a chance; I was hooked within the first 30 minutes. Within hours, even though my fiancée and I were lucky enough to get a house with minimalRead… Read more »
Recently I sat in on a meeting between a group of IT developers (contractors) and Federal program managers. Just a routine project review. As I looked around, it struck me that we were really quite a diverse crowd. In the room were people from China, Viet Nam, India, Russia, Somalia, Brazil, Puerto Rico, and Iran,Read… Read more »
It’s Wednesday and your manager gives you a new task: write and deliver a speech for 100 people at a public event in two days. You will either react in one of two ways: thrilled at the professional development opportunity — or fearful of speaking publicly in front of large crowds. Fear of public speakingRead… Read more »
by Mary Schwarz, ICF Interactive Interdisciplinary has always been one of those words that bothered me. Not the actual intent of interdisciplinary – approaching work by involving practitioners from several areas of knowledge – but what it sounds like. So many ways to be disciplined or punished … will it be writing lines, scrubbing gumRead… Read more »
“What do you want to order?” my husband always asks me at the Chinese restaurant. After fifteen years going there, we know the three lunch specials among which we rotate but imagine it is always a choice. “Oh, I’ll just have what you’re having,” I always say. Because no matter what you order there, itRead… Read more »
Sometimes you know you’re working for a great leader and sometimes, well, sometimes you know you’re not. Here’s my tips for spotting great government leaders. 1. They put public service first. What does it mean? It means they have a commitment to public service and to the greater good. What does that look like? They thinkRead… Read more »
Last week, I wrote a post listing nine things federal employees can do to reach their income potential. This week, I list the last 12 habits based off the book, Rich Habits – The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals, by Tom Corley. They are: You Reject Self-Limiting Thoughts – Successful people command their thoughts andRead… Read more »
I live and die by screen sharing and today I died by it. After upgrading my desktop mac to Yosemite with no issues on Saturday I decided to break my own rule and bring the laptop along as well. I didn’t have any really good reason, I just was sitting around and decided to do it.Read… Read more »