Over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed increasing references to government agencies as enablers rather than enforcers or regulators. I think that this is a side effect of 2 ideas that are gaining acceptance: the shift in the public sector to focus on trust rather than compliance seeing the public sector as an inter-connected systemRead… Read more »
Ghost Whisperer, iRobot, and many crime shows depend on detective work based on access to other people’s memories.Young people need expertise that gets them out of their chairs and to step away from their computers. Administrative ghost whisperers, younger staff or not, should seek out older staff. That experience should not be disregarded as a… Read more »
When I got my first career-path job after college, there was a lot I didn’t know about working in an office full of people who came from different backgrounds. I’d just moved to California and my New York communication style could come off as brash and blunt. I was often defensive and I unintentionally put people on the defensive.Read… Read more »
This nontechnical riddle took me a while to figure out. This saying floats around in the halls and offices of every building. For me, it resounds on all occasions when I have met with management. Agencies’ management is whipsawed between necessary compromise to face budget cuts and changing priorities at the same time. Compromise, inRead… Read more »
I hate word “bureaucracy” because it degrades public sector workers at all levels. For many reasons, countless pejorative metaphors, theories, and political actions about public sector workers have decorated the iron cage. Public sector staff can weave webs supporting real collaboration, see contacts outside the hierarchy and rules; they seek out connections with people who… Read more »
Back in 2009, the movie the Hangover introduced us to the ultimate Wolfpack. In the film, the oddball character Alan, played wonderfully by Zach Galifianakis, toasts his future brother-in-law during his bachelor party. “You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as aRead… Read more »
Just like a good fairy tale, a mentoring relationship should have a happy ending. Each mentoring relationship is different and has its own dynamics. Nevertheless, there are certain things you should think about when you are starting a relationship with a mentor. Just like any other relationship, these partnerships require love and caring to growRead… Read more »
EIS is the main component of the Network Services 2020 (NS2020) Strategy. It will replace GSA’s Networx and regional and local contracts, which many agencies currently use to acquire best-value IT, telecom, and infrastructure. Agencies will start to transition in 2017.
In last week’s post, I discussed how three words at the beginning of Vanilla Ice’s Ice, Ice Baby provide an important message for government leaders. (Bet you never thought you’d read that sentence.) In that post, we discussed creating a Stop Doing List. Now, I will outline a model to Collaborate. As government leaders, weRead… Read more »
If you’re a regular reader of the ITS blog, you already know that we provide the government IT and acquisition communities with private-sector solutions for everything from simple IT commodities to complex infrastructure and emerging technology. Now, we’ve made it even easier for government buyers and our industry partners to get the information they need,… Read more »