Shortly into a new job, my newly minted college graduate daughter was asked to help plan an IT requirements identification and definition meeting. Her degree was in human growth and development. She had researched what she could about requirements, but was disoriented and didn’t know where to start. Being Da-aad (yes, pronounce that as aRead… Read more »
No one would argue with the notion that social and digital technologies are having a significant – and sometimes dramatic – impact on societies and economies. And though most people may not yet refer to this as the Digital Age or Era, they would likely concede that we are indeed transitioning away from a worldRead… Read more »
Any fan of crime drama TV shows can tell you that serial murderers tend to have specific modus operandi’s (MO’s, as the detectives refer to them) – meaning they operate systematically, within a pattern. How better to look at patterns and cycles than with data? In fighting crime, using data analytics to examine information onRead… Read more »
Organizations innovate for customers, but customers don’t think about innovation. In a digital world, customers think about ease and convenience, speed, security. Citizens care about receiving what they were promised. And in government, that means many things to many people. So if innovation means doing something different to add value for customers, what does itRead… Read more »
With each edition of The Business of Government magazine, my goal is straightforward: to introduce readers to the works, insights, and advice from some of today’s key government executives, who are tackling significant management challenges and seizing opportunities to lead. To complement these examples of leadership in action, I also highlight the practical, actionable research… Read more »
Have you ever heard of buzzword bingo? Where you and your co-workers make a bingo card of words or phrases like “touch base” and “data driven” and “Scalable” and “Proactive” and “Paradigm,” then head into a meeting and see who can hit a bingo? Well, it’s a real thing. I mention it because buzzword bingoRead… Read more »
There’s a lot of talk about innovation in the federal government, and with it comes talk of failing fast. The two go together in a useful, integrated way, but I hear little discussion of what either concept means. At least not in terms that managers can use. A definition of innovation I like is doingRead… Read more »
Many of us are antsy to see our futures before they happen. Haven’t we all been tempted to have our palms read or consult a crystal ball reader? In government, thankfully, such adventures are unnecessary, as we have qualified experts who can make predictions for the coming years. William Eggers, Director for Public Sector ResearchRead… Read more »
According to McKinsey, knowledge workers spend a whopping 19 percent of their day searching for information and expertise. Why? Take any one task and look at all the applications you use to get it done. Look at all the people you need to involve to do it. Look at all the time you waste switchingRead… Read more »
Wunderkind Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talks about risk taking: “The biggest risk is not taking any risk. In a world that’s changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risks.[1]” And yet a recent government-industry conference[2] included a discussion on the question of whether federal leaders will take onRead… Read more »