Just What is a “Congress” Anyway? Every two years, Congress reboots. Like a bright New Year’s Day, it’s fresh, and clean, and brief. The 113th Congress assembled on Thursday, January 3 – a day for family and tradition, smiles and handshakes. They’ll return to the backstabbing soon enough. For some reason, many Americans think thatRead… Read more »
The World Is Changing Future Shock in the ‘60s said we could only accommodate so much change before a melt-down; many believed Toffler but does it still apply? Change happens at a breakneck speed, however it takes time to recognize and adapt. The Information Interview, a mainstay of job transitions, doesn’t work anymore. Thought Exercise:Read… Read more »
The IBM Center’s newly-released “Next Four Years” Resource Center updates its 2009 Presidential Transition materials for new political appointees. But it offers more in the way of other good government imperatives that will challenge leaders tomorrow. There are six “go to” topics in the IBM Center’s Resource Center for incoming new political appointees as wellRead… Read more »
As the roar of the Holiday season quiets down, people look to the New Year as a time start fresh and to reorient habits and behaviors that may not be serving them well. What often gets lost in creating the new is the value of reflecting on the past, so that beginnings are created onRead… Read more »
The Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland held ‘mock interviews’ and I had the honor of being an interviewer. The students came eager to learn from this role-playing exercise. The ‘interviewers’ are seasoned individuals – most are Smith School Alumni – and well experienced in hiring superior candidates. My ‘interviews’ found theRead… Read more »
If you are an active member of ASPA’s SECM and are interested in serving on the board, there are 3 positions open for election. If so, please let either John Kiefer or Tonya Elise Neaves ([email protected]) know as soon as possible. The new officers will assume their roles at ASPA’s national meeting in New OrleansRead… Read more »
New Zealand’s government reform efforts over the past quarter century have yielded both positive results as well as cautionary tales. Its proposed next steps, however, are worth examining. At the World Bank’s series of forums on performance management, I found John Whitehead’s insights particularly interesting. Whitehead is a former secretary of the Treasury in NewRead… Read more »
When speaking with a current job-seeker, she said “while I was working, the working world changed!” This seasoned individual is finding her specific experience is not of interest to employers in today’s job market. With a dozen years in responsible internal analyst roles, what arcane experience and skills are being ignored by potential employers? SheRead… Read more »
Applying agile software development methods to IT projects has been a hot topic as of late at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The agency recently unveiled a report highlighting its 32 tips for applying agile development to help improve how the federal government will develop and implement IT infrastructure projects. Specifically, these tips focus onRead… Read more »
Initially, open source was an approach to developing software among coders, which was like Spanky, Darla, and the Our Gang kids “puttin’ on a show.” Everyone contributed what they had (sharing resources) and did what they knew (collaborate) – and the show was always a success. The open source approach is a philosophy, a culture,Read… Read more »