leadership

Six Essential Elements to Government Customer Service

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President Obama recently issued a Presidential Executive Order to all federal agencies to streamline processes and improve customer satisfaction with plans due to the Office of Management and Budget by this October.

How exactly do we improve customer satisfaction in government agencies? Great service in government is harder to provide and sustain than it is in private industry. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 21, 2011 at 2:00 PM

The Woz Comes to Washington

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Steve Wozniak’s eclectic experience as relentless tinkerer, entrepreneur, and longtime hero in the geek community — known now as much for his appearance on “Dancing With The Stars” as he is for co-founding Apple, Inc. — attracted a standing-room only crowd at the Washington Convention Center yesterday. And the Woz did not disappoint.

Wozniak served as a much as human icon for the technology world as he did as a keynote speaker at the 35th annual FOSE Exposition, a government technology trade show. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 20, 2011 at 10:57 AM

What’s Your Social Media Plan If Disaster Strikes?

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Federal agencies are embracing social media as an increasingly common way to interact with the public. Yet, a critical consideration that is often overlooked by agency officials is how social media will be incorporated in disaster and emergency preparedness plans. If your agency hasn’t fully developed a social media plan for disaster preparedness scenarios, it’s time to add it to your priority “to do” list!

Information about practically everything – both factual and wildly inaccurate – now travels around the globe literally in minutes, through new communication tools – Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, to name a few. In a natural or manmade disaster, if you don’t reach out to the public with the facts quickly, someone else will get there with rumor – and as we all know, misinformation can cause havoc, create panic, and potentially increase danger to those at risk who we want to protect. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 20, 2011 at 9:00 AM

Seven Management Imperatives: #5 Respond to the New Security Environment

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The fifth in a series of “Seven Management Imperatives” for government leaders, based on the insights provided by some 300 senior government officials and more than 300 research reports, courtesy of IBM Center of The Business of Government.

Government leaders and managers have a fundamental responsibility to protect citizens from security threats. The weapons and tactics employed in many of today’s security threats do not require the traditional armies of the past. Malicious groups of people, down to a hostile individual operating within the homeland, can acquire and employ commercially available technology to inflict major destruction. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 19, 2011 at 7:00 AM

Vint Cerf: Essential Ingredients for Innovating in Government

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Internet co-creator Vint Cerf argues that discontent, the ability to fail, and the environment where managers can say “yes” are among the key ingredients for leaders to foster innovation in government.

Let me start by making an observation: Progress doesn’t happen unless somebody is discontented. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 14, 2011 at 7:05 AM

Mark Forman: What the Feds Know About Cutting Waste and Why They Don’t Succeed

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A recent survey of government employees revealed that federal workers have a strong desire, and many ideas, on how government needs to be restructured in order to significantly improve performance and reduce costs.

Moreover, the survey found that budget cuts tend to drive agency personnel to take a number of proactive steps, including: Keep reading →

 /  Published July 13, 2011 at 2:00 PM

Disaster Management: Lessons from the Japanese Nuclear Meltdown

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The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has a plan for any kind of disaster. It starts with getting to the scene as quickly as possible.

So when an earthquake and tsunami hit northern Japan and devastated parts of the country on March 11, NRC’s first two experts were on the ground in Japan within 48 hours, ready to help. Many more emergency responders followed them. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 13, 2011 at 1:00 PM

Adm. Thad Allen: Separating The Value of Public Service From The Politics

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During my four decades of public service I have worked with many amazing people – some heroes who have risked their lives to save others, some who have risen to the occasion during crises like the Gulf oil spill and Hurricane Katrina, and many who have quietly gone about the business of serving the public with great dedication day-in and day-out. I was born while my father was at sea on a Coast Guard cutter.

In the current political climate and discourse over the national debt, we have done a poor job of distinguishing between the need for fiscal responsibility and the value of public service, which is enduring. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 13, 2011 at 7:15 AM

Seven Management Imperatives: #4 Use Real-Time Performance Data

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The fourth in a series of “Seven Management Imperatives” for government leaders, based on the insights provided by some 300 senior government officials and more than 300 research reports, courtesy of IBM Center of The Business of Government.

In the coming years, government executives will need to utilize real-time information for decision-making and accountability. Specifically, they must (1) Collect better data; (2) Conduct better analysis; (3) Make better decisions; and (4) Take smarter action. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 13, 2011 at 6:30 AM

Six Disaster Management Lessons For Agencies

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Martin Virgilio, deputy Executive Director for the NRC’s Reactor and Preparedness Programs, has these tips for agencies to stay on top of their game for incident responses:

1. Have a plan on the books for responding to emergencies including facilities, procedures and staff. Be prepared to transport technically qualified and trained staff to a trouble spot immediately. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 12, 2011 at 11:00 PM
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