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Innovation is Driven by Failure
Every week government officials hear the constant ring of pundits and others saying — Why don't you act more like a business? Why aren't you more innovative? Even with the…
America’s Infrastructure: Is Our Country on the Road to Ruin?!
The prevailing philosophy of our national government has been to let the lower levels of government (states, counties and cities) solve their own infrastructure problems, regardless of the nature of their…
The Distributed Consensus Technology Road to Direct Democracy?
By now, you have probably heard of the new internet technology, blockchain. The blockchain is the technology behind Bitcoin which started the digital cryptocurrencies. Blockchain allows for a secure and…
In Defense of Democratic Governance
The reality of political control of bureaucracy in a democratic society is often a difficult one. Things can move slow, problems can linger and expert advice can go unheeded. It…
Performance Does Matter for Government Employees
I can attest from over 40 years experience as a federal employee that performance is very much an issue in federal employment. And we should remember there is a very…
How to Design Effective Team Targets in Government
Government is famously a team sport. Almost everything (really) important we do in government requires effective teams. Whether it is reducing child mortality, disaster management, fighting opioid crisis or stopping…
The Leadership Quotient
What is effective leadership? Some people believe that being effective as a leader is knowing your team. Some people believe that being effective as a leader is being in control…
Public Administration: Theory or Practice
Trends in the teaching public administration discourse tend toward contemporary course delivery methods in the advent of computers and the internet. Discussions are often about available instructional technologies and teaching…
Employee Engagement and Labor Unions – A Win-Win
When my organization begins a new employee engagement survey, we conduct a kick-off meeting to explain the survey process to the key stakeholders in the agency or jurisdiction where we…
The Relevance of Context: Public Management in a Complex Environment
Today’s public sector employees function in a highly complex fishbowl environment, complicated by political leaders and public managers broadcasting their opinions in 140 characters. Sacrificing substance for splash, we’ve entered…
Taking a Knee – Revisited
One year ago I wrote my Public Administration Times column on Collin Kaepernick’s “taking a knee.” Since then, some of what I stated has come true. For example, NFL team…
November 16, 20171 CommentRead More