Originally posted at govloop:

Getting the Word Out

A big part with any online community is getting the word out. As government agencies move to engage online in various communities and create their own…a big part will be getting the word out.

On GovLoop we get the word out in a number of ways including:

-Being awesome – As Seth Godin says, be remarkable. That’s our goal and still the best way to get the word out.

-Partners – GovLoop partners with a number of relevant stakeholder groups from associations to events that have similar audiences

-Engage – GovLoop engages where our future members may be – from Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn

What else should we do? Ideas on getting the word out?

What should agencies do?

Originally posted at govloop

Local Government

People lump local government into one big group.

But obviously it is different to be a rockstar one-person IT shop like Dustin in Manor, TX

Than X,000+ CIO shops in New York City.

When people talk about how local government can be more innovative, I believe that is somewhat true.

But it is also a function of size. The Small Business Administration has less than 1,000 employees plus relies on partners for a variety of projects. They may be more innovative and risk-taking than a New York City or City of Chicago.

Or maybe not. Thoughts?

Originally posted at govloop

Public Sector is Multi-Sector. Do you believe it?

As I wrote previously, I belive that public sector is multi-sector. I continuously see my friends and colleagues who are passionate about public service do it from a number of angles.

Some are government employees. Some are contractors. Some are authors. Some run non-profits. But all truly care about improving government performance.

One of the great people in the space passionate about these issues is Brian Drake. He posted on his blog last week that he was moving from Deloitte and becoming a federal employee.

That transition is one I’ve seen more and more these days from peers who go back and forth.

An interest note was how many people did congratulate him and say “now you are one of us” or “thanks for joining the good side”

I wonder if that’s just making conversation. Or do we still hold that divide as sacred? Thoughts?

Originally posted at “GovReads - govloop”

Linchpin

So I read Seth Godin’g book Linchpin the other day. If you haven’t read it, you should. If you haven’t read his other books like “The Dip” or “Tribes”, you should.

Here’s my thoughts from the book

-Seth uses Linchpin almost like the word change agent. This is someone who is indenspinsable as they are creative, passionate, and energetic trying to create and innovate.

-It’s not easy. Seth tells story after story of difficulties linchpins face. I totally agree. It’s easy to be ordinary – you follow the rules given to you, don’t push the box, and people generally like you. To be extraordinary ( a linchpin), it can be painful – your great new idea will not resonate with everyone – it will take time and a lot of work.

-Social intelligence. Linchpins have great social intelligence and know how tell a story, pitch their ideas, and navigate the political waters.

-Linchpins should not settle. Linchpins should not work in jobs that don’t require linchpins. To me, this makes sense. Square peg in round hole. Linchpins should work to find bosses that appreciate their unique skill sets and roles that fit. This may not be easy or always attainable but to me makes sense.

Personally I think of a number of government linchpins and a lot of the statements hold true.

Think of someone like Mary Davie radically pushing Acquisition 2.0 and how we can do acquisitions better. She is a change agent but that is messy. It takes time – the Acquisition 2.0 group is now over 1 year old – and some days you move 3 steps forward, and others 2 steps back. But already we have seen a great event come out of the group, the Better buy project dialogue, and now are running an acquisition in a new way.

Will Acquisitions across government change tomorrow? No. But it takes people like Mary pushing hard with new ideas for a few years and that change will spread.

Originally posted at govloop

Top 5 – Topics for Small-Talk at the Office

I’m writing a little sires on Top 5s. I’ll write my top 5s on various topics and I encourage you to write yours.

Ahhh…dreaded small talk. An office is full of people with different backgrounds, different education, and interests. So what do you talk to when you run into the security guard hailing from Nigeria, the Yale-educated senior administrator, the HR lead from a small town with 40 years experience.

Here’s 5 go-to topics

1- Weather. So obvious but it works. Plus you can go either way – how nice it is or how bad?

2- Holidays – There’s always a holiday coming up. Asking people what they are doing or did is perfect. Cautionary note – during religious holidays, tread carefully and ask vaguely.

3- American Idol – I don’t even watch it and I know what’s going on. So does everyone else

4- Fantasy Football – Everyone has a league. And if they don’t, their colleague or husband or son is obsessed so they have that story

Food – A new deli open up nearby? Coffee shop? Have a pack of Skittles on you? Everyone loves food. Or they are on a diet and want to talk about that.

Who Are Your Peers?

GovLoop is all about connecting the government community. Federal, state, local Govies. Public policy students/profs. Good contractors and good government non-profits.

So I think of those in government as my peers. But I wonder what others do.

Who do you think our your peers? Government folks in your agency? Gov’t types by discipline (the other Gov HR folks)? A broader swarm of folks – for example, the IT Security field generally.

Liking Your Name

I’ve always been a fan of my name. To me it sounds cool. Stephen Anthony Ressler. Stephen A. Ressler. Steve Ressler

Crisp. Somewhat unique. Not too old-fashioned. Not too hipsterish.

To me it’s like being from Ohio. My name is a good middle-ground. Gives a slightly positive general vibe but is somewhat neutral.

And based on the Freakonomics research, I do think names matter. They conjure up memories of celebrities, or politicians, or people we once knew.

For example, I think Malcolm Gladwell is a great name for Malcolm Gladwell. Just sounds like a cool, smart dude.

Do you like your name?

If I Had…

I used to say “If I” a lot…

If I was the boss. If I had a million dollars. If I was the president. If I was the head coach of the team.

As I get older, I keep on thinking it’s easy to cricize those with “If I”

Now I’m focused more on getting into the right roles to do the change.

Because I think the decisions are always more nuanced and difficult than one would think.

And I think they’ll be fun to figure out and decide

How To Give Back

As we’ve launched the AwesomeGov fund, I’ve started thinking the best way GovLoop could give back.

There are some clear options where one way is to give money…

The other is to give time.

Usually pick one or the other..I think we should do both. What do you think? How do you give back?

The Price of Hyperlinking

If you notice in this blog, I don’t hyperlink much. You know why – it’s the price of hyperlinking.

It takes time and often I write these blogs on airplanes when I don’t have wi-fi.

And every hyperlink takes time…and I’m focusing on sharing ideas.

But maybe I should hyperlink more…Thoughts?