Tag: Management
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Thoughts on the dynamics of successful organizational change
This week a few light bulbs went off over my head. Unfortunately, I was kept too busy to have time to document them until now (hence the dearth of blog entries). What follows are some insights into how large organizations effect large changes. Organizations of sufficient age will naturally resist change. They are typically optimized…
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Some Observations on Management
I’m coming up on my first year anniversary of being a manager. I’m figuratively still dipping my toes into the management waters. I’ve made more than a few stumbles, but I think I am at least beginning to understand a few things about what it really means to be a manager. In many ways it…
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A Lesson in Leadership
Management is a blessing and a curse. I’ve experienced a lot of the downside of management recently. Perhaps that is why it was such a pleasure to experience the upside this week. To be fair I shouldn’t have much to complain about. My employees, geographically scattered though they may be, are all terrific. Each gives…
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It’s Not the Scorecard, It’s the Mission
I’ve been at my new employer (the U.S. Geological Survey) about a month now. Last week I was surprised to get in the mail a survey from my old federal agency asking for a candid assessment of why I left. There were a lot of reasons why I left. The primary reason I left remains…
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Boxed in by my computer
My office came together this week. On Tuesday I had it repainted and on Thursday I had the furniture people come in. They removed the 70s furniture and assembled modular furniture. I can now sit at my desk without my thighs touching the bottom of my desk drawer. I don’t have to elevate my arms…
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Management: A Blessing and a Curse
For 47 years I’ve avoided management. I’m not entirely sure why. Part of it undoubtedly came from emulating my Dad. He was an electrical engineer and stayed an electrical engineer for his nearly forty-year career. Occasionally he was nudged toward the management track but he always said “no thanks”. Maybe he was a geek at…
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Thrown into the deep end of the job pool
Monday I began my new job at the U.S. Geological Survey in Reston, Virginia. It’s been a very fast first week for me. I moved from a lackluster GS-14 job with the Administration for Children and Families, which is headquartered near L’Enfant Plaza in Washington D.C. ACF is an agency where even “casual Friday” meant…
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The Rest of the Story
I try to keep this web log focused on my what I hope are interesting and perhaps even profound observations. I try not to put in it all the trivialities of life that I deal with on a day-to-day basis. But I thought maybe for a change I should fill in some of the gaps…
Occam's Razor 