tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20088614.post5280717637919532299..comments2024-03-15T03:57:44.711-07:00Comments on Candi On Content: Proceed Until Apprehended!Candi Harrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08877096046198534705noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20088614.post-37666767920962126872009-04-03T16:11:00.000-07:002009-04-03T16:11:00.000-07:00Candi,So, let's consider what would happen if a fe...Candi,<BR/><BR/>So, let's consider what would happen if a federal employee starts blogging about their office, and then his/her boss asks "Hey, what's this?"<BR/><BR/>Should the employee just say "Don't worry, Boss. I heard someone from the White House's Office of New Media say that it was okay to do it."<BR/><BR/>And then, his/her boss will say, "Oh, really? That's strange, because I didn't get that memo. Can I see your copy?"<BR/><BR/>Of course, there is no such "memo". And, maybe the new "Open Government Directive" will speak to that but, until then, the verbal remarks by a political appointee (even from the White House) carry no weight, officially speaking, with federal managers. (Nor should they.)nge the thinking of federal managers nationwide. <BR/><BR/>But that scenario with the federal boss is what plays in the heads of all the would-be innovators who are not so lucky as to have federal bosses as exceptional and empowering as Mr. Latimer was to you.<BR/><BR/>And so, WE should not pretend that federal employees will begin pretending that their boss, i.e., the person who controls their career more than anyone else, has suddenly (and imperceptibly) become exceptionally empowering.<BR/><BR/>Deja-vu Note --The higher-ups of the federal "reinventing government" effort in the 1990's thought that they could simply exhort federal employees to pretend that they had been empowered to try innovative (risky) new things. (Most federal employees decided, instead, to act rationally, and act as if their boss had NOT changed.)<BR/><BR/>The "change-leaders" of today should learn from that. Rhetoric is great, but it is no subsitute for good implementation. <BR/><BR/>vr,<BR/>Stephen Buckley<BR/>http://UStransparency.comStephen Buckleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07538022879355413101noreply@blogger.com