Many Feds Face Furloughs Twice
Dems Back Retroactive Shutdown Pay
How Long Has the Shutdown Lasted?
Agencies Post Shutdown Plans Online
No TSP Contributions During a Shutdown
How Contractors Might Weather a Shutdown
AUTHOR ARCHIVES
Mark Micheli
Editor, Excellence in Government
Mark Micheli is Special Projects Editor for Government Executive Media Group. He's the editor of Excellence in Government Online and contributes to GovExec, NextGov and Defense One. Previously, he worked on national security and emergency management issues with the US Treasury Department and the Department of Homeland Security. He's a graduate of the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs and studied at Drake University.
Bursts of Productivity Are Key to Getting Things Done
September 4, 2013 There’s a reason people find email to be such a drag on their productivity. It is. More to the point, it’s a treasure trove of distractions. Each new email represents an escape point, an entreaty to deviate from the task at hand. We accept this burden, thankful for email’s “convenience,” ...
Why You Should Stress Your Employees Out
September 3, 2013 When was the last time you felt truly accountable for something? A quick look at the old Merriam-Webster dictionary shows that accountability, by definition, means “an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility…for one’s actions.” It’s shocking how often we’re part of projects for which, by virtue of being in a ...
The Simple Reason Perfectionism Is So Dangerous
August 29, 2013 A little advice from the late David Foster Wallace: "If your fidelity to perfectionism is too high, you never do anything." Watch the beginning of the above video for his short, but excellent, take on the pitfalls of perfectionism. Keep watching for insight into the author’s life and his perspective ...
The Cool Tool Helping Everyday Citizens Track Cyber Attacks in Real Time
August 27, 2013 Listen to the story: Download this episode | Subscribe on iTunes Recent leaks revealing NSA surveillance tactics by former Booz Allen contractor Edward Snowden have drawn renewed attention to cybersecurity. As more and more of our lives become dependent on, and connected through, the Internet, the US government and regular ...
Sequestration Hits Army and Navy’s Senior Ranks
August 21, 2013 Navy officials call it “a tough choice.” The Army is more blunt: “The money is gone.” Sequestration has hit the senior ranks of the Army and Navy, as both services plan to cut the number of high-ranking personnel. Navy officials announced plans this week to reduce, eliminate or consolidate a ...
50 Percent of Americans Say Obama Isn’t ‘Tough’ on Egypt
August 20, 2013 Since the Egyptian military’s July 3 ouster of President Mohamed Morsi began a brutal and ongoing violent crackdown in the streets of Cairo, critics have labeled the Obama administration’s response as everything from cautious and poorly understood to feckless and incoherent. A Pew Research Poll conducted Aug. 15-18 found that ...
Area 51 Has Been Hiding U-2 Spy Planes, Not UFOs
August 19, 2013 Add confounding thousands of conspiracy theorists -- and inspiring six decades of science fiction -- to the U-2 spy plane’s already impressive resume. A newly declassified CIA history of the aircraft reveals that Area 51 does, indeed, exist and that the air base wasn’t built to hide evidence of a ...
Why You’re Failing to Change Your Organization (And How to Do It Better)
August 6, 2013 Listen to the story: Download this episode | Subscribe on iTunes According to author Gregory Shea, 75 percent of change initiatives fail. It’s seeking to understand why change fails--and how it can be done better--that drove Shea and co-author Cassie Solomon to write their new book Leading Successful Change. Shea ...
Watch Curiosity’s First Year on Mars in This Hypnotic Two Minute Time-lapse
August 1, 2013 Hard to believe it’s almost been one year since Curiosity Rover, “Mohawk Guy” and “7 Minutes of Terror” all became part of the vocabulary we immediately associate with NASA. On Aug. 6, 2012 Curiosity touched down in Mars’ Gale Crater, marking a significant achievement in unmanned interplanetary exploration. To commemorate ...
USDA Paid $36 Million to a Lot of Dead People
July 31, 2013 The title of the GAO report really says it all: “USDA Needs to Do More to Prevent Improper Payments to Deceased Individuals.” That stark pronouncement comes after a recent GAO audit discovered that three USDA agencies had made $36 million in improper payments to 6,336 dead people between 2008 and ...
