Take 10 Challenge: make and keep an appointment with yourself to think

by on 21. Apr, 2012 in Innovation, Leadership

We hear a lot about the need for public servants to innovate and to collaborate. However, how do we find the time to do this? The reality is that without attention, it is very easy for us all to focus our time on just what is in front of us, on the work we are [...]

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A Gift of Service: Just 4 hours

by on 04. Dec, 2011 in Service

Christmas Cards. Most of us this time of year are either sending or receiving them or both.  They come and go in different forms, from the traditional card to more modern mediums like email.  But not all emails are equal as many are a conduit to an online Christmas message with animation and sound – [...]

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What is innovation?

by on 27. Aug, 2011 in Innovation

Innovation is a well used term and so often gets confused or associated with the creation of big ideas.  People associate innovation with flashes of inspiration, with developing the light bulb. To me, simply put, innovation is ideas in action. It is not just about invention.  It is not always a new product, service or [...]

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Tweets from a public sector convention

by on 18. Jun, 2011 in Reform

In March 2011 I attended the International Public Sector Convention 2011 held by CPA Australia.  I took the opportunity to play with twitter and tweeted my first conference.  You can follow me on twitter here. I am not sure why, but now when you search my hash tag, #cpaipsc2011, there are no results.  So, to [...]

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What do you do for work?

by on 31. Mar, 2011 in Leadership, Pride, Public Service

How many conversations start with the simple question: What do you do for work?  You meet someone new and it’s an almost automatic response, a reflex. It seems harmless enough but after reading a post by Scott Dinsmore I think we need to think not only about the value in asking that simple question but how [...]

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Monthly Must See Series – March 2011

by on 30. Mar, 2011 in Monthly Must See

Each month I am asking friends to identify one link that they have seen online in the last month that they think is a “must see”. It can be a story, a picture, a video or a thought. I just ask that it be something they thought was inspiring. Check out these links that we’re recommending [...]

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Volunteer and let them see us volunteer

by on 28. Feb, 2011 in Leadership, Pride

I am a volunteer. I have sold raffle tickets, cooked sausages, coordinated parking, been a stagehand and I have had the chance to volunteer as a member of management committees and boards. I grew up with parents who volunteered. According to the ABS 2006 Volunteer Workforce Survey, 5.8 million Australians volunteer and in the Northern [...]

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What are the Brown M&Ms for the Public Service?

by on 31. Jan, 2011 in Client Service, Innovation, Service

Dan Heath and Chip Heath have drawn inspiration from some interesting sources in their article “Business advice from Van Halen” published in Fast Company .  The story talks about early warning signs and eventually explains that Val Halen had a no brown M&Ms clause in their contract. In addition to requiring a bowl of M&Ms backstage, the contract [...]

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Resolutions for 2011

by on 18. Jan, 2011 in Leadership, Pride, Public Service, Service, Values

At the beginning of a new year many of us make resolutions: get fit; stop smoking; quit coke (and I will); lose weight (I am working on it); save more money; achieve goals; be more organised; and write a guest post for www.publicservicelive.com. How many of your resolutions for 2011 relate to your role as [...]

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End of the year – a perfect time to say thank you

by on 13. Dec, 2010 in Leadership, Pride, Values

I was sitting down to a drink yesterday afternoon with two friends (they would hate me using the word mentors, but they are both friends and mentors) and we were discussing many different things.  One idea that we discussed was saying thank you to those people you valued in 2010.  Our relationships, both inside and [...]

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