What would our services cost

Check this out. These are the GSA per-hour costs for a consulting firm out of Colorado:

• Partner/Principal Consultant $356.25
• Senior Management Consultant $285.00
• Project Management Training Consultant $237.50


• Management Consultant $190.00
• Project Coordinator $ 42.75
• Project Associate $ 33.25

Wondering how we match up? Here are their definitions:

Partner / Principal Consultant
Minimum Education and Experience: ELG's Partner / Principal Consultants possess a Ph.D. or Masters degree in appropriate discipline plus a minimum of 15 years of consulting experience. These people demonstrate strong intellectual, organizational and client management skills. These people are proficient in human performance and strategy implementation, strategic plans, business strategies and design, organizational and infrastructure designs and is very competent working with senior leadership.
Functional Responsibility: A Partner / Principal Consultant provides strong executive, enterprise-level management and direction. This person possesses a broad understanding of the client's industry and has an extensive skill set to help solve the client's problems. A Partner / Principal Consultant is able to help the client visualize their need and provides proven problem solving techniques to make a significant difference. This person is capable of weighing multifaceted problems and their proposed solutions, resolving anomalies between and among possible solutions.

Senior Management Consultant
Minimum Education and Experience: ELG's Senior Management Consultants possess at least a Masters degree in appropriate discipline plus a minimum of 10 years of relevant experience or Bachelors degree plus a minimum of 15 years relevant experience. They have proficient experience in reviewing strategic plans, directing organizational development and change management.
Functional Responsibility: A Senior Management Consultant provides strong executive, enterprise-level management and direction. This person performs difficult and complex strategic analysis and is able to provide thought leadership in formulating strategy. This person is able to predict issues and challenges and provides pragmatic, proven solutions to make a significant difference. A Senior Management Consultant is able to coordinate the work and output of multiple project teams and work directly with senior client executives ensuring that the work consistently reflects the goals and desired outcomes of the client.

Project Management Training Consultant
Minimum Education and Experience: ELG's Project Management Training Consultants possess at least Bachelors degree plus a minimum of seven years of relevant experience. They demonstrate strong leadership and presentation skills.
Functional Responsibility: A Project Management Training Consultant provides managerial, functional, and technical expertise that enables them to lead project teams. This person has an extensive knowledge and skill set of proven project management disciplines. A Project Management Training Consultant can also provide input for identifying and defining present and future training needs by assisting with coordinating and conducting needs analysis. This person is proficient in writing material for new training programs, including review, evaluate and modify existing and proposed programs.

Management Consultant
Minimum Education and Experience: ELG's Management Consultants possess at least a Bachelor s degree in a related field and seven years experience, with proven competencies in at least three different work environments.
Functional Responsibility: A Management Consultant will provide analysis, assistance on project planning, small group facilitation, original thought, and other responsibilities within general guidelines on broadly defined projects. Client contact is routine.

Project Coordinator
Minimum Education and Experience: ELG s Project Coordinators possesses at least a Bachelor s degree and a minimum of five years of relevant experience, or a High School diploma and 10 years relevant experience. They demonstrate strong written and oral communication, interpersonal and work organization skills.
Functional Responsibility: The Project Coordinator provides support to project teams, which are usually comprised of client and ELG participants. This person frequently handles project assignments, directing clerical and other support staff as necessary. This person may analyze data and prepare complex reports to the project team, and facilitate efficient project operations by prioritizing and expediting workflow through the office of the project leader, who may derive from either ELG or the client. Communicates the leader s instruction to various individuals or departments and initiates follow-up actions as needed.

Project Associate
Minimum Education and Experience: ELG s Project Associate possesses at least a High School diploma and a minimum of two years relevant experience. The Project Associate has a working knowledge of common office software (e.g., MS Project, Excel, Word, etc.)
Functional Responsibility: Project Associates provide project support such as tallying data, transcribing meeting notes, and performing simple analysis. Client contact is limited.

For the firm's website, see Executive Leadership Group, Inc: Accelerating Strategy Execution.

CPC documents available online

I uploaded, to here, the documents Joy sent out today. I'm guessing these are the latest and greatest CPC documents as approved by CG-0931.

Opportunities and Challenges for OPCs

From Dorothy Winchell:

I don't know how many of you read the electronic version of "Government Executive", so I am sharing. This story reflects opportunities and challenges for us to standardize and measure. Awareness is out there... dw

Survey indicates dissatisfaction with government management
By Robert Brodsky

Nearly 90 percent of Americans believe the federal government does a poor job spending taxpayer dollars and managing its programs efficiently, according to a new online survey.

The results of the "America Inc." survey, conducted in August by Primavera Systems, a software firm based in Bala Cynwyd, Pa., and O'Keefe & Co., a marketing and communications firm based in Alexandria, Va., also indicate a difference between the public's and federal managers' perceptions of the government's performance.

The survey asked 677 members of the public about the government's overall management efficiency and steps for improvement. The survey posed a number of more narrowly focused questions to 151 federal managers from across government and throughout the country. The public section had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percent while the federal manager component had a margin of plus or minus 8 percent.

Full story

We need a good win like this

Check out this consulting "win" from the Army: Surgeon General's Office Applies Business Transformation to In-Processing. This is nothing more than the type of thing we ought to be doing, the kind of success that we want to have. I'm going to strive to be able to have the outcome from an intervention be compelling enough to get the public affairs people to write a story.

And, one of the first things we can all do is start using the OPC Tracker & Trip Report Tool. The TTRT is going to allow us to begin to capture some successes and to increase the pool of knowledge.

Activity Tracker & Trip Report

Would something like this work?

Ouch

So true it sometimes hurts

Talk like a Pirate Day!

Pirate-Day-Poster
Originally uploaded by thescurvypirates

The 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Please remember that it's talk like a pirate day, not make arm movements like a pirate day.

MySpace for Misfits...

Myspace Ruins Lives......
Originally uploaded by Steven Is R

No. Sorry. I mean "MySpace for Oh-picks."

Great recommended reads

the stack of books to read
Originally uploaded by Frank McKinney

New Coast Guard reading list released today:

R 021430Z AUG 07
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-00//
TO ALCOAST BT UNCLAS //N05351// ALCOAST 378/07 COMDTNOTE 5351
SUBJ: 2007-8 COAST GUARD READING LIST AND POLICY ON BOOK PURCHASES
1. I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE RELEASE OF A NEW COAST GUARD READING LIST. SINCE BECOMING COMMANDANT, I HAVE BEEN TALKING TO YOU ABOUT THE COAST GUARD OF THE 21ST CENTURY, A COAST GUARD THAT DEMANDS FORWARD LOOKING, ADAPTIVE, AND FLEXIBLE LEADERS, RESPONSIVE TO EMERGING CONCERNS AND TRENDS. BUILDING A COAST GUARD IS NOT LIMITED TO MODERNIZING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRANSFORMING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CHAIN OF COMMAND. IT MEANS BUILDING LEADERSHIP THAT WILL BEST POSITION THE SERVICE FOR TODAY AND THE FUTURE. IT MEANS CONTINUALLY ASSESSING OUR SKILLS AND BEING ENGAGED IN LIFELONG LEARNING REGARDLESS OF RANK OR TIME IN SERVICE. LIFELONG LEARNING IS ABOUT CHALLENGING YOURSELF THROUGH EXPOSURE TO DIFFERING PERSPECTIVES, NEW EXPERIENCES, AND EDUCATION. AS A LEADER, I CANNOT OVERSTATE THE VALUE OF READING IN TERMS OF LIFELONG LEARNING, PERSONAL GROWTH, AND INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT.
2. THERE ARE 26 BOOKS ON THIS YEARS LIST, INCLUDING THOSE RECOMMENDED BY "LEADERS OF LEADERS," SOME ON COAST GUARD HISTORY AND CULTURE, AND OTHERS ABOUT LEADERSHIP AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES.
MY PERSONAL RECOMMENDATION IS "THE CONTRARIANS GUIDE TO LEADERSHIP," BY STEVEN SAMPLE. IT IS A STRAIGHTFORWARD BOOK ABOUT HOW LEADERS CAN FREE THEMSELVES FROM THE SHACKLES OF CONVENTIONAL WISDOM.
3. UNITS ARE AUTHORIZED TO PURCHASE THE BOOKS ON THE LIST FOR THEIR PROFESSIONAL LIBRARIES. ONE SET OF BOOKS COSTS APPROX 431 DOLLARS.
4. IN ADDITION, FOUR BOOKS ARE AVAILABLE FOR FREE VIEWING ON COMPUTERS VIA BOOKS 24X7, PART OF OUR CONTRACT WITH SKILLSOFT FOR E-LEARNING PRODUCTS. THE BOOKS AVAILABLE ARE: BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY, CRUCIAL CONFRONTATIONS, GETTING THEM TO GIVE A DAMN, AND POWER MENTORING.
5. TO ACCESS BOOKS 24X7, REGISTERED USERS CAN GO TO HTTPS://USCG.SKILLPORT.COM. NEW USERS MUST USE A CG WORKSTATION FOR THEIR INITIAL REGISTRATION AND GO TO HTTP://CGWEB.TCYORKTOWN.USCG.MIL/SFWEB. ONCE LOGGED IN, CLICK ON "BOOKS 24X7."
6. THE READING LIST AND OTHER LEADERSHIP AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE ON THE WEB AT WWW.USCG.MIL/LEADERSHIP.
7. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND A BOOK FOR THE NEXT READING LIST, CONTACT LYNNE DONAHUE, CG-133, LYNNE.M.DONAHUE(AT)USCG.MIL, TEL 202-475-5514.
8. INTERNET RELEASE AUTHORIZED.
9. ADM THAD ALLEN, COMMANDANT, SENDS.

A great list; we ought to have book reports in September during our San Diego meeting.

Comparing ourselves to other consultants

The Consultant
Originally uploaded by tag_canada

I'm always interested in other consultants: what they do; how they do it; who they do it for; what their paradigms & beleifs are. All that jazz.

Here's an interesting external consulting firm I stumbled across: Atlantic Consulting Partners in Dallas. Check out their "services overview."

An interview process

Alki Point Lighthouse 2
Originally uploaded by GoodMolecules

Lieutenant Dan and I recently wrapped up conducting some interviews with MLCA staff members. These were "beta" interviews; we were looking to see if the questions gave us the information we needed for senior leadership. We did a pretty decent job documenting our process and findings; thought some of you might be able to use this in your own work. Or you can just critique the grunt out of it. Either way, you can find it here.

Just who is that Lil Maizer person?

From Dorothy... alas, I couldn't get the sound to upload.



Fair winds, Lil, and may you always have following seas. We're going to miss you; you've done great things with the Coast Guard.

Anticipation!!!

Mark your calendars: Last week of September.

Why use the Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence?

I think sometimes it's still difficult to sell the Criteria for Performance Excellence. Here's my first take at a powerpoint to cover the characteristics of the Criteria, attempting to address the "What's in it for me?" question.



Your thoughts?

The Cause for Action with strategic transformation

Here's a little something that Admiral Allen gave to the LAC recently...

Annette's Last Supper

A farewell to Annette; and may she have fair winds & following seas in her new role over in CG-1.

Hey, that calls for a CATWOE!

Kitty Cat
Originally uploaded by zeddyorg.

I great post at LifeHack about a problem solving tool:

CATWOE is a method for expanding your thinking about a problem or situation before you zero in on a specific problem that you want to solve.

Customers: Who are they, and how does the issue affect them?

Actors: Who is involved in the situation? Who will be involved in implementing solutions? And what will impact their success?

Transformation Process: What processes or systems are affected by the issue?

World View: What is the big picture? And what are the wider impacts of the issue?

Owner: Who owns the process or situation you are investigating? And what role will they play in the solution?

Environmental: Constraints What are the constraints and limitations that will impact the solution and its success?

The idea is that before attempting to resolve a problem, you run through the CATWOE checklist so you’re not fixing one thing but potentially letting something else go wrong.

Read all about it at the source, MindTools.

How to get things done

Patrick Star, Getting Things Done
Originally uploaded by gordasm.

Doug Sundheim at Fast Companies Expert Blogs suggests most of us need to simplify through focus. He notes

Simplicity isn't simple. Complexity is simple. Anyone can make something complex. Read the front page of any newspaper. You'll find complex problems everywhere. Look into your own life. You'll find complex forces at play. Complexity is the natural state of things. Sophistication lies in your ability to SIMPLIFY complexity. It lies in your ability to make sense of the world around you. You can't do everything. Understand what's important and what's not. Pick your focus and act.

Mr. Sundheim offers this daily strategy to help maintain focus.

1. Write down your objectives for the next year.


2. Identify the 3-5 primary buckets in which you spend your day (might be Admin, Development, Production, & Personal for instance).


3. Write down active tasks in each bucket.


4. Prioritize each list.


5. Consult your objectives and pick the top 3 tasks across all buckets.


6. Each day bring yourself back to them when you get off course.

Repeat daily.

Simple, eh? Sure. But it's all about the execution, as we all know.

Rules for meetings

Coover-Clark Conference Room.
Originally uploaded by Jeffrey Beall.

Here's a good reminder of hints to start (and end) meetings on time.

Change is Good!

I teach change; I don't "do" change.

A great resource for all things strategic planning

I came across this site today; I highly recommend it. Great tools. Great resources.

Packing and not overdoing it

Lifehacker reminded me that we can always learn to pack better. They cite Travelite for hints:

Even by paring down your things to a pack-light minimum, the key to traveling light is to be organized with your stuff. And now that you've had a chance to gather all of your things for your travels, this section tells you how to put it all together in your pack.

Have you ever needed to get into your pack and had difficulty finding things because your bag was stuffed full, your hand shuffling around blindly feeling for some document or bottle of sunblock? Have you ever opened your travelpack and had small things fall out all over the place? The secret is to compartmentalize all of your goodies by category, puttings things into sacks, bags, envelopes and packs. This will allow you to easily get to the item you are looking for. When you open up your pack the most that will happen is that some smaller sacks will tumble out, ready for you to grasp.

See the details here.

The Scooter Libby jury is using meeting management tools

I'm pretty certain some on the Scooter Libby journey are trained facilitators. Check out what they're asking for in terms of supplies and information... I'm just surprised they didn't ask for Mr. Sketch markers, too.

Army job opening: Organizational and Strategic Planning Analyst

Here's a job for someone.

Serves as a Army Capabilities Integration Center Organizational and Strategic Planning Analyst and staff action officer in the Program Management Division, with responsibilities for organizational and strategic planning issues. Independently plans and conducts both short-term and long-range strategic studies and reviews other broad scale actions/projects associated with ARCIC goals, efficiencies, increased productivity and reduced manning which directly affect the resource posture and the accomplishment of the ARCIC mission. Assesses the impact of resource and programmatic constraints upon the ARCIC organizational structure, management systems, and/or utilization of personnel. Provides guidance and direction for areas of studies/projects. Establishes overall milestones, conducts meetings, and consolidates staff notes/comments for response to installations and activities. Maintains close liaison with ARCIC staff subject matter specialists in activities.

Any CG OPC could do this with one hand tied behind their back.

Er, actually, probably not as it's difficult to type with one hand tied behind the back.

Too funny... Goals... SMART goals...

And, on a somewhat related topic, a little something on SMART goals from Project Smart:

The acronym SMART has a number of slightly different variations, which can be used to provide a more comprehensive definition for goal setting:

S - specific, significant, stretching

M - measurable, meaningful, motivational

A - agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented

R - realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented

T - time-based, timely, tangible, trackable

This provides a broader definition that will help you to be successful in both your business and personal life.

Pictures from the first two days of the Internal Consulting Workshop

Welp, I've finished the slide show with the pics taken thus far. Actually, that would slide shows as I had to break the darn thing in two because the file was too large to upload, even after I went through and got rid of some pics.

Here's Monday:



And, here's Tuesday:



Enjoy!

Topics for the LANT course

Thoughts on what we might take on during our May week together:

• Reasoning with statistics
• Flip chart art
• CPC Facilitation and Delivery (2-day course)
• Analyzing OAS and other quantitative tools
• Suggestions on getting qualitative information, including the list below and the list of ways to get customer information from the customer book, Customer Centered Growth
• Change management & perhaps the Kotter stuff

Your thoughts?

Focus Groups

What are they? What's the difference between a focus group and a group interview?

Try this overview from Iowa State University.

Scott Krejci named first qualified adjunct Leadership Development Center instructor

ATLANTA, GA. LT Scott J. Krejci, an organizational performance consultant assigned to the Eighth Coast Guard District in New Orleans, was awarded a qualification as an instructor with the Leadership Development Center in New London, Connecticut. Mr. Charles Coiro, Assistant Chief of the Leadership & Organizational Performance Branch, and CWO Michael Brzezicki presented LT Krejci with his certification during a training session at Leadership Strategies in Atlanta, GA.

As the first adjunct instructor with the Leadership Development Center, LT Krejci is qualified to teach the Commandant's Performance Excellence Overview Course.

LT Krejci has been an organizational performance consultant since August 2004.

They look awfully serious, don't they?

Neal Thayer named Coast Guard's Ancient Consigliere

ATLANTA, GEORGIA. Ms. Chris Wehrenberg and Captain Joseph Re, both of the Office of Performance Management and Decision Support, presented Neal Thayer, an organizational performance consultant assigned to the Thirteenth Coast Guard District in Seattle, Washington, with a plaque designating him the Coast Guard's Ancient Consigliere. The Ancient Consigliere is an award similar to the Coast Guard's Ancient Mariner for cutter personnel or the Ancient Albatross for aviators; the Ancient Consigliere is the organizational performance consultant who has the longest continuous tenure within the consultants' cadre.

Mr. Thayer, a former Coast Guard officer, has been an organizational performance consultant with the Coast Guard for more than a decade. As the "Advisor to the Capofamiglia," Mr. Thayer serves as one of the key internal organizational consultants for the Coast Guard, providing counsel to all levels of the Coast Guard.

Captain Re and Ms. Wehrenberg presented Mr. an engraved crystal plaque which read:

---

Neal B. Thayer

Ancient Consigliere

Having served as an Organizational Performance Consultant for the longest continuous tenure

Advisor to the Capofamiglia

Inducted to the Order of Consultants, June 1996

Named Ancient Consigliere, February 2007

---

Deliberatio Senatus: Consultant Council of Elders

Some people would say this is scary.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA. Neal Thayer, Peter Stinson, and Dan Canavan were, today, inducted into the Deliberatio Senatus, or Consultant Council of Elders, of the Coast Guard's Organizational Performance Consultant corps.

Litmus Questions for Measures

I stumbled across these questions in an old file on my U: drive. They reminded me that as we develop metrics, we really do need to keep a laser focus.

Anyway, here they are; perhaps they'll help you as you put together metrics to monitor the health of your organization or the progress of your program or initiative.

• Will you crash if you don't monitor this gauge?


• Does it help the organizational unit reach it's vision?


• Does it help manage the business? Can you make decisions based on it?


• Can you make changes and improve your results based on it?


• Is the data worth collecting? Does it actually tell you anything?


• What are the things that keep you up at night? Are they covered by your measures?


• After two months away, what do you really want to know?

What do you think?

Location for our May 2007 LANT OPC Mini-Conference

Looks like we're headed to southern Connecticut! I see Mystic tours and Native American gambling. Oh, and performance excellence work, too.

Tools & methods to get things done

While I teach time management and organization, I'm always struggling with it myself. Here's a list of twenty tools & methods to help with to-do lists.

Working on our location for the May conference

Aaron and I are stuck at SFO, waiting for our flights. As much as we wanted to leave northern California a little early, we're both on red eye flights and were unable to make changes to an earlier flight.

I hate flying east.

I'm working on the costs for our Atlantic Area OPC conference. I am building a spreadsheet; you'll find the spreadsheet here. When you get a chance, please take a look. We're going to be making the decision based on best value to the government. To me, best value means a comparative low cost, no outrageous costs for any particular office (ie, it costs one office $3K, but everybody else gets away for $900), and wear & tear on the body (Hono would be out; sorry, folks).

I will be soliciting your input at some point soon. As always, questions/concerns, shoot 'em my way.

A good time in Petaluma

Wondering what your colleagues are doing? Wonder no more.

A bunch of us are in Petaluma for the Instructor Development Course. We've had a great time and have learned a great deal. We had a little fun along the way, too.



Don't miss out; this five-day course is well worth your time, even if you are a seasoned presenter or trainer.

Leadership according to Colin Powell

Colin Powell
Originally uploaded by dfarber.

Colin Powell spoke this week at the Salesforce.com's user and developer conference in San Francisco. Here's some of what he said.

• Good leaders inspire, not motivate. The best leaders can inspire people, so they can do things through self-motivation.


• Leadership involves developing a vision and conveying that purpose throughout the organization.


• You need to make sure the followers have the skills and tools needed to get the job done. Leadership is about creating bonds of trust.

Good stuff, eh? So, how can we help our Coast Guard leaders -- at all levels of the organization -- abide by these Powellisms?

A graphical UPF...

Several years ago, I sat through a UPF workshop conducted by one of our superb colleagues. I thought the workshop went well, but I also thought the participants -- all senior Captains and a disctrict commander -- didn't get it. What they didn't get, I thought, was why this document is important, what the relationships of the stuff on the UPF are, and how the information can help in strategic planning.

The workshop was fine. The form sucks.

So, I came back and built the GUPF. Here it is:



As you click through it, you'll see that one slide builds upon the next. Yes, it's pretty convoluted by the end, but...

Anyone who wants to try and create a different mental model, please have at it. We need to nail this so that we have a working mental model that appeals to various people and makes things easier to understand.

Is that OMG or OGMI?

Leaders are always looking for good tools... A couple of years ago, I developed the OGMI model... while I'd posted the workshop process, I hadn't posted an example... well, you can now find it here.

Job opening

Here's a job opening at the Milton Hershey School for an organizational development specialist!

Requisition Number 06-0016

Description

This position serves in the role of internal consultant and facilitator for the MHS by applying the following areas of expertise: Diagnosing and translating high-level development needs in conjunction with implementing processes and systems to support leadership development skills and talent management throughout the School. This position works collaboratively with leaders and teams throughout the organization to design and implement initiatives which move the MHS strategic student success plan forward.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• Master’s Degree in Organization Development, Adult Learning, or related area.
• Minimum 5 years of experience in organization development, talent management or organization effectiveness.
• Minimum 3 years curriculum & instructional design, large-scale change implementation, and leadership development systems.
• Knowledge of web-based applications, on-line learning and performance management applications.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:
• Prior experience in implementing succession planning and performance management strategies within a corporate or academic environment.

Minimum Salary $49,730.00
Maximum Salary $62,160.00

Sounds like an interesting job that any of us could take on with ease... ;-)

Delusions of Effectiveness

Enough said...

For the larger size, click here.

Deja Vu all over again

Ziggurats
Originally uploaded by JayMG.

I'd mentioned to a couple of folks that I thought I was back in college here at the National Conference Center. And, here's the reason. For six months I lived in a room in this dorm at the University of East Anglia; I find the similarities striking.

Become a "Guiding Documents Guru"

After Steve's great presentation today, I thought it might be good to gather links to all the various higher authority plans and strategies with which we need to be familiar and put them all in one place. So I have.

You can go here and find the list.

If you can think of other documents which ought to be on the list, let me know, and I will add them. And, whoever can find official Evergreen stuff online, pass the URLs to me, please. For as much as we preach transparency, we seem to be hiding the meat of the Evergreen stuff.

Job opportunity here in Hampton Roads

hampton - fort monroe
Originally uploaded by mpmb.

Folks, here's a great looking job that any of us are qualified for.

One note, it is at Fort Monroe which is slated for BRAC closure; the job will shift to Fort Eustis just a bit up the road.

Incumbent plans and conducts both short-term and long-range strategic studies and reviews other broad scale actions/projects associated with Futures Center goals, efficiencies, increased productivity and reduced manning which directly affect the resource posture and the accomplishment of the Futures Center mission. Assesses the impact of resource and programmatic constraints upon the Futures Center organizational structure, management systems, and/or utilization of personnel. Provides guidance and direction for areas of studies/projects. Establishes overall milestones, conducts meetings, and consolidates staff notes/comments for response to installations and activities. Directs Futures Center efforts in responding to taskings/inquiries from other MACOMS and HQDA and activities. Conducts or participates in conferences relative to resource and programmatic implications of proposed actions and or organizations.

Job closes in 10 days; get to work on that application!

P.S. And, no, I'm not applying. I have current apps in at independent boarding schools here in Virginia and in Minnesota; the positions are English faculty, dean of students, and counselor/director of student support services.

Tradition dies a cold & lonely death

Hot Donuts NOW
Originally uploaded by stepchile.

2100. Time for the conference's "performance improvement workshop." You know, the usual thing, a trip to Krispy Kreme Donuts to see the baking process & taste a dozen samples.

Hotel lobby; I'm the only person. Everyone has stood me up; not another soul.

I'm a alone.

Perhaps it is time for me to move along...

Here we are!

DSC00367
Originally uploaded by J. Puig.

Welcome to Orlando! Here we are at the Residence Inn: eleven of us huddled around a conference table, laptops powered up.

Sometimes, it feels as if we're talking about the same things we talked about four or eight or ten years ago. The wheels spin, sometimes...

There, Chris, I've posted.

Unit Leadership: A variation on the program

Hi, folks. We're doing something a bit different here at the MLCA staff with the ULDP. I thought you might be somewhat interested. Then, again, you might care less. In short, rather than administer the ULDP-36 to all hands, we used a focus group process. For full & detailed coverage on what we did and what the analysis showed, surf to A Place for My Papers.

From Middle America!

Something is amiss; perhaps it is all part of some gigantic conspiracy; we're going to have to look into this. Here's the scoop: this year's Baldrige recipients have been named. Check out this list:

• Sunny Fresh Foods, Inc., Monticello, Minn. (manufacturing)
• DynMcDermott Petroleum Operations, New Orleans, La. (service)
• Park Place Lexus, Plano, Texas (small business)
• Richland College, Dallas, Texas (education)
• Jenks Public Schools, Jenks, Okla. (education)
• Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo, Mich. (health care)

My question is this: How is it all of the recipiants came from the middle of the country?

To view the complete press release detailing these role model organizations, visit the National Institute of Standards and Technology website.

An excellent overview of the "Q"

I know. I know. We dropped the "Q" in favor of PEC. Even so, I found this great site I wanted to recommend to everyone. I was stumbling (surfing) around the ASQ site and found this overview page that leads to pages on tools and organizational-wide approaches and four other helpful pages.

The "Q" stuff is still relevant and still helpful. Check it out.

Looking for new travel computers

another one bites the dust
Originally uploaded by Crunchy Pickle.

We're looking for new travel computers. I put out an RFP to replace the three computers for we three Tidewater-based consultants. Here's what we're looking for.

Minimum requirements for recapped travel computers for LANT/D5/MLCA Organizational Performance Consultants:

• Processor running at 1.3GHz or higher


• Memory of 512 MB RAM (or more) at 533MHz (or higher)


• 60 GB hard drive (or larger)


• Graphics card



• 13-inch screen (or larger)
  
• Built-in speakers



• CD-RW/DVD combo drive (or better)



• Minimum of 3 USB 2.0 ports (more preferred)


• Wireless 802.11 b/g capable


• Bluetooth capable


• Internal 56K modem


• Ethernet/network capable


• PC card slot



• Operating system of Windows XP
• Professional with Service Pack 2 with media Software to include Microsoft ® Office Professional Edition 2003 and Adobe Acrobat 6.0



• Carrying case and AC adapter, power cord, battery pack, automobile charge adapter



• No more than 6 pounds, complete

I know a couple of you suggested various other requirements, but we decided these were what our office needed.

I'll post results of the RFP here.