Archive for June, 2012

**Lara Galinsky, the author of Work on Purpose, is a closing keynote speaker for our Next Generation of Government Training Summit on July 26-27.  Full details at nextgengovt.com***

Every month, at least a half dozen folks reach out to me for informational interviews.  What I’ve noticed in all them, is that there is a common theme…all of them want to work on issues that matter and make a real impact.  However, that can be hard; such as making change in the public sector, innovative ideas to improve the public sector to find a funding and/or business model road block, or striking the right balance that both soothes the soul and pays the bills.

That’s why I was really excited when I heard about the book Work on Purpose.  This book is created by Lara Galinsky from Echoing Green, a great social entrepreneurship group that helps fund and support social innovators.

The book is basically a guide book on how to make an impact and work on purpose.  It gives 5 great case studies of social entrepreneurs and tells their stories – the good times, the tough times, and how to find your calling.   They include such  founders as of One Acre Fund (which helps hungry farm families get out of poverty), Khmer Legacies (video history archive about Cambodian genocide), Hello Housing (affordable housing), and the Genocide Intervention Network.

It’s a fun, quick read that should take about an hour to complete.

After each chapter, they ask some really great questions to encourage folks to think down your path and where you could “work on purpose”:

- What moments from your childhood shaped what you think is important?

- When in your life have you felt out of whack?

- In those out of whack periods, what was out of balance? Were you following your heart? Your head?

- What would you do if you were not afraid of failing?

- What can you do that draws upon both your head and heart?

- Why do you do what you do?

- When have you felt “In the Zone” like you were doing exactly what you should be doing?

Really excited to hear Lara’s talk at NextGen and BONUS – we are excited to offer copies of this book to all NextGen attendees!!

Without a doubt, the federal government will be facing austerity measures in coming years. On top of these measures, federal government is being restructured, which reshapes the way government needs to operate. NextGen 2012 speaker and chairman of Venture Philanthropy Partners as well as the Morino Institute, Mario Morino, spoke with the DorobekINSIDER’s Chris Dorobek about how it’s time to try new things and how the next generation of leaders in government can help bring the changes to fruition.

People are currently looking for a high-level of change in government. The election of Barack Obama exemplifies this, as his platform was all about bringing change to politics and government.  Now is the time to finally begin really trying new things, even as the culture in government can make true change difficult. Generation X&Y makes this changes possible because they are more tech-savvy and willing to adapt to new technologies to address austerity measures than previous generations. Gen X&Y is also more likely to prefer public service, as many are looking to make a positive difference.

Leadership in government is becoming more horizontal and there is plenty of room for generation X&Y to take on leadership roles, even without the corner office. The generation is much less tolerant of a command and control environment, and for better or worse, feels they have a right to have a say in what’s going on. This point of view should be built upon rather than crushed from the top; it can make managing gen X&Y’ers more difficult, but also leaves room for rewards in innovation. The old guard in government can also help by becoming mentors to the next generation of government leaders.

If you would like to hear Mario speak in-person, check out the Next Generation of Government Training Summit. To listen to Mario Morino’s entire interview, you can catch the full radio show at 
GovLoop Insights or you can
 subscribe to our iTunes channel.

To obtain a free copy of Mario’s book, Leap of Reason: Managing to Outcomes In an Era of Scarcity, fill out the form below and one will be mailed to you. You’ll even have a chance to read it before meeting Mario at NextGen!

I don’t know about you, but I tend to over-prepare for public speaking opportunities. Recently, I was reminded of one of my very first gigs, which began with an email that read:

“I hate to tell you this, but I am really sick and cannot make it to Virginia Beach tomorrow to deliver my presentation. Can you cover for me?”

I received that message less than 12 hours before my colleague was expected to speak.

Having delivered what I considered my first-ever major public speaking performance that morning, I was feeling good. But I certainly didn’t feel ready to deliver another presentation, especially with content that was not mine and not that familiar.

So I said, “Yes.”

I spent the night rehearsing the material, but still walked into the room of 40-50 people the next morning feeling relatively unprepared. I gave it my best and delivered most of it “off the cuff.”

And I crushed it — at least, that’s what the crowd told me afterward.

But I could even feel it during the presentation – people were laughing and having a good time. I saw several nodding heads throughout the 75 minutes, and many of them appeared to be taking copious notes.

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Since then, I’ve probably delivered dozens of presentations. Yet I still consider that workshop back in Virginia Beach to be one of my best deliveries. Why?

Well, fast forward to two weeks ago when I was preparing to serve on a panel. I was worried that I had not done enough background research and was studying up a bit on the topic. I mentioned that I was “cramming” when a colleague said something akin to:

Don’t worry.

Trust yourself. 

You know this stuff.

Just go in there and wing it.

So I did. And you know what? I felt like I got some mojo back – some creative juice that I’d lost somewhere in the last few months.

I tried it again at another presentation this past week. I did very little prep and trusted my knowledge of the topic. Again, based on crowd response, it seemed to go really well.

What have I learned from all these experiences? Well, let’s break down my colleague’s advice:

1. Don’t worry:  How often do you fret right up until the moment you’re in front of the crowd, making last minute changes or taking notes – afraid that you’re going to forget to say something particularly brilliant? Stop it. Give yourself a 12-hour window where you just refuse to change anything else and let the material stand.

2. Trust yourself.  The audience knows when you and I don’t feel confident about our content. We appear uneasy or restless or frazzled. Rather than using the time before your delivery to worry about the content, start building up your confidence. I often will visualize looking into a crowd of smiling faces and nodding heads or hearing someone say, “Great presentation” afterwward — it gives me a positive energy charge right before I take the stage.

3. You know this stuff. If you’ve been asked to speak somewhere, its’s pretty likely that someone thought you are: (a) a subject matter expert and (b) considered an effective communicator. Focus on the fact that you’re familiar with the material. Often you’ll end up creating mental blocks for yourself if you think too much about forgetting an important point…making it much more likely that you will 

4. Just wing it: I’m serious about this one. Based on my recent experiments with it, try doing absolutely zero preparation for a speech that you’ve done before and are being asked to give again (i.e. if it’s only been a couple months and not much has changed in your field). What I have found is that a different, more creative and spontaneous part of the brain is triggered and I perform more freely and more effectively. It sounds crazy, but you might be surprised by the results. If you’re nervous about it, return to points 1-3 until you know that you know that you know: you’ve got this.

Go crush it.

Originally posted on GovLoop by Andrew Krzmarzick. 

UPDATE 6/19:

Thank you to all who participated and voted for the NextGen Speaker contest! The 3 winners are a gerat addition to the NextGen speaker line-up and we are excited to see what they have to share.

The folks who obtained the most votes and will be presenting at NextGen are…Drum Roll please….

97 Votes: Michael Gale – “Nature 3.0 – Using Technology to Connect People with Nature“
71 Votes: Emily Sadigh – “Put the “Action” in Your Action Plan“
70 Votes: Teresa Shea – “A Journey Into Blindness: The Blind Professional“

Want to know how close the voting was:

48 Votes: Tiffany Smith – “GovWhispering: How to Be an Effective Enterpreneur in a Bureaucrati…“
35 Votes: Sabrina Segal – “I’m the Superhero of Information Sharing“
33 Votes: Michael C. Lawyer & Anthony Soriano – “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bureaucracy“
31 Votes: Allison Wolff – “Failure is an Option“
27 Votes: Kerry O’Connor – “Lessons from an Unconventional Career – Follow Your Curiousity, Tra…“
23 Votes: Mark Sullivan – “Working Together for Our Veterans“
18 Votes: Andre J. Castillo – “The Making of a Government Ninja: The Story of How a 25-year-old ne…“
18 Votes: Joseph Linhart – “Rethinking the Federal Family“
6 Votes: Leonard Sipes – “Accomplishing Public Relations Goals Through Podcasting and Social …“

Thanks again!

UPDATE 6/11:

Help a colleague out – give them their American Idol moment! Allow them share their story on a platform in front of 500+ people just like you!

This is the last week to vote for your favorite sessions. Pick the people you’d most like to hear from during the closing session of NextGen on Thursday, July 26.

It’s super simple – all you have to do is read their story and (if so inclined) hit the awesome button to cast your vote!

Do you like rooting for the underdog? Here are the standings after one week of voting:

40 Votes: Teresa Shea – “A Journey Into Blindness: The Blind Professional“

35 Votes: Tiffany Smith – “GovWhispering: How to Be an Effective Enterpreneur in a Bureaucrati…“

35 Votes: Michael Gale – “Nature 3.0 – Using Technology to Connect People with Nature“

30 Votes: Emily Sadigh – “Put the “Action” in Your Action Plan“

27 Votes: Sabrina Segal – “I’m the Superhero of Information Sharing“

22 Votes: Allison Wolff – “Failure is an Option“

22 Votes: Michael C. Lawyer & Anthony Soriano – “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bureaucracy“

20 Votes: Kerry O’Connor – “Lessons from an Unconventional Career – Follow Your Curiousity, Tra…“

15 Votes: Joseph Linhart – “Rethinking the Federal Family“

13 Votes: Andre J. Castillo – “The Making of a Government Ninja: The Story of How a 25-year-old ne…“

5 Votes: Leonard Sipes – “Accomplishing Public Relations Goals Through Podcasting and Social …“

3 Votes: Mark Sullivan – “Working Together for Our Veterans“

Check out all the details and sessions from our finalist here. 

Happy clicking!

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Over 80 people submitted their stories to share at the Next Generation of Government Training Summit taking place July 26th and 27th at the JW Marriott in Washington DC. Most of these story submissions are based on innovative projects being worked on in government or ideas that have and are revolutionizing government.

Each story submission was judged by members of the NextGen board. After careful consideration by all judges, we are proud to announce the 12 highest-scored descriptions as finalists (posted below).

From June 1st through June 15th we are asking you to vote for your favorites. After the two weeks are over, we will announce the final three individuals who will be invited to present their five minute lightning story during the last session of day one at NextGen on July 26th.

To vote, simply sign in to your GovLoop account (Not a member yet? Sign up for free now!) and then click the big ‘Awesome’ button at the bottom of the post. Everyone is encouraged to vote for as many lightning speakers as they deem worthy, but only one vote is allowed per description per profile, so don’t forget to tell your friends to offer their support as well!

Congratulations to all our finalists!