DorobekInsider: One day until the Federal News Radio Book Club with CTO Chopra discussing Payback

I have been going on and on and on about the fifth meeting of the Federal News Radio Book Club. Well, tomorrow is the big day. The “meeting” of the book club comes up at 2p ET on Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s In Depth with Francis Rose show… and we are discussing the book Payback: Reaping the Rewards of Innovation by James P. Andrew, Harold L. Sirkin, and John Butman. And I expect that both federal chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra, who selected the book in an interview with Federal News Radio’s Jason Miller. (You can hear that interview from here)… and the author, Jim Andrew, will be here in Federal News Radio’s Studio 1-A.

For those of you who have never listened to one of our book club meetings before, these are something akin to the Obama book club — you participate by reading the book and sending along your questions. (Previous book club meetings are below.)

We like to keep this conversational… and here are some of the discussion topics:

* We’ll start talking about innovation. Chopra has made it part of his mantra. And Payback looks at how an organization can make innovation matter — and may it pay off.
* I’m going to ask Chopra to talk about some of the challenges with innovation in government
* Why does innovation end up being challenging?
* Why does innovation in government seem particularly challenging?
* The book largely focuses on the private sector. Do the lessons from the private sector work for the public sector?

If you have questions or comments about the book… or about innovation… you can offer up thoughts, comments, insights, questions, discussion topics… whatever you want to add to the discussion… You can do that here on the DorobekInsider… you can do that on the Payback book club meeting’s Facebook event page… on my Facebook page… you can do that through on my Twitter feed… or just an e-mail — cdorobek at chrisdorobek.com.

Previous Federal News Radio Book Club “meetings”:

* The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen M.R. Covey. Read more and find a link to the book club session here.
* What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis. Read more and find a link to the book club session here.
* Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World by Don Tapscott. Read more and find a link to the book club session here.
* Fired Up or Burned Out: How to reignite your team’s passion, creativity, and productivity by Michael Lee Stallard. Read more and hear the book club meeting here.

For those of you who have never listened to one of our book club meetings before, these are something akin to the Obama book club — you participate by reading the book and sending along your questions. (Previous book club meetings are below.)

We like to keep this conversational… and here are some of the discussion topics:

* We’ll start talking about innovation. Chopra has made it part of his mantra. And Payback looks at how an organization can make innovation matter — and may it pay off.

* I’m going to ask Chopra to talk about some of the challenges with innovation in government

* Why does innovation end up being challenging?

* Why does innovation in government seem particularly challenging?

* The book largely focuses on the private sector. Do the lessons from the private sector work for the public sector?

If you have questions or comments about the book… or about innovation… you can offer up thoughts, comments, insights, questions, discussion topics… whatever you want to add to the discussion… You can do that here on the DorobekInsider… you can do that on the Payback book club meeting’s Facebook event page… on my Facebook page… you can do that through on my Twitter feed… or just an e-mail — cdorobek at chrisdorobek.com.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2424/3620570890_06a4b5d95b_o.jpg

Previous Federal News Radio Book Club “meetings”:

* The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything by Stephen M.R. Covey. Read more and find a link to the book club session here.
* What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis. Read more and find a link to the book club session here.
* Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World by Don Tapscott. Read more and find a link to the book club session here.
* Fired Up or Burned Out: How to reignite your team’s passion, creativity, and productivity by Michael Lee Stallard. Read more and hear the book club meeting here.

DorobekInsider: The UK government encourages tweeting — and issues Twitter guidance

I mentioned that I was over the Britain for the past few days celebrating my sister’s birthday. (My mother was able to rent this remarkable place designed by famous British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, who designed the British Embassy‘s Ambassador’s residence in Washington, DC, which is part of the Massachusetts Avenue historic district and is a marvelous building that unfortunately gets overlooked because of the modern new part of the embassy.)

While I was “across the pond,” there was an item stuffed inside the London papers — the British government was encouraging its career workers to use Twitter. Here is the story from the BBC:

New government guidance has been published urging civil servants to use the micro-blogging site Twitter.

Launched on the Cabinet Office website, the 20-page document is calling on departments to “tweet” on “issues of relevance or upcoming events”…

Neil Williams, of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), published the “template” strategy.

Writing on the Cabinet Office’s digital engagement blog, Mr Williams – who is BIS’s head of corporate digital channels – conceded that 20 pages was a “a bit over the top for a tool like Twitter” but added: “I was surprised by just how much there is to say – and quite how worth saying it is.”

You the full BBC story here.

Read Williams’ full post about the Twitter strategy here.

He has some good recommendations in his post:

For the next version of this document I’d like to set down how and when civil servants should support, encourage and manage Ministers’ use of Twitter for Departmental business (and navigate the minefield of propriety this might imply), and add a light touch policy for officials who tweet about their work in a personal capacity.

Finally, some of the benefits I’ve found of having this document in my armoury are:

• To get buy-in, explain Twitter’s importance to non-believers and the uninitiated, and face down accusations of bandwagon-jumping
• To set clear objectives and metrics to make sure there’s a return on the investment of staff time (and if there isn’t, we’ll stop doing it)
• To make sure the channel is used consistently and carefully, to protect corporate reputation from silly mistakes or inappropriate use
• To plan varied and interesting content, and enthuse those who will provide it into actively wanting to do so.
• As a briefing tool for new starters in the team who will be involved in the management of the channel

I hope you’ll find it useful too.

And, in fact, you can read the UK guidance below… or download the PDF here:

View this document on Scribd

I should note here in the US, there is a somewhat grass roots group called the Social Media Subcouncil, which hosts a wiki and collects information about items just like this. EPA’s Jeffrey Levy was on Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris earlier this year talking about the group and what they hope to accomplish. Hear that conversation here… and see the subcouncil’s collection of best practices and policies here.

One other note (and a slight poke): Why isn’t this kind of policy being done by GSA’s Office of Governmentwide Policy — to help put something like this together… to pull people together to talk about the challenges and issues. I know there are many good people in OGP, but they just don’t appear to be players in an area where they should be the leaders. Instead, the phrase people say to me: GSA OGP is MIA. (I should note: I have been told by OGP folks that my impression of the role of the Office of Governmentwise Policy is incorrect. I thought it was to help guide policy. I would welcome that conversation.)

DorobekInsider: More details on Pat Knapp, mother of Qwest’s Deirdre Murray

I mentioned earlier that Qwest’s Deirdre Murray‘s mother passed away suddenly over the weekend. Knapp’s obituary was posted in the San Diego newspaper yesterday:

KNAPP, RITA (Pat) RIEHLMANN Beloved wife, devoted mother of four, age 83, died peacefully on July 24, 2009, at her home in Solana Beach, CA. Born October 5, 1925, in New Orleans, she personified its joie de vivre. She is survived by her children, Greg (Tujunga, CA) and his wife, Cathleen; Sam (San Diego, CA); Deirdre (Arlington, VA); and Steve (San Francisco, CA); her brother, Bernard; and a host of nieces, nephews and cherished friends. She was married to Norbert G. Knapp for 45 years; he died in 1993. Avid beachgoers, they loved tennis, baseball, dancing, and world travel. An LSU English graduate, Pat was an avid reader and letter writer, raconteur, crossword puzzle enthusiast and bridge player par excellence. She will be remembered for her strong faith in the Good Lord, her devotion to her family, her wonderful acts of kindness, and extraordinary intellect. Visitation on Thursday, July 30th, 6 p.m.-9 p.m. at El Camino Memorial, 340 Melrose Ave., Encinitas, CA 92024, with Rosary at 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 31st, Funeral Mass at 11 a.m. at St. James Catholic Church, 625 S. Nardo Ave., Solana Beach, CA 92075, followed by a private burial at El Camino Memorial Park. Reception at 2:30 p.m. at the Knapp’s, Del Mar Beach Club, 163 South Shore Drive, Solana Beach, CA 92075.

I spoke to Murray from London Tuesday… and, over all, I’d say she is doing as well as one might imagine. She was totally surprised — in fact, she barely was able to pack to get out to San Diego.

As I mentioned previously, she had just had a 10 day trip with her mother across Southern California that I had helped Murray plan… Deirdre was thankful that she had that time with her mother.

But reading the obituary, Knapp’s background in English reminded me of a story dating back to the now infamous Waxman-Doan hearings when then GSA Administrator Lurita Doan had, somewhat oddly, gone off on a rant about the hortatory subjunctive tense. (I blogged about it when I was over at Federal Computer Week… and you can hear Doan talk about the hortatory subjective from YouTube here.) Anyway, I remeber at the time that Murray and her mother had discussed this event — and the tense…

Anybody who knows Murray knows she is close to her family — close enough to discuss the hortatory subjunctive.

DorobekInsider: Godspeed to Pat Knapp, mother of Qwest’s Deirdre Murray

A very sad note… I just learned that Pat Knapp, the mother of Qwest’s Deirdre Murray, passed away suddenly over the weekend.

Murray had literally just returned last week after spending a week with her mother on a Southern California journey — they got to see Jay Leno perform in Hollywood and they traveled to Santa Barbara. I had helped arrange a meeting with my favorite artist, B.J. Stapen, who invited Deirdre and Pat to her home. They had also visited Los Olivos, CA, and dined at the Los Olivos Cafe where parts of the movie Sideways was filmed. Murray had a remarkable time. She is very close to her family — and to her mother — and I can only imagine how traumatic this is for her. But she will have those cherished memories.

Unfortunately I can’t find the obituary with specific information about contributions and funeral details. I know there is a group of ladies in government IT — they call themselves the Power Pearls — who are collecting contributions. I also heard from the Pearls that there is a ceremony on Friday at 11a (PT, I assume) at St. James Catholic Church in Solana Beach, CA, but I haven’t been able to confirm that further.

If you want to reach out to me — cdorobek at chrisdorobek.com and/or c/o Federal News Radio 1500 AM, 3400 Idaho Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20016 — and I will make sure cards and letters get to Murray. And I will post additional information as I get it.

Meanwhile, I know the government IT community sends their thoughts and prayers to Deirdre Murray and her siblings.

Godspeed Pat Knapp.

DorobekInsider: Most read items on the DorobekInsider and Daily Debrief for the third week of July 2009

A bit delayed because I’m out of town for a few days — in London, in fact, celebrating my sister’s “OHH” birthdays. So… I’m sorry for the delay…

Most read items on DorobekInsider…

1. DorobekInsider: Intel on the government 2.0 front lines – and a new report assessing A-Space
2. DorobekInsider: The real story behind the Recovery.gov contract: The need for govt contracting transparency
3. DorobekInsider: The Roll Call-CQ marriage announcement (Editor’s note: We only found out late Friday that Governing magazine was not part of the Economist-Roll Call deal for CQ. Read more about that from late Friday here.)
4. DorobekInsider: Learning more about Transportation Department CIO Nitin Pradham
5. DorobekInsider: Intel on the gov 2.0 front lines – and a new report assessing A-Space
6. DorobekInsider: Identity management — the liner notes
7. DorobekInsider: 45 VA programs under temporary stop order pending fixes
8. DorobekInsider: The first draft from the Open Government and Innovations conference
9. DorobekInsider: Most read DorobekInsider and Federal News Radio 1500 AM Daily Debrief items for the second week of July 2009
10. DorobekInsider: Attending the Open Government conference Tuesday morning
11. DorobekInsider: Recovery.gov contractor Smartronix speaks — in a statement
12. DorobekInsider: 1105 GovInfo promotes Rapp – and 1105 GovInfo promotes Rapp – and hires
13. DorobekInsider: The celebration of the Summer of Gov (2.0)
14. DorobekInsider weekend extra: Mintz: What I Did For My Summer Vacation
15. DorobekInsider: UPDATED date for the (barely) July Federal News Radio Book Club book: Payback: Reapi
16. DorobekInsider: Ed DeSeve to join the Obama administration
17. DorobekInsider: Welcome Scott Carr, the new producer for Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s Daily De
18. DorobekInsider: 8-day countdown to the Federal News Radio Book Club ‘meeting’ with CTO Chopra discussing the book ‘Payback’
19. DorobekInsider.com: Is the Economist’s CQ marriage official?
20. DorobekInsider: A picture worth almost 1,000 words – Obama and the IT dashboard
21. DorobekInsider: GSA’s Dorris, Army’s Sorenson, HP’s Hempfield earn AFCEA Bethesda
22. DorobekInsider.com: Worth reading: Social Software and National Security
23. DorobekInsider: Recovery Board – and Recovery.gov vendor – get pressure on transparency
24. DorobekInsider: Recovery Board responds to questions — and even posts the Recovery.gov statement
25. DorobekInsider: CQ sells, but Governing does not… and Governing’s publisher exits
26. DorobekInsider: GSA names Danielle Germain as chief of staff
27. DorobekInsider: The Recovery Board speaks out on the Recovery.gov contract award
28. The DorobekInsider on DC’s NewsChannel 8 on dashboards — and the Kiviat graph
29. DorobekInsider: Cyber-attack 2009 – what does it mean?
30. DorobekInsider: Coming and going – A new DOT CIO (mostly confirmed), Frank Puglese, former SSA
31. Congratulations on the wedding of Bob Suda and Joanne Connelly
32. DorobekInsider: New DOT CFO nominee… and a possible DOT CIO nominee
33. DorobekInsider.com: Steve Ressler — GovLoop’s 10K man… and counting
34. DorobekInsider: ACT/IAC hires former 1105er Kristyn Rivellese for events post
35. DorobekInsider: Management of Change panel: The changing role of the CIO – the liner notes
36. DorobekInsider: Twitter #followfriday — the @fednewsradio edition
37. DorobekInsider: OMB encourages collaboration about open government — using an existing tool
38. The DorobekInsider reader: Obama cyber policy review
39. DorobekInsider: Hey funny guy — Uncle Sam wants YOU! No, really…
40. DorobekInsider: The benefits of the federal IT “dashboard” – and the liner notes f
41. DorobekInsider: The new TSA CIO — Emma Garrison-Alexander
42. OMB Director Peter Orszag… on The Daily Show?
43. DorobekInsider.com: Hear the July 2009 Federal News Radio Book Club meeting – Fired Up or Burn
44. DorobekInsider: Most read items for the first week of July
45. DorobekInsider: Dee Lee to join the Professional Services Council

The most read items for Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris for the third week of July 2009

1. TSP preps for new Web site debut
2. Connecting dashboards to performance
3. Update: TSP’s Roth option
4. GAO: Changes needed for BioShield at HHS
5. AFGE speaks out against NSPS
6. Defense Business Board releases NSPS recommendations
7. Why federal agencies are still using COBOL
8. Problems continue for grants.gov
9. TSP Talk: Where is the market going?
10. Learning about the Federal Service Student Ambassador Program
11. Meet the Innovators: National Academy of Public Administration
12. Friday Fun Day!
13. Will the Senate cure the ‘FERS flu’?
14. OMB open govt directive enters final stages
15. Update: 12 Somali men missing from Minneapolis area
16. NIH and Wikimedia Foundation team up
17. TSP Talk: Tobacco Bill signed into law
18. Increasing awareness of open source
19. New SES survey released
20. Using the stimulus dollars locally, wisely
21. NIH and Wikimedia Foundation team up – Part 2
22. Drupal and the ‘Decade of Data’
23. Meet the Innovators: Does Gov 2.0 matter?
24. Women in Government: Charla Quayle
25. DoD’s health IT strategy
26. IAC outlines ‘Four Cornerstones’ for 2009 agenda
27. The Open Technology Initiative
28. Drupal gains popularity among federal agencies
29. FAIR Institute releases report on insourcing
30. GSA talks about recovery.gov award
31. Focus of identity management changing for federal govt.
32. Controvery surrounds Alaska Native Corporations
33. Happy Birthday, Smokey!
34. Agencies stressed about Recovery Act spending?
35. No COLA for federal retirees?
36. DHS revamps Web site with Web 2.0 tools
37. Proposed Budget Would Limit Raises in 2010
38. Should Alaskan native corps. get special considerations?
39. Your TSP: Changes coming tomorrow?
40. Intelligence community moves into phase 2
41. Update: Cloud computing conference
42. Best Places to Work Survey released
43. Meet the Innovators: Vint Cerf Part II
44. More problems for Metro
45. Terrorism abroad strikes here in the States
46. Health Net Federal Services wins anti-fraud award
47. GAO: Personnel Security Clearances backlog a problem
48. Taking a long look at NSPS
49. OMB proposes changes to ban on cookies

DorobekInsider: IAC’s new leadership — Sara DeCarlo lays out her priorities

Sara DeCarlo last week took the helm of the Industry Advisory Council as chairwoman.

We had her on Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris last week. You can hear that conversation here:

IAC Chairwoman Sara DeCarlo

Here is her opening message to IAC members:

“Openness, speed, collaboration, innovation” – these are some of the watch words of today’s federal IT environment. Our new Executive Committee has crafted an agenda that leverages many of the activities started last year and drives us forward as a vibrant organization that reflects its community. We have met with the ACT leadership to ensure that our objectives are mutually aligned; as an ACT-IAC organization we share “one vision, one community.”

The 2009 IAC agenda focuses on what we are calling the “Four Cornerstones”. They will be the foundation for additional building blocks shape our activities for the year. The Cornerstones are: to increase government involvement; to strengthenIAC’s role as a thought leader and trusted advisor; to create and implement a leadership development program; and to develop a business model designed to sustain and grow the organization.

Our goal is to create a content-rich collaborative environment that draws together government and industry through a wide variety of forums: conferences, programs, SIG activities, and other events. We are undertaking a number of initiatives in support of these cornerstone activities. Each initiative has an assigned lead from the Executive Committee with metrics and a timeline. In this way, we expect to be accountable to each other and to our members.

The Four Cornerstones are posted on our marvelous new website under http://www.actgov.org/knowledgebank/documentsandpresentations/Documents/Other%20Documents/Four_Cornerstones.pdf for your review and comment. Ours is a continually changing environment, so we will add new items and modify existing ones as necessary. MyIAC email address is sdecarlo@actgov.org or watch the EC blog or Facebook (Sara King DeCarlo) for quick updates.

We welcome your participation and your feedback. It is your involvement which continues to make ACT-IAC an exciting organization.

On behalf of the Executive Committee, let me say that we are energized and engaged and are looking forward to a great year – only 343 days left to accomplish what we have set out to do! We want you to join with us as we architect our future!

DorobekInsider: Federal News Radio Book Club update – Payback author to join us in studio

I have been going on and on and on about the fifth meeting of the Federal News Radio Book Club, where we will be discussing the book Payback: Reaping the Rewards of Innovation by James P. Andrew, Harold L. Sirkin, and John Butman. And, as I have mentioned, this book was selected by federal chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra in an interview with Federal News Radio’s Jason Miller. (You can hear that interview from here.)

Chopra was always going to be here in Federal News Radio’s studio 1-A on Friday, July 31 at 2p ET on In Depth with Francis Rose program… and, our course, Rose and myself will be there… But the author of the book, Jim Andrew, senior partner and managing director of Boston Consulting Group’s innovation group will also be joining us live — in studio.

Of course, if you want have questions or comments… you can do that here on the DorobekInsider… you can do that on the Payback book club meeting’s Facebook event page… on my Facebook page… you can do that through on my Twitter feed… or just an e-mail — cdorobek at chrisdorobek.com.

It should be a great discussion.

DorobekInsider: CQ sells, but Governing does not… and Governing’s publisher exits

We told you earlier this week about the Economist Group, the parent company of Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, buying Congressional Quarterly. And we told you to watch what happened with Governing magazine, which covers the state and local market.

In fact, we are learning that Governing ended up not being part of the Roll Call-CQ sale at all. Apparently Florida-based Times Publishing Company, which owns the St. Petersburg Times and used to own CQ, has put Governing back up for sale as a stand-alone product. And, in fact, we have confirmed that Governing’s publisher, Beth Bronder, has left, and that Peter Harkness, the founder and former publish of Governing, is taking the helm. (Read his bio from the Center for State & Local Government Excellence.)

Apparently the Economist Group was not interested in Governing. Governing covers the state and local market, which, given the troubles facing state and local governments right now, it will surprise nobody that it is not the best market right now. Most states are running in the red, California being the most glaring example. That being said, the state and local market seems to work on a counter cycle with the federal government — and it is a difficult market to enter given that there are 50 states and the District of Columbia, then you add counties and cities and tribal entities… it represents big bucks, but… it is also so diffused.

The state and local market is also dominated by an 800-pound gorilla — Government Technology magazine. The challenge is that… well, Government Technology does a really good job covering the state and local market. It is very readable, almost always interesting, well edited, well published, well established… FCW tried to take on Government Technology twice with a publication called Civic.com, and GCN tried twice with a publication called State & Local. Neither are around today.

So… who might buy Governing? Chances are both Neil Vitale’s 1105 Media and David Bradley’s Atlantic Media Group, which owns Government Executive, might both be interested… if the price is right.

The question is where will Bronder will end up. Bronder is very well respected. She was named Governing’s publisher in May 2008.

We’ll be keeping an eye on it.

DorobekInsider: Welcome Scott Carr, the new producer for Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s Daily Debrief

Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris has a new producer — welcome Scott Carr.

Here is the note sent out by Lisa Wolfe, Federal News Radio’s program director.

Please join me in welcoming the newest team member to Federal News Radio 1500 AM.

Scott Carr is the producer for the Daily Debrief. He comes to us from StateGovernmentRadio.com in Raleigh, NC, where he spent 6 years working in the roles of Managing Editor, anchor and reporter.

His former station’s mission matches exactly the mission of Federal News Radio; a service to government executives and contractors.

Scott’s radio news background is impressive and extensive. He was the Program Director, anchor and reporter for WIBX-AM 950 in New York, and News Director, reporter and anchor for WRCK also in New York.

I know Scott will be a tremendous asset to the afternoon show and the station as a whole. Not only is he one smart cookie, he is a genuinely nice person.

I too am thrilled to have him on board.

I also want to thank Emily Michelle Marie Anuet Jarvis — yes, she has five names — and Phil Vogel. These are two remarkable young people — and I mean that in the most positive sense — that have people have been filling in until Carr arrived. It has been a real pleasure working with them. While they may be in their 20s, they both have a real excitement for their work — and they had to deal with me, which is no small task. Often, the work ethic of young people is maligned. If these two outstanding young people are any example, the future of this country is in very good hands. I have told them this privately, but… I wanted to do it publicly as well.

You can reach Scott at scarr at federalnewsradio.com.

8-day countdown to the Federal News Radio Book Club ‘meeting’ with CTO Chopra discussing Payback

Just a reminder that we are a mere 8-days from the fifth meeting of the Federal News Radio Book Club — and it’s a good one.

Our book — Payback: Reaping the Rewards of Innovation by James P. Andrew, Harold L. Sirkin, and John Butman — was selected by the new federal chief technology officer, Aneesh Chopra — and Chopra will join us live in studio.

So first… the details:
When: Friday, July 31 at 2p ET
Where: On Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s In Depth with Francis Rose program and on FederalNewsRadio.com
The book: Payback: Reaping the Rewards of Innovation by James P. Andrew, Harold L. Sirkin, and John Butman — and James Andrew, Senior Partner & Managing Director of Boston Consulting Group’s innovation group will be joining us… so not a bad line-up: Chopra, Andrews and then Rose and Dorobek.

How did this come about: Well, Obama CTO Aneesh Chopra, in his interview with Federal News Radio’s Jason Miller, mentioned the book. I have posted part one of the interview below:

You can hear part two here.

And finally… one last item because there may be some people who have never “attended” a Federal News Radio Book Club “meeting”: You don’t have to be anyplace other then near your radio. The Federal It is something akin to the Oprah book club except we talk about books that help feds do their jobs better. And perhaps unlike other book clubs, our “meetings” take place on the radio — specifically on on Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s In Depth with Francis Rose and online at FederalNewsRadio.com. And we’d love to hear your thoughts about these issues. Comments will soon be available here. I have also set up a Facebook event page for the book club.

If you’re reading the book, I’d love to get your thoughts, comments, insights, questions, discussion topics… whatever you want to add to the discussion… You can do that here on theDorobekInsider… you can do that on the Payback book club meeting’s Facebook event page… on my Facebook page… you can do that through on my Twitter feed… or just an e-mail — cdorobek at chrisdorobek.com.

The book is about… well, innovation, but innovation in a different way — how to turn innovation into something that benefits your organization — read: a payback. And the book argues that process is… a process. And there ways you can encourage it, and by implementing that process, you can benefit from your organization.

Given what has been going on with technology right now — and the need for innovation within agencies — the book is valuable.

I’ll be posting some of my take aways from the book over the next few days. I hope you will share yours as well.

And I look forward to the discussion Friday, July 31 on Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s In Depth with Francis Rose.