Organizational Behavior

When I'm not able to visit with family or travel to some place warm during the holiday season, my most favorite time of the year to work is the week between Christmas and the New Year. For the holidays, most of the office staff is on vacation, most of my organization's leadership is on vacation, and most on-going projects have been put on hold. In other words, I have found there is no other week of the year with fewer distractions than this week.

I have served as a federal employee of the United States for close to three decades. I've been a public servant under five different Presidents during this same time period. This year, there has been a lot of talk lately about the oath all federal employees take and where their loyalties must lie. Personally, I don't understand why there is even a debate of what a federal employee signs up for when making this solemn promise. From my point of view, the meaning behind the oath is pretty straight forward and without question.

This week, I spent a lot of time in various discussions on the negatives of Web content management systems (WCM). For all the excitement us CMS enthusiasts have for WCM, there is also associated frustration that threatens to dampen our spirit and kill the mission.