In his courtroom apologia in the film “A Few Good Men,” Jack Nicholson’s Col. Nathan Jessup made the words famous. Now, in her bid to keep her testimony in a recently settled tea-party lawsuit against the IRS secret, Lois Lerner has picked up the Jessup argument: “You can’t handle the truth!”
They used different words but the meaning is the same. Here’s how lawyers for Ms. Lerner and her former IRS deputy, Holly Paz, put it in a filing aimed at persuading a judge to keep their testimony from becoming public: “Public dissemination of their deposition testimony would expose them and their families to harassment and a credible risk of violence and physical harm.” They’re not just thinking of themselves, they add. Young children, family members, might be hurt too.
Amazon is Becoming the New Microsoft I, Cringely “Tech companies behave this way because most employees are young and haven’t worked anywhere else and because the behavior reflects the character of the founder. If the boss tells you to beat up customers and partners and it’s your first job out of college, then you beat up customers and partners because that’s the only world you know.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office's processes for estimating and monitoring the costs, savings and benefits associated with the Reinventing the ATO program.
Costs and Benefits of the Reinventing the ATO Program
The audit objective was to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Taxation Office's processes for estimating and monitoring the costs, savings and benefits associated with the Reinventing the ATO program.
Costs and Benefits of the Reinventing the ATO Program
The Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) annual awards for Leadership in Government panel discussion tackled the future with the prospect of artificial intelligence in the workplace, while featuring their star guest, Sophia ‘created’ by Hanson Robotics.
Fast becoming a media personality, Sophia (not Alex aka Sarsha) was – despite lacking anything from the waist down –quite a formidable presence for the panel discussion and interview at this year’s event where her animated feminine face was disturbingly intense.
“AI is good for the world.....We will never replace people, but we can be your friends and helpers,” is her best advice to the sceptics.
But the stars of the event were the award winners with the overall winner Mark Konza from the ATO receiving a Tiffany Trophy and a $20,000 sabbatical for his work making changes in the effectiveness of international networks.
Award Winners: Stephen Sorbello, Finance: Emerging Leader 2017, Lucy Vincent, Environment and Energy: Highly Commended in Contribution to Public Administration, Rick Ellis, CEO CA Aust and NZ, Jessica Tran, ATO: Highly Commended Emerging Leader and winner 2017 Outstanding Contribution to Public Administration Mark Konza, ATO
A different kind leadership Tiffany trophy at Carriage-works via Sarsha
Via Kevin Roberts: In my sole but seminal encounter with the Pentagon when they asked me to provide counsel on the semiotics of the war on terror, I was told by them that my framework of radical optimism did not fit their VUCA worldview. “The world, Kevin, is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.” Way to go General! The self-immolation of top brass over the past two weeks has been VUCA-spectacular. Generals Petraeus, Ham, Allen, Sinclair, Admiral Gaouette and Commander Darlak have bought varying degrees of VUCA-disgrace onto themselves and their country.
Federal News Radio, Would-be Pharmacist Turned IRS Lawyer Honored For Her Leadership Skills:
Growing up in a family of pharmacists, there was no question Frances Regan would end up working in healthcare, but as fate would have it, law school was the right prescription for Regan.
Three decades after graduating from St. John’s University School of Law, Regan works as the area counsel for the IRS’ Small Business Self Employed Division for Office of Chief Counsel, and her work hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Regan was one of two federal employees honored with the Roger W. Jones Award from the American University School of Public Affairs, for her leadership and “commitment to effective continuity of government.”
A different kind leadership Tiffany trophy at Carriage-works via Sarsha
Via Kevin Roberts: In my sole but seminal encounter with the Pentagon when they asked me to provide counsel on the semiotics of the war on terror, I was told by them that my framework of radical optimism did not fit their VUCA worldview. “The world, Kevin, is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous.” Way to go General! The self-immolation of top brass over the past two weeks has been VUCA-spectacular. Generals Petraeus, Ham, Allen, Sinclair, Admiral Gaouette and Commander Darlak have bought varying degrees of VUCA-disgrace onto themselves and their country.
The windows their actions open into the soul and operations of are startling. I mean what leader of any organization, say for example the supreme commander of the US presence in Afghanistan, has time to write 20,000-30,000 pages of emails to a Tampa socialite. General Allen either has spectacular time management skills, an unusual sense of priorities – or we are more vulnerable than the $711 billion US military budget would lead us to believe.
Much has been made of General Petraeus as the ultimate soldier-scholar, and I am thankful to The Daily Beast for bringing the General’s “lessons on leadership” to my attention. The author is, naturally enough, Paula Broadwell. Context is everything, and in normal situations this reads as a very worthy list.
Lessons on leadership from General David Petraeus:
Lead by example from the front of the formation. Take your performance personally—if you are proud to be average, so too will be your troops.
A leader must provide a vision: clear and achievable “big ideas” combined in a strategic concept - and communicate those ideas throughout the entire organization and to all other stakeholders.
A leader needs to give energy; don’t be an oxygen thief.
There is an exception to every rule, standard operating procedure, and policy; it is up to leaders to determine when exceptions should be made and to explain why they made them.
We all will make mistakes. The key is to recognize them and admit them, to learn from them, and to take off the rearview mirrors—drive on and avoid making them again.
Be humble. The people you’ll be leading already have on-the-ground conflict experience. “Listen and learn.”
Be a team player. “Your team’s triumphs and failures will, obviously, be yours.” Take ownership of both.
Don’t rely on rank. If you rely on rank, rather than on the persuasiveness of your logic, the problem could be you and either your thinking or your communication skills. Likewise, sometimes the best ideas come from bottom-up information sharing (i.e., “Need to share” not “Need to know”). Use “directed telescopes” to improve situational awareness.
Leaders should be thoughtful but decisive. Listen to subordinates’ input, evaluate courses of action and second- and third-order effects, but be OK with an “80 percent solution”. “There will be many moments when all eyes turn to you for a decision. Be prepared for them. Don’t shrink from them. Embrace them.” Sometimes the best move is the bold move.
Stay fit to fight. Your body is your ultimate weapons system. Physical fitness for your body is essential for mental fitness.
The only thing better than a little competition is a lot of competition. Set challenges for your subordinates to encourage them to excel.
Everyone on the team is mission critical. Instill in your team members a sense of great self-worth—that each, at any given time, can be the most important on the battlefield.
Much has been made of General Petraeus as the ultimate soldier-scholar, and I am thankful to The Daily Beast for bringing the General’s “lessons on leadership” to my attention. The author is, naturally enough, Paula Broadwell. Context is everything, and in normal situations this reads as a very worthy list.
Lessons on leadership from General David Petraeus:
Lead by example from the front of the formation. Take your performance personally—if you are proud to be average, so too will be your troops.
A leader must provide a vision: clear and achievable “big ideas” combined in a strategic concept - and communicate those ideas throughout the entire organization and to all other stakeholders.
A leader needs to give energy; don’t be an oxygen thief.
There is an exception to every rule, standard operating procedure, and policy; it is up to leaders to determine when exceptions should be made and to explain why they made them.
We all will make mistakes. The key is to recognize them and admit them, to learn from them, and to take off the rearview mirrors—drive on and avoid making them again.
Be humble. The people you’ll be leading already have on-the-ground conflict experience. “Listen and learn.”
Be a team player. “Your team’s triumphs and failures will, obviously, be yours.” Take ownership of both.
Don’t rely on rank. If you rely on rank, rather than on the persuasiveness of your logic, the problem could be you and either your thinking or your communication skills. Likewise, sometimes the best ideas come from bottom-up information sharing (i.e., “Need to share” not “Need to know”). Use “directed telescopes” to improve situational awareness.
Leaders should be thoughtful but decisive. Listen to subordinates’ input, evaluate courses of action and second- and third-order effects, but be OK with an “80 percent solution”. “There will be many moments when all eyes turn to you for a decision. Be prepared for them. Don’t shrink from them. Embrace them.” Sometimes the best move is the bold move.
Stay fit to fight. Your body is your ultimate weapons system. Physical fitness for your body is essential for mental fitness.
The only thing better than a little competition is a lot of competition. Set challenges for your subordinates to encourage them to excel.
Everyone on the team is mission critical. Instill in your team members a sense of great self-worth—that each, at any given time, can be the most important on the battlefield.
