Having grown up on the public service side of libraries, I am always on the lookout for examples of organizations and companies who can articulate a service culture. My latest discovery is Zappos.com, founded in 1999 “…with the goal of becoming the premiere destination for online shoes.” Although I have never been a customer of … Continue reading Culture and Values
The Nation’s Report Card, recently released by the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, doesn’t have good news about our student’s academic achievement in American history. Just 13% of high school seniors, 18% of eighth-graders, and 22% of fourth-graders ranked at the proficient level. “These results tell us that, as a country, we … Continue reading How Our Students Are Doing
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates delivered this year’s Commencement Address at the U.S. Naval Academy. In it he reflected on his 46 years of public service—Air Force, CIA, White House, and Pentagon, serving under eight presidents. He states, “From this experience I have learned that real leadership is a rare and precious commodity, and … Continue reading Thoughts on Leadership
I grew up in the Libraries at MIT, an institution founded on the principles of practical education. The motto of MIT, Mens et Manus, captures the spirit of that philosophy--mind and hand. For a young librarian it was a great experience to provide service to a bright and engaged campus community and to serve Nobel … Continue reading Work Culture
Charles O. Rossotti was the Internal Revenue Commissioner from 1997 to 2002. In his book, Many Unhappy Returns, he tells the story of “one man’s quest to turn around the most unpopular organization in America.” I’m always interested in reports of “lessons learned” and this is one of the best, especially as I reflect on … Continue reading NARA and the IRS
In my 40 years on University campuses, I have participated in many commencement exercises and sat through too many commencement addresses! The best ones are brief, inspiring, and leave you something to think about. On Friday I heard such a speech. I was honored to be part of the exercises at Long Island University. The … Continue reading Commencement Season
Artwork, silver, books, religious objects, antiquities, archival documents, and carvings. These are just a few of the types of cultural property that were stolen, looted, seized, forcibly sold, or otherwise lost to the Nazis beginning in the 1930s and continuing through World War II. After the war, documents about this cultural property were scattered across … Continue reading Together, We Can Turn Lost into Found
In a February blog post I cited Wayne Gretzky as a strategic thinker—skating to where he thought the puck would be. On Friday night, a young emerging forward on the San Jose Sharks squad, Benn Ferriero, delivered an equally great after game quote. In the first game of the Western Conference Semifinal Series against the … Continue reading More Hockey Wisdom
At the National Archives, leadership is shown throughout the agency by staff at all levels -- senior executives, supervisors, specialists, technicians, students, and volunteers. Our leaders are important to fulfilling our mission on a daily basis, and crucial to the transformative changes we've set in motion at the National Archives. For our agency, it's important … Continue reading Thinking About Leadership
