There were three news articles in Federal Times this week (17
December 2012) that highlighted some disappointments for the time being, but
that offer hope for the future:
- Conflicts of Interest at DARPA: The
previous director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is
investigated by the Defense Department Inspector General for conflicts of
interest related to the award of “hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts
to a company she co-founded and partially owned.” The hope for the future—the
new DARPA director has “sent a full list of her financial assets to all of the
agency’s employees.”
- Missed opportunity for use of mobile devices, BYOD in the
Federal workforce: The CIO Council’s
report on “Government Use of Mobile Technology: Barriers, Opportunities, and
Gap Analysis” was required by the Federal Digital Strategy (May 2012); however,
while there is clarity of the need for greater mobility in the workforce, instead
of a clear architecture forward, the report calls for more guidance from the
administration on “how to handle the tricky legal, privacy, and financial
implications.” The hope—the report looks toward a government-wide or
agency policy and guidance to support more flexible use of mobile devices and a
cross-functional team to evaluate Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) for the future.
- NASA
doubts commitment of getting to an asteroid: NASA, which has been criticized by some for not having a clear
direction, has been charged with “sending astronauts to an asteroid by 2025,”
yet there is not consensus that this is “the next step on the way to Mars.” The
hope—NASA can restructure, engage in cost-sharing partnerships, or otherwise
increase budget or decrease scope to right-align and achieve clear focus on the
next great goals for outer space.
Lesson learned: leadership does not have all the answers nor do
they always do everything right, but leadership is a journey. So while today,
we may not always be making the best acquisitions for advanced research,
achieving clarity of a mobile strategy, or landing people on Mars—we are on the
way—through one small step for leadership, one giant leap for the rest of us.
(Source Photo: here with
attribution to NASA)
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