Friday, January 11, 2019
The IBM Center's Weekly Roundup highlights articles and insights that we found interesting for the week ending January 11, 2019.

Michael J. Keegan

DARPA probes tech to solve supply chain uncertainty. DARPA and private companies are looking to improve supply chain security through the use of tiny chips and diamonds that can authenticate IT parts used by the government.

AI-based damage predictions for disaster response.  Following the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California’s history, a company is building an artificial intelligence- and machine learning-based technology that aims to help firefighters, first responders and local officials better respond to fires.

DOD audit sparks new financial database. David Norquist, now acting deputy secretary of defense, discussed the Pentagon's pilot database to help track spending and utilize data analytics

Life Advice from Top Thought Leaders. Early in his career, Rodger Dean Duncan interviewed interesting people like Lyndon Johnson, comedian Jack Benny, Baroness Maria von Trapp, pollster George Gallup, and anthropologist Margaret Mead. He traded jokes with Norman Rockwell and discussed home carpentry with Robert Redford. Duncan’s latest book LeaderSHOP: Workplace, Career, and Life Advice From Today’s Top Thought Leaders is a collection of lessons from these interviews.

6 Practices to Help Leaders Grow. Ron Ashkenas and Brook Manville are the authors of a new book from Harvard Business Review Press, The HBR Leader’s Handbook: Make an Impact, Inspire Your Organization, and Get to the Next Level.  The book is a back-to-basics primer for both aspiring and experienced leaders, which describes the fundamental leadership practices: Creating a unifying vision, shaping strategy, building a great team, driving for results, innovating for the future, and leading yourself.

John Kamensky

Model for Civil Service Reform?  Steve Goodrich writes an encouraging commentary piece for Government Executive on civil service reforms in Tennessee: “While the state’s rules are somewhat different from those of the federal government, what Tennessee has accomplished is remarkable and there are lessons for federal civil service reform.”

Shutdown Roundup. The impact of the government shutdown – and the oftentimes hidden and unappreciated work of hundreds of thousands of federal workers -- is slowly becoming more evident. CNN News lists 70 direct effects of the partial government shutdown.  Government Executive reports on examples of the impact of the government shutdown on employees, programs, inspections, and water bills. NBC News has a similar story with different examples. Route Fifty describes effects on county governments and rural communities, including emergency preparedness for wildfires and farmer subsidies.

Next Week on The Business of Government Hour: Conversation with Cheryl Mason, Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals. How is the Veterans’ Appeals process changing? What are the key priorities for the VA Board of Veterans’ Appeals? How is the implementation of the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 going? Join host Michael Keegan next week as he explores these questions and more with Cheryl Mason, Chairman of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. next week on The Business of Government Hour.

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