Last week, I participated in Tim O’Reilly’s Gov 2.0 Expo held here in Washington, DC and I was honored to be a member of the Program Committee for this event as well as last year’s Expo Showcase and Summit. With each and every one of these events, I always looking forward to meeting and learning from the Gov 2.0 rockstars – Linda Cureton, Chris Rasmussen, Steve Ressler, Clay Johnson, Macon Phillips, Mary Davie, and so many others – people who have helped pave the way for conferences like this. Take a look at this speaker list and take a guess at where this movement would be without them. I think I get smarter just through osmosis when I’m talking with these folks! Kudos to Tim, Laurel, Mark, Suzanne, Jessica, Alex, and the rest of the O’Reilly team for pulling together another great event.
I'm pretty sure this image is going to be on everyone's Gov 2.0 Expo posts
As I did last year following the Summit, instead of doing a summary post of all that was Gov 2.0 Expo 2010 (I couldn’t possibly do any better than Alex’s fantastic wrap-up post here anyway), I’ll take a more focused view and discuss one issue that really struck me.
Last year, I said I wanted to hear more about the processes behind the success stories. To learn more about the failures in Gov 2.0. I think we started to accomplish that this year – the many panel presentations and workshops seemed more conversational and attendees seemed more willing to ask questions. I heard a lot more discussion about how the speakers handled difficult situations, how they worked with legal, and how they got senior leadership buy-in. While there’s still a need to hear more about the failures of Gov 2.0, I think those discussions are probably more likely to occur in the hallways than on the stage.
What really got my attention as I sat listening to visionary leaders like Todd Park, Linda Cureton, and Jeffrey Sorenson was this post by Robert Shedd – just who makes these people successful? That’s the question that I started to get more and more curious about as the Expo continued. Who are the people behind these leaders? Who are the people back at the office making sure the social networks are growing? Who are the people responsible for implementing these grand programs? Who are the people telling these leaders they’re wrong? Who are the people coming up with all of these ideas? That’s why I loved when Alex Ross told the story of Katie Dowd, Katie Stanton, and Caitlin Klevorick at the State Department (fast forward to the 2:00 minute mark of this clip) who came up with the idea for the Haiti Red Cross text messaging campaign. While Alec was the one speaking and getting the credit, he realized that it wasn’t about him or his ideas – it was about the people actually making these things happen.
As Shedd mentions in his post,
“In much the same way as you need to train yourself to recognize the market ‘pains’ that product opportunities create, you need to train yourself to note who you work best with, what personalities are most compatible.”
For me, any and all success that I or my firm has had can be traced back to the work of my team. Sure, I may be the one on the stage, but I’m generally not the one on the ground day after day working with the client. I’m writing blogs – they’re trying to explain Twitter to a three-star general. I’m speaking at events – they’re trying to do more work while still staying under budget. That’s why I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to some of the other Booz Allen folks you may have met at the Expo, but whom you might not know well…yet.
- Thank you Jacque Brown for never being afraid to tell me when I’m wrong or when I’m being a real dumbass.
- Thank you Matt Bado for always stepping up to handle things when I’m out of the office
- Thank you Michael Dumlao for being the right side of my brain – everything you create always looks fantastic
- Thank you Tim Lisko for being the social media conservative who also understands the benefits
- Thank you Grant McLaughlin for always believing in me and providing me the top cover that I need to make things happen, even when it sometimes puts you in a tough spot
- Thank you Walton Smith for always being open and collaborative, regardless of any internal politics that may exist
- Thank you Tracy Johnson for being able to take some of my crazy abstract ideas and figuring out ways to make them work
- Thank you to the many many others back at my company who have helped turn an idea into a true program
Please take this opportunity to go back to your blog and write a post on who makes you successful. Highlight the work of someone who works with you, someone who has helped get you to where you are today. Give them the attention and recognition that they deserve and leave a comment here with a link to your post. Who has helped you turn an idea into a successful program?
*Photo courtesy of James Duncan
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