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The Future is Now: Your New Role as a Finance Pro
by Patrick Ibarra

"The forces of change present finance professionals with opportunities to redefine themselves. The question is, what are the capabilities and competencies you will need? The major principle underlying the reinvented role for the finance professional is CIP: change, innovation, and progress. Following is a recommended blueprint for the evolution of the finance professional."

This Government Brought to You by
by Patrick Ibarra

"Public leaders in search of new revenue increasingly are looking to the private sector, offering up naming rights for public facilities, selling advertising or seeking sponsors for public events. The Internet has complicated the search for customers exponentially, so businesses are craving outlets that maximize the number of eyeballs per dollar invested. That's where government comes in."

Best Practices are the Enemy of Innovation
by Patrick Ibarra

The problem with best practices is that they often merely masquerade as innovation. In the wrong hands, they become a shield to deflect critics, as though one can expect to be granted management immunity by proclaiming the use of supposedly tried-and-proven solutions.

The Next Government Workforce
by Patrick Ibarra

Historically, government at all levels has relied on decent pay, generous benefits and stable employment to attract workers. As a result of the economic downturn, each of these attractions has been significantly diminished, leaving public leaders scrambling.

Your Professional Brand
by Patrick Ibarra

In essence, your professional brand is your professional reputation: are you someone who is constantly improving and an exemplary performer achieving unprecedented results, or not? By the way, saying you're a hard worker in a job interview does not distinguish you from anyone else and leaves absolutely no impression on those making the hiring decision. Ladies and gentlemen, now is the time to be bold!

Government: Factory, Enterprise or Both
by Patrick Ibarra

At its best, government serves as the protagonist for a better quality of life, and the antagonist is not shifting political winds or volatile budgets. It's what those trends signify: change, often disruptive yet incalculably valuable. These "headwinds" provide public leaders with the opportunity to be swift and nimble in their pursuit of better government, but that's where the "we've-always-done-it-that-way" mindset that emanates from guaranteed-outcome approach zaps hope for innovation and progress.

“Create Your Own Leadership Playbook: Pointers for a Successful Leader's Game-Changing Practices.”
by Patrick Ibarra

Effective leaders strike a healthy balance between securing compliance and enlisting commitment from organizational members in their collective efforts to build a high-performing organization, and ultimately, a stronger community. Using football as a backdrop, here are 10 practices used by successful leaders.

“Talent Management: The Next Phase of Succession Planning”
by Patrick Ibarra

"The adoption and implementation of a talent management program provides the opportunity for organizational leaders to improve organizational performance despite not adding to their workforce."

“Digital Government: Creating the Social Media Game Plan”
by Patrick Ibarra

"Simply posting undifferentiated information to your agency's Facebook and Twitter accounts is becoming outdated. Governments at all levels need to move past this stage and use social media as a way to interact with the community. One way to start is by posting a question to residents and employees on your Facebook page asking what type of information would they like to see provided there. This acts as a 21st century focus group providing real-time input. This input needs to be balanced with additional research, however, because some users hide behind anonymity to make controversial comments or voice inflammatory opinions."

“Succession Planning: The Sequel”
by Patrick Ibarra

"Flash forward to this year, 2011. Significant budget limitations are the "new normal." Contrary to forecasts, public sector employees continue to retire. With public pension reform gaining traction, the retirement trend will continue since pensioners want to be "grandfathered in" under the current system and not be adversely impacted by any changes to the system. Additionally, young employees remain quite mobile since talented people always have options, regardless of the state of the economy. The departure of seasoned, knowledgeable employees places your organization at a critical juncture: the need for experienced and seasoned professional staff members has never been greater and the trend shows these organizational members as the most likely to be leaving the organization in the very near future. As a result of the "brain drain" underway and constrained budgets, the public sector is facing a number of specific challenges, including..."

“There is No Box: Uncertain Times Demand RAPID Innovation”
by Patrick Ibarra

"After rejecting the conventional wisdom which offered comfortable solution and accepting that ambiguity prevails, what should government leaders pursue to leverage the forces for change? The optimal solution is RAPID Innovation. RAPID is a bold, forward-thinking, powerful, practical and productive mechanism designed to generate, identify, select, implement, and evaluate contemporary innovation solutions."

“Improve Your Organization's Performance Right Now!”
by Patrick Ibarra

"The results your organization is currently realizing are not by chance. And although influenced by factors outside your control (not the least of which is the current economic crisis) they also have a great deal to do with factors within your control—most notably your business strategy and how you have designed your organization. Organizations looking to emerge from the current economic crisis stronger and better positioned for success will be forced to embrace new ways of thinking."

“Leading Change isn't a Spectator Sport”
by Patrick Ibarra

"In today's ever-changing world the forces for change among public sector organizations—declining revenues, contentious political pressures, and increasing demands for services—have been fairly constant. When change becomes necessary is when those forces gather momentum by meeting up with newer issues such as shifting workforce demographics and expanding technologies. In public sector organizations large and small, change is ubiquitous and often overwhelming, especially to those who perceive themselves to be on the receiving end. For organizational leaders, the struggles in managing change and achieving good outcomes lie in both corralling the forces for change and shepherding their organization and its members though the process."

“Mavericks at Work” Book Review”
by Patrick Ibarra

"Governments are in business...in the business of public service. Whether in lean times or flush times, and applying Maverick-like solutions are a must. Dramatic dare I say radical change is necessary today and these authors provide a series of vitamins, instead of the same old pain killers, that mavericks can inject into your organizational mind-set.."

“Succession Planning: The Essentials”
by Patrick Ibarra

"You've attend the conferences where a presenter spoke about it. You've read the articles which focused on the impacts from it. You've scanned a number of Web sites to learn more about what your agency can do to address it. You've discussed it at staff meetings.The topic at the center of all this is the unprecedented number of retirements currently happening within public sector organizations. Retirement parties used to be an occasional office event; nowadays, they occur almost weekly, or so it seems. I have dubbed this phenomenon the “(baby) boomerang” effect: the impacts resulting from the exodus by baby boomers from government agencies. As these seasoned employees depart and take with them their judgment and problemsolving capabilities, (two areas essential to continued effectiveness for an organization), the question arises about what you can do to replace them and their talent? In two words: succession planning.."

“Governmental Succession Planning: An Idea Whose Time Has Come”
by Patrick Ibarra

"Today, governmental succession planning requires more than just an organization chart that shows who holds what job within the government organization.  Best practice organizations use succession planning to develop and maintain strong leadership and to ensure that they address all the competencies required for today’s and tomorrow’s work environment."
IPMA-HR News, May 2004

“The Myths & Realities of Succession Planning”
by Patrick Ibarra

"One only has to pick up a magazine or newspaper, glance at a TV, pull up a favorite web site or attend another in a seemingly endless series of retirement parties at work,to realize the workforce is agingand as a result, new challenges are presented. We have all heard about the “baby boomer” generation and the staggering numbers with which members of this group will be hitting the retirement rolls starting now and continuing for the next several years."
IPMA-HR News, August 2006

“Get Up, Get Out, Get On It: How HR can Become a Strategic Business Partner”
by Patrick Ibarra

"…the future of HR is at a critical juncture: try to hang on to the past and risk becoming marginalized, or embrace a new and different future that requires different competencies. There is a clear and unambiguous imperative confronting the future of the HR professional: rethink the HR function’s structure, services, and programs to address how it can add value to today’s organizations or suffer the consequences."
IPMA-HR News, November, 2005

“How to Get Better All The Time through Training and Development”
by Patrick Ibarra

"Do you find yourself riding the ebb and flow of budgets dedicated to employee growth and development? Are the retirement parties you’re attending almost weekly, foreshadowing an uncertain future with regard to employee performance? If you answered yes to any of these questions, read on and you’ll discover a strategy and series of techniques to help your employees get better all the time through targeted training and development activities."
PMA-HR News, December 2005

“Managing Performance Is A Process, Not An Event.”
by Patrick Ibarra

"Most public sector organizations have mission and vision statements hanging in their agency’s lobby, maybe even printed on the back of business cards. However, too few leadership teams have effectively established the connection between the organization’s vision, mission and strategy, and the employee’s role in making these happen. Performance management is a component of organizational management..."
IPMA-HR News, May 2004

"Succession Planning, The Sequel"
by Patrick Ibarra

"During the years leading up to that time, government leaders at all levels were experiencing significant impacts resulting from the "baby boomer" generation retirement trend, but had the dollars to counteract the "brain drain" occurring within their workforce. Case in point: while employees were departing, the ability to replace and sometimes even backfill positions was occurring fairly regularly. Additionally, funds were available to equip your future leaders and managers with skills needed to continue the high level of performance to which your residents had become accustomed."
May, 2012

"Creativity and Cooking: A Recipe for Success"
by Patrick Ibarra

"With the new normal firmly in place and all its ancillary components - transparency and accountability the focus for local governments nationwide is on demonstrating increased value to its citizens. Using traditional tried-and-true solutions to impact today's biggest challenges, are not as easily accessible for today's government leaders. So, what are the options? Great question."

"Your Employer Brand as a Talent Magnet"
by Patrick Ibarra

"Because of current economic conditions and the frequency by which public sector organizations have adopted hiring freezes, now is the perfect time in which to allocate resources toward building your agency's brand. Top-flight employees always have options, regardless of the economy, and they want their next career move to be at a place that matters and be able to make a difference. What better place than local government?"