Good Start
So this is why John Berry started his first day early: he spent the first two hours of that day standing in the lobby at the Office of Personnel Management, shaking hands with and introducing himself to his new employees. Folks I talked to said that's a first for a director, and it's certainly consistent with the tone Berry said he wants to set at hist confirmation. Another first: Berry is the first director to arrive with his top leadership team entirely in place at the agency, which should help him off to a fast start. That's been a huge problem at other agencies, noticeably Treasury. Obviously the strains and pressures are different. But Berry and his colleagues at OPM will play a big role in making sure agencies have what they need to spend and oversee stimulus funding effectively, so I'm sure he'll take whatever head start he can get.
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Mr. Berry is off to a very good start here at OPM. He has an agenda, which is to place the federal government on the forefront of human resource excellence. This is long overdue--OPM has lost a steady stream of its most gifted and talented folks--the innovators--in the past. An organization needs a certain number of 'oddballs' who challenge the system by asking 'why' and 'why not' instead of dishing out 'same old, same old,' and these are the folks who have left OPM in droves. OPM has lacked the desire to be innovative and creative in considering human resource policy shaping--but it appears that Mr. Berry is going to shake this up. Unfortunately, there are some senior leaders in OPM who lack integrity and who have sold their souls to the devil to keep things smooth--hopefully, Mr. Berry will identify and remove these bad apples quickly, so that the federal government can accomplish the vision of being the employer of choice for America.
An OPM Employee Posted Wednesday, April 15, 2009 8:51 AMYes. I recognize the two beautiful ladies of SCAD. They are colleagues.
Ike Udejiofor Posted Wednesday, April 15, 2009 8:53 AMWhat does OPM have to do with making sure agencies have what they need to spend and oversee stimulus funding effectively? Is this another instance of getting OPM confused with OMB?
GovExec Reader Posted Wednesday, April 15, 2009 9:06 AM