1. Rigid chain of command
2. Staff receive very specialized training that is somewhat but rarely ~totally~ relevant outside the firm/operation
3. Rigid pay structure and staff hierarchy
4. Intense performance review process
5. There is no such thing as a successful "nine-to-fiver"
6. You rarely get to go home when YOU want to
7. Its hard to plan nights at the theatre - work always interferes
8. Clients/(countries) you are investigating/(invading) get agitated when you show up/(stay too long) and ask too many questions
9. Clients/(countries) you are investigating/(invading) get agitated when you ask too many questions which makes you wish you were armed/(glad you are armed). 
10. For just about everything you do on the job, there is a right way (your firm's/your outfit) and a wrong way to do it (the other firms' on the block/the Navy/Army/whoever you aren't).
11. Defined methods of advancement
12. Relative job security since you are not easily replaced
13. You are surrounded by bad haircuts
14. Staff have questionable fashion sense when out of 'uniform'
15. There is a strong pro-organization culture in place which makes it difficult to leave.  You work so much that much of your social network involves your co-workers.
16. Holding out the carrot of one day making partner/(general) is not nearly as effective on your junior staff/(non-coms or junior officers) as it once was.

This is not to say that I don't have a good deal of respect for either entity.  They each have important roles to fill in society.  I just never saw the similarities between the two before.....

Interesting, Ernst and Young was recently forced to pay overtime to its administrative staff (where they were performing professional work)- but not its actual professional staff....

http://steeplemedia.com/blogs/krupo/archive/2008/04/28/three-of-canada-s-big-four-ca-firms-to-pay-overtime.aspx

I suspect others may have a few suggestions for the list.

The Northerngardener (an ex-road warrior)

(Copyright 2008 by the Northerngardener.  Go ahead and link to me, just don’t copy me. )

When I was a management consultant working with Deloitte and PwC on engagements whether they were global in nature or local, we would always say "think globally but act locally".

Words of wisdom I believe, no matter what industry one is in, and especially relevant for real estate.

George

Deloitte's '2008 Tribalization of Business Survey' is intended to inform the strategies of firms seeking to harness the value of online communities engaged around brand discussions, idea generation, and product discovery in the enterprise.

[Okay, I'm teasing a little here, the italics are meant to highlight a small sample of the jargon actually used in the article. What the authors mean (I think) is that the survey provides information that helps firms make money by communicating with groups of people on the web. Full disclosure: we non-profits also use language in ways that mystify, but I think the root of the issue here is that it's hard for (for-profit) research organizations to talk about how to make money from people they organize into communities but don't actually pay. A topic for another day...].

While obviously intended for a corporate audience, the findings should boost the confidence of many non-profits, and provide some insight.

Key Insights: Desire to Help, Shared Passions, Community Matter; Engagement Generates Knowledge; Community Management not Marketing

The survey reveals that successful communities are those about "people helping people" and whose members share a particular passion. (This is the confidence boosting part - any non-profit organization worth its salt was launched on this premise).

But it also provides a few pearls worth pondering.

First, the factors that most contribute ot community effectiveness:

• Ability for members to connect with like-minded people
• Ability for members to help others
• Community focus around hot topics/issues

Second, rich interaction and knowledge sharing generates collective insight.

Third, marketing has become community management, but one-to-many communications is not the same as community engagement.

Hmmm.....

Beeline Labs and the Society for New Communications Research also contributed to the research.

The Deloitte South Island Index measures the market capitalisation of 33 companies with head offices or the majority of their business in the South Island and puts them into an index relative to their size.

For the first six months of this year, the index was down by 8.5 per cent, beating New Zealand's benchmark NZX-50 index which fell 21 per cent. Over the last quarter (April to June) it has risen into positive territory, growing 3 per cent versus the NZX-50's drop of 8 per cent.

However, doing better isn't the same as doing well as Deloitte partner Paul Munro points out:

At a headline level it shows South Island companies are doing better than the rest of the country, but we need to balance that out with the fact that of the 33 companies measured 61 per cent saw a drop in their market capitalisation."

Munro said the strong performance over the last quarter had been boosted by larger companies like PGG Wrightson and NZ Farming Systems Uruguay.

PGG Wrightson, the second largest company on the index, grew its market cap by $127 million, boosted by a higher share price and $5 million in bonus shares being issued, while NZ Farming Systems Uruguay saw its market cap increase by $83 million on the back of a rising share price driven by predicted increased earnings. Munro said their strength followed the boom in the dairy sector with record milk solid payouts.

He said this sector was having a positive impact on other businesses and because a greater proportion of business in the South Island was linked to dairying it was helping to hold up the economy.

It's not all down to dairying, but the record payout from Fonterra and the continuation of conversions from sheep to dairy farms are pouring money into rural communities. That in turn is insulating the provinces from the worst effects of the recession.

Tra le aziende sono inclusi produttori di computer, software, assicurazioni, aste online, media, non-profit, catene di hotel e startup, con un numero di membri delle community che va da 100 a 10.000.

[slideshare id=518436&doc=2008-tribalization-of-business-study-quantitative-1216385415561514-9&w=425]

Comunicato stampa Deloitte e Beeline Labs e un'analisi sul blog Beeline.

Via Information Week

In fact, without Fannie and Freddie, the U.S. government has little chance at stopping the bleeding in the mortgage and financial markets unless authorities were to reinvent the wheel. Unfortunately for the economy, bankers are no longer free-wheeling loans, making it tougher all the way around for good customers to buy a home. Why? Bankers are playing by the rules or “stricter standards”, which threatens to upend the entire economic recovery plan by the Treasury and Federal Reserve.

Now that the party is over, bankers are typically demanding a 20% down payment and have been slowly ratcheting up interest rates to customers to the tune of half-a-percent in just the last week in many cases. A marvelous credit score and a well-established proved income are now required, unlike the heady days of the accelerating mortgage boom. The situation has arguably returned to days of old, before the bankers went wild and crazy with lending standards.

Where the problem really lies in the entire process is the expectations of the bankers, institutions and government moneychangers. In the days of good old grandpa, simple interest was the banking standard. With the advent of compound interest, the cost of buying a house with compound interest can more than quadruple the cost of a home over time. Bankers have grown accustomed to this kind of money, as well as nearly of decade of creative financing measures and other usury that they are loathe to give up.

The entire economy has become dependent on mortgages, as well as the idea of financing everything. As financing became unaffordable, as is often the case with automobiles, leasing became the tour de force to keep the market going. As a result, almost everyone is in hock to their eyeballs and fully dependent on financing because wages have failed to keep pace with the expense of living, including mortgages.

The reality, according to Henry Paulson’s recent expression, is that finding a way to release more credit to the U.S. citizen and consumer is the only way out. The finance junkie U.S. economy has finally collapsed and hit the pavement in a nearly comatose state. The common wisdom of Henry Paulson dictates that best answer is more banking and finance drugs for all to jump start the entire economy. It's the heady stuff of dreams if you're an addict.

While Paulson’s solution is a reasonable effort for correcting a portion of the loan problems of the recent foreclosure run in the economy, his solution is not the answer for an ailing economy. For years, mortgages and financing have supported rising prices and profits for many. Higher prices for capital goods or real estate can no longer be supported through an artificial financial means like financing, especially at the rates that bankers and credit companies expect to make. The government and business has become entirely reliant on the largesse of the consumer. Unfortunately, the consumer is simply tapped out.

The government and bankers find themselves in an untenable situation. They are looking for a fast way out of their fiscal misery and cannot find one aside from using more of the hard core banking and finance techniques of the past coupled with more borrowing, ultimately from the Federal Reserve. The people simply aren’t financially ready to return old ways. The customers that are still viable are still paying plenty for having the luxury of borrowing money from banker types. Those customers that aren’t viable aren’t going to get a free ride except to the streets. The only beauty of the situation is the corrupt bankers may actually be on the hook in many cases. The harm they have done cannot be truly calculated. The stupidity of authorities that want a quick solution using the same insanity is almost as incalculable. ~ E. Manning

In fact, without Fannie and Freddie, the U.S. government has little chance at stopping the bleeding in the mortgage and financial markets unless authorities were to reinvent the wheel. Unfortunately for the economy, bankers are no longer free-wheeling loans, making it tougher all the way around for good customers to buy a home. Why? Bankers are playing by the rules or “stricter standards”, which threatens to upend the entire economic recovery plan by the Treasury and Federal Reserve.

Now that the party is over, bankers are typically demanding a 20% down payment and have been slowly ratcheting up interest rates to customers to the tune of half-a-percent in just the last week in many cases. A marvelous credit score and a well-established proved income are now required, unlike the heady days of the accelerating mortgage boom. The situation has arguably returned to days of old, before the bankers went wild and crazy with lending standards.

Where the problem really lies in the entire process is the expectations of the bankers, institutions and government moneychangers. In the days of good old grandpa, simple interest was the banking standard. With the advent of compound interest, the cost of buying a house with compound interest can more than quadruple the cost of a home over time. Bankers have grown accustomed to this kind of money, as well as nearly of decade of creative financing measures and other usury that they are loathe to give up.

The entire economy has become dependent on mortgages, as well as the idea of financing everything. As financing became unaffordable, as is often the case with automobiles, leasing became the tour de force to keep the market going. As a result, almost everyone is in hock to their eyeballs and fully dependent on financing because wages have failed to keep pace with the expense of living, including mortgages.

The reality, according to Henry Paulson’s recent expression, is that finding a way to release more credit to the U.S. citizen and consumer is the only way out. The finance junkie U.S. economy has finally collapsed and hit the pavement in a nearly comatose state. The common wisdom of Henry Paulson dictates that best answer is more banking and finance drugs for all to jump start the entire economy. It's the heady stuff of dreams.

While Paulson’s solution is a reasonable effort for correcting a portion of the loan problems of the recent foreclosure run in the economy, his solution is not the answer for an ailing economy. For years, mortgages and financing have supported rising prices and profits for many. Higher prices for capital goods or real estate can no longer be supported through an artificial financial means like financing, especially at the rates that bankers and credit companies expect to make. The government and business has become entirely reliant on the largesse of the consumer. Unfortunately, the consumer is simply tapped out.

The government and bankers find themselves in an untenable situation. They are looking for a fast way out of their fiscal misery and cannot find one aside from using more of the hard core banking and finance techniques of the past coupled with more borrowing, ultimately from the Federal Reserve. The people simply aren’t financially ready to return old ways. The customers that are still viable are still paying plenty for having the luxury of borrowing money from banker types. Those customers that aren’t viable aren’t going to get a free ride except to the streets. The only beauty of the situation is the corrupt bankers may actually be on the hook in many cases. The harm they have done cannot be truly calculated. The stupidity of authorities that want a quick solution using the same insanity is almost as incalculable.

But right now, its time to introduce the next Apprentice, Mayur Murali.  Mayur was selected back in June, after an extremely tough interview process.  He instantly accepted the role, and I have every confidence that he is going to take this fantastic opportunity to even greater heights. I wish him the very best of luck in what I know will be a truly amazing year.

So below please meet the team for the Graduate Apprentice 2008.  Mayur will be undertaking placements with Deloitte, in the same team that I will be re-joining as a full time Graduate.  He will then move on to work with Giles and the team at LMM, where there are some more challenging projects lined up for him.  Finally, Mayur will work with the new placement, VC Consulting, who we are thrilled to have as part of the set up.  Much like me, there are three very seperate challenges, where I know he will be given a fantastic insight into the professional services world.  Pictured below (left to right) are: Shihab Hossain, VC Consulting Director, Rachel Hewson of Deloitte, Giles Horwitch-Smith, CEO of LMM and Mayur himself.

Mayur will be continuing the trend of blogging his experience as the Graduate Apprentice, but right now, you can read a little more about how he reacted to being offered the role.  

For me, with about five weeks left, its time to begin thinking about what next... who am I, what is my next challenge...

Een voorproefje van wat er staat te gebeuren
De afgelopen 12 maanden heeft het Food & Beverage team van Deloitte 90 interviews wereldwijd gehouden met bestuursleden van fabrikanten en retailers in de Food & Beverage industrie. Aan de hand van deze interviews is een globaal rapport geschreven waarin de uitdagingen die de Food & Beverage industrie wereldwijd staat te wachten worden beschreven evenals strategische keuzes die zullen moeten worden gemaakt. In het rapport over de Nederlandse Food & Beverage industrie worden de belangrijkste punten uit de interviews met Nederlandse fabrikanten en retailers besproken.

Veel wereldwijde trends en ontwikkelingen gaan ook op voor de Nederlandse Food & Beverage industrie. Er zijn echter ook een aantal verschillen. Een aantal ontwikkelingen die in het Nederlandse rapport ter sprake komen.

Bierconsumptie binnenshuis
Hoewel er ook in Nederland sprake is van de internationale trend van toegenomen consumptie buitenshuis, geldt voor het consumeren van bier juist het tegenovergestelde. Uit het onderzoek komt naar voren dat binnen de Nederlandse markt de bierconsumptie thuis steeds meer toeneemt. Volgens Leon Pieters, partner bij branchegroep Consumer Business van Deloitte wordt deze verschuiving van de cateringbranche naar retail veroorzaakt door veranderingen binnen de cateringsector, waar bedrijven zich meer focussen op maaltijden. Als een gevolg daarvan neemt het aantal traditionele cafés in Nederland relatief af. Dit vormt een bedreiging voor de drankproducenten die leveren aan deze markt. Bierproducenten zoeken daarom naar nieuwe mogelijkheden om in te spelen op deze nieuwe ontwikkelingen binnen het cateringsegment.

Prijs uiteindelijk toch bepalend
Andere belangrijke trends binnen de food & beverage markt zijn biologische producten, fair-trade en ethische issues. In Nederland hebben deze kwesties echter minder invloed op de markt dan in de rest van de wereld. In een klein land als Nederland, waar de afstanden relatief kort zijn, spelen bijvoorbeeld de zogenaamde ‘food miles’ in mindere mate een rol. Wat internationaal geldt, lijkt nog meer te gelden in Nederland. Trends zijn belangrijk totdat geld, smaak of gemak in het geding komt. Vooral de prijs vormt in Nederland een bepalende factor.

Vergrijzing
De vergrijzing heeft ook invloed op de consumentenmarkt voor fabrikanten en retailers. Drankproducenten richten zich qua marketing nog steeds met name op de jongere consument en nog niet voldoende op de oudere doelgroep. Dat moet veranderen, meent Pieters. Men zal beter moeten communiceren met deze groep en moeten innoveren om tegemoet te komen aan hun behoeften. Ik heb hierover al eerder geschreven op mijn weblog. Klik op deze link voor het artikel over seniorenmarketing. Consumentensegmentatie verandert niet alleen wat betreft de leeftijd, maar ook wat betreft de ‘nieuwe Nederlanders’. Food & beverage bedrijven ontwikkelen niet voldoende brandingcampagnes specifiek gericht op opkomende consumentengroepen.

Het volledige rapport voor de Nederlandse markt kunt u hier downloaden. Het wereldwijde rapport kunt u hier downloaden.

As my time as the Apprentice draws to an end, its time to start reflecting on the fantastic year that I've had, and to start talking about the programme.  I had one such opportunity with Biz TV recently, part of the Aston University set-up.  They were kind enough to interview about how I got the role, my three placements and my plans going forward.  Please take a look at the link below to hear me talk about my time.

Jason Norris as the Graduate Apprentice

No, not the famous words uttered by everybody’s favourite grouch, Suralan Sugar; rather, the “You’re Hired” event was a chance to meet with the employers at their offices in a more relaxed setting than the interview, ask some questions and get to know Birmingham itself a little better. This was to be followed by a photoshoot, drinks and dinner with representatives from all 3 firms, and from Birmingham Future.

On arrival, I was met by Jason (in the pouring rain!), whose friendly demeanor helped to calm any initial nerves. First on the schedule was a meeting at VC Consulting with Shihab Hossain, on the outskirts of the Jewellery Quarter; new to the scheme themselves, this was a novel experience for all of us. I was made to feel at ease, and Shihab told me a little about VC’s history, what they do and their aims for the future. I immediately got the impression of a small, friendly team, one which I would be very happy to learn from and contribute to.

From here we moved onto Deloitte, taking the scenic (and still very wet) route along the canal. This was obviously a very different environment, much larger, featuring many different individuals in a corporate setting. Here I met a member of the HR department, Rachel, who showed me around the floor I would be working on the following year (in GES), and explained the company ethos. In this environment, it was suggested I’d be much more likely to meet graduates from similar backgrounds, and the tasks I perform are likely to be far more specific than those undertaken at VC.

Finally, we moved onto LMM, where I met with the team of 10 or so individuals in their main office, just next to the BT Tower. The atmosphere that greeted me was extremely relaxed and full of banter, to me just a step up from my days at University. I met with Giles Horwitch-Smith, the managing director of the firm, who made me feel very welcome and laid to rest any lingering nervousness about entering the world of work.

And so we moved onto the photoshoot: the most mortifying part of the day! It was still tipping it down, so we were unable to recreate the photographs in Victoria Square, as previously planned and done with Jason. On the one hand this was good – nothing involving the giant stone balls – but on the other it called for some serious creativity from the photographer. Though my face eventually froze into a perma-smile, the results were not that bad at all; two of these can be seen below.

The day ended with drinks at Bar One Ten and dinner at Must, a dim-sum restaurant. A good end to a busy day – and a good chance to meet everyone in a social setting. All in all, a fantastic day which made me feel very welcome to the post of the Graduate Apprentice; special thanks to Jason for taking most of his day to show me around, and to everyone who attended and took the time out of their busy schedules. I can’t wait to get started!

I started an inventory back in April (Part I and Part II) of what different think tanks are doing related to the transition.  There was a good story in Federal Times this past week on some of the groups (including the IBM Center), but there are a few more developments over the past few months worth highlighting.

Updates on Think Tank Players

Government Performance Coalition.  The Coalition’s a website on transition issues is being updated more frequently.  The Coalition and its nearly two dozen members (some of whose efforts are described in more detail below) anticipate pulling together a set of insights for the next Administration this Fall.

IBM Center for The Business of Government.  In addition to sponsoring this blog, a series of issue briefs and forums on acquisition reform, the IBM Center will be publishing two books this Fall.  One, “The Operator’s Manual for the New Administration,” will highlight the key features of running an agency, such as what you need to know about government systems dealing with people, money, and technology.  The second book, “Getting It Done,” provides insights for new government leaders on working across different stakeholder groups – Congress, OMB, the media, unions – to get things done.  Its transition website will be regularly updated to reflect these items, as well.

Council for Excellence in Government.  CEG plans to continue its famous “Prune Book” but make it an on-line version this time, highlighting about 25 key jobs. It is also providing pre-transition assistance to the Department of Homeland Security by helping organize emergency and planning exercises under the National Response Framework.

National Academy for Public Administration.  NAPA also assisted Homeland Security by inventorying gaps in the Department’s executive staff rank in a recent report.  A group of Academy Fellows is drafting a series of papers on key management capacity challenges facing the next Administration as well, which will be available on the web later this summer.  NAPA is also collaborating with other groups, as described below.

Partnership for Public Service.  The Partnership has sponsored a series of forums on the human capital agenda for the next Administration.  It is developing a white paper based on its forums and plans to contribute data and information during the general election campaign to further dialog on these issues.  It also plans to provide insights and advice to the next generation of political appointees.

American Society for Public Administration.  The Society’s professional journal, Public Administration Review, published a series of articles related to presidential transition in its July/August issue.   

Association of Government Accountants.  AGA has launched a blog on financial management issues, some of which may be relevant during the upcoming transition.  It is also developing a white paper on financial management challenges, jointly with NAPA.

Center for the Study of the Presidency.   The Center is sponsoring several efforts related to the transition.  One, which is more strategy-oriented, is “Agenda 2008:  A Nation at Risk,” which defines organizational challenges facing the next President.  The more specific effort is its sponsorship of the Project on National Security Reform, which is devoted to rethinking the National Security Act of 1947 which created the Defense Department.

“The President’s Executive Academy.” This new initiative is being developed by a consortium of groups:  the University of Maryland, the Council for Excellence in Government, the University of Pennsylvania, and NAPA.  Under the guidance of Ed DeSeve, a former OMB official, the consortium is developing a curriculum for new presidential appointees, with plans to help support the orientation of new appointees.  It is also planning the development of a web-based orientation and network.

Updates on Government Players

Office of Personnel Management.  OPM has published an updated transition guide for political appointees.    

Office of Government Ethics.  OGE will have an important role in the transition.  It is responsible for reviewing and certifying financial disclosure reports of presidential nominees.  It reviews each nominee’s written ethics agreements and transmits opinion/clearance letters to the appropriate Senate committees responsible for confirming appointees.  It also provides ethics briefings to senior White House officials. 

Congressional Research Service.  CRS produces reports on various topics for members of Congress.  It has produced an updated report on Presidential Transitions.  It will also likely produce a series of other reports on transition-related issues, such as national and homeland security.  

Updates on Academic Players

The White House Transition Project  is conducting a series of interviews of 11 key White House officials about the lessons they learned in their roles and advice they have for their successors.  They are planning on a book later this year with essays on selected transition topics such as:  the first 100 days in the White House (which should be useful to CNN, which has announced a series it plans on the first 100 days); the presidential decision-making system, and the president’s military and foreign policy roles. 

Midge Smith Center for Evaluation Effectiveness (a part of the Trachtenberg School for Public Policy and Public Administration at George Washington University).  The Center is collaborating with a NAPA advisory group to develop a white paper identifying options for strengthening performance management initiatives in the next Administration.  The effort is based on a series of focus groups with OMB and agency officials and will be ready in the Fall.

Updates on Other Players

Deloitte Public Sector Research.  Deloitte Research sponsored a conference in June on the potential role of Web 2.0 in the next Administration.  It also plans a forum in September to develop a “redesign framework” to facilitate the review of the roles and functions of government.   

Cisco.  Cisco has undertaken several transition initiatives to help the next Administration develop a management agenda. Most recently, it launched a website to engage visitors in identifying new ideas for government that could be offered to the new Administration.  In addition, Cisco’s Alan Balutis supported a special forum on management issues in the Spring 2008 issue of The Public Manager. 

Management Concepts, Inc.  Management Concepts is publishing a series entitled In the Public Interest.  The first book was out in May 2008:  Transforming Public and Nonprofit Organizations: Stewardship for Leading Change by James Edwin Kee and Kathryn E. Newcomer, both with George Washington University.  In addition, Management Concepts is sponsoring (and working on) improvements to program management with CEG, based on a survey of program managers.

OMB Watch. OMB Watch plans to prepare a briefing paper on the regulatory process and options for improving it to be more transparent.

MITRE Corporation.  MITRE is developing a set of white papers on 5-8 topics, based in part on a series of roundtables held in conjunction with CEG in late 2007.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Again, if you’ve got additions or revisions, the blog lines are open!

A Jerónimo Martins foi galardoada com o prémio do melhor Relatório e Contas de empresas do sector não financeiro de 2007.

Para a equipa financeira, nomeadamente o CFO e o TOC, este prémio deve ser facto de um orgulho imenso. É óbvio que um relatório deste calibre não é fruto do trabalho de apenas uma pessoa ou duas, mas tem muito suor duma pessoa ou duas, e só possível efectuá-lo com o apoio da Gestão da empresa.

Parabéns à JM.

De salientar, que os relatórios premiados pela Deloitte, são de leitura indispensável para todos os profissionais e estudantes da área. Eles representam o melhor que se faz no país.

Now in its eleventh year, the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 is part of an international campaign to spotlight the growth achievements of technology companies.

Deloitte’s technology partner in the South West, Laurence Hedditch, said: “The Technology Fast 50 is widely recognised as an industry benchmark from which local high-tech companies can gauge their performance against some of the world’s most successful technology leaders.

“It is a feature of many fast-growth technology companies that their achievements remain overlooked, and our region has a superb record as a nursery for this kind of business.”

Last year’s national winner was Coventry logistics firm ByBox, whose revenues had grown by 15,272 per cent, from £119,000 in 2002 to more than £18.3 million in 2006.

E-learning software company e2train, based in Cirencester, was named the South West’s fastest growing technology firm, having grown by 1,547 per cent in the past five years.

The launch of the Technology Fast 50 coincides with the Deloitte report “Tooling Up,” which analyses the key operational and financial concerns of last year’s entrants. The report reveals key hurdles currently faced by technology businesses, including the recruitment of new, highly skilled and motivated staff.

The awards are open to any technology company with accounts over five years which demonstrate consecutive growth. Full details and an entry form are available at www.fast50.co.uk

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There’s interest in the U.S. presidential transition in other countries, as well.  I had some visitors from the Swedish government drop by this morning and they were curious about how the U.S. government ensures there is an orderly transfer of knowledge about various policy and technical matters between administrations.  Once they realized it wasn’t quite so orderly, they asked:  “How do you maintain your status as the only superpower??”  Good question!

Today, I just wanted to share several interesting resources that came available recently. 

The Office of Personnel Management updated its “Presidential Transition Guide to Federal Human Resource Management.”  The guide provides incoming political appointees a view of government they probably wouldn’t think of . . . with the first chapter titled “Standards of Ethical Conduct,” and ending with a chapter on “Personal Identify Verification.”  It is important for potential Presidential transition team members to know they will not be issued a PIV (authorized under HSPD-12, under the implementing guidance of FIPS-201-1) if “The individual is know to be or reasonably suspected of being a terrorist.”  However, there is a good chance the guide will get an avid audience – there’s an important section about benefits for departing political appointees, including a sample separation notice!

A conference co-sponsored by Deloitte Public Research and the National Academy of Public Administration on “Web 2.0:  the Future of Collaborative Government” was held in early June.  A website with summary materials from that conference is now available.   One of the fun things about the conference was that, as speakers made their presentations, a graphic artist sketched icons and summarized the content “live” on a large scroll of paper that was the stage background.  So if you don’t want to read the papers, you can look at the pictures (sample)!

Finally, there was a nice piece by Richard Walker in the on-line version of Federal Computer Week, “Deputy Chiefs Key to Transition.”  In it, he highlights the importance of the role of career deputies in departments and agencies as the institutional bridges between the current and future administrations.  He points to how many career executives in these roles are already beginning to draft transition plans for their offices.

By the way, “thanks” to readers who send interesting links to be shared.  I don’t always catch everything new that comes out, and I appreciate your pointing things out.

The doors opened at 7:30 for conference attendees.  I walked in, checked in and got a very official name badge with my name and organization affiliation (Penn State University) and also a program.  I found a seat close to the front and grabbed a quick breakfast provided by DGI.  I had some time to kill, so I talked to a few people about what they do and why they were attending the conference.  The IRS had a huge contingent that all sat around me; I think they all were security/system architects.  After more waiting, the first session got underway.

The keynote speech was given by J. Michael Gibbons who is the Principal for Security and Privacy Services for Deloitte Consulting.  Prior to that position, he served as the Chief of Computer Crime Investigations for the FBI.  Most of his speech's content was filled with experience from his FBI days.  The name of his session was "Cyber Security: Using A Historical Perspective To Provide Insight on Current Threats."  Mr. Gibbons went over the major types of computer attacks  He detailed that hostile code has been the norm for computer security breaches for a long time now, and the only thing that has changed is the delivery method.

He reports that email attachments are still the main (and easiest) vector to deliver such an attack.  With 3/4 of all email being spam messages, it is still commonplace for people to click emails that are from people that they don't trust.  Although spam filtering technologies have made massive progress in the last few years, it is still not enough to protect users completely.

A term that I had never heard of was mentioned by Mr. Gibbons during the portion of his speech on phishing.  The term "spearphising" is a phishing attack directly at a specific person that is usually a high-level member of an organization.  Between November of 2004 and November of 2005, we saw an incredible increase of phishing attacks.  This even caused the FBI to take notice of this new threat.  Instead of hackers stealing your identity, the victims are actually handing it over willingly.

Mr. Gibbons also discussed keylogging in very general terms, and more specifically on it's impact on online banking.  Keylogging can be accomplished through both hardware and software, and both methods are highly lucrative.  For the hardware keyloggers, a device is placed between the keyboard and the computer (which often looks like a USB cord extender) and logs keystrokes in its own memory.   Software keylogging is where a program is run silently in the background of your computer and keeps tracks of what you type and where you type it.  Sophisticated keyloggers send out the information over the net to the originators of the attack.  Obviously, the impact on online banking is that intruders can steal your account information and either steal your money in the account or sell the information to the highest bidder.

The next attack that was shared was a complex trojan infection.  In this attack, you merely have to visit a compromised website in order to be a victim.  Hostile code hides in the iframe of the webpage and silently infects your system.  Unfortunately, these attacks are becoming more and more common.  The good news is that there are steps that can be taken to minimize this risk and many others.

Perhaps the best point of the speech was the fact that security must start with the developer.  Automated tools are now widely available to test software for security vulnerabilities.  These tools have been developed to find a whole horde of exploits such as SQL Injections, Buffer Overflows, Javascript Execution, Active X Attacks, Cross Site Scripting, Content Spoofing, Authentication Theft, Brute Force Attacks, DDoS, Direct Indexing Attacks and Session Expiration Attacks.  The use of these tools is imperative, especially in today's online environment because so many applications are now accessible online, rather than locally.  The more connections you have with other computers, the more susceptible you are to attack.  Secure coding for software development is the silver bullet for preventing many of these attacks.

Another excellent point is that security professionals must emulate the hacker community.  Hackers employ techniques such as real-time data exchange, trusted channels of communications, anonymous workgroups, file and vulnerability exchange, portable code, reusable code and quid pro quo to extend thier devasating efforts upon the world.  Even after years of attempting to study the hacker community and their incredible workflow and sharing methods, security professionals are not able to duplicate the process for themselves.

The fact is that zero-day attacks are what hurts the IT industry the most.  We need, more than anything else, real-time intelligence on these problems.  The problem is that intelligence is difficult, and sometimes impossible to come by.  In light of this fact, Mr. Gibbons reflected that user education and training is the most valuable tool of protection and prevention- much more than any type of software or hardware.

The next speech was shared by Dr. George Datesman who is a Senior Manager over at Noblis and Rich Kellet who is an IT Security Officer with the General Services Administration.  Their topic dealt with how to identify, develop and retain IT security candidates and contractors.

Mr. Rich Kellet talked about what NIST 800-53 really means.  NIST 800-53 is a document put out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology that explains how to set up government IT systems in terms of security.  According to Mr. Kellet, a former attorney, 800-53 specifically focuses on management, operations and technology of a secure IT setup.  800-53 means an even greater cost for contracting.  Other notable NIST documents are 800-18 (plans for developing security plans) and 800-37.

Dr. George Datesman spoke on how there is a moving shift in federal IT security rules across the board.  First, the identification of IT security jobs is crucial to consolidate infrastructure and organiaztion.  Requirements set forth by FISMA, the OMBA-130 identify generally accepted practices and standards.  The problem is that there are many other government regulatory documents that deal with the same thing.  Dr. Datesman expressed the need for a central, highest common denomonator document that takes care of the relationship between IT, security and government.

Check back to this blog for more coverege on the 2008 DGI Cyber Conference and Expo.  There are at least six more exciting articles coming.

But until you get talking about the personal stuff, you don't realize how these top-tier women made it big by breaking out of their comfort zones. Early in her career, when Allen was managing Deloitte's Boise office, she was an able manager. But her crucible came, she says, when she moved away from Boise to Portland and then to Los Angeles to run bigger offices. "One of my managers told me, ‘You’re so much better outside of Boise. When you’re in Boise, you’re a manager; outside of Boise, you’re a leader, because you have to rely on other people.’”

Weber tells a similar story. She spent most of her career in HR -- typically not the route to the corner office. When Rob Henrikson, MetLife's CEO, asked her to take the big operating role, she practically said no. "I didn’t know if I would be successful," Weber says, "since I didn’t have a sales background. But later I realized that what I was being asked to do was not about sales, but leadership." Out of her comfort zone, she learned to rely on people to help her -- which really is the essence of leadership, isn't it?

Weber, 45, drives herself hard. A Manhattan mother of two kids, she rises each morning at 3:45 a.m. -- no, not to work. To run eight to 10 miles. That's the shot of energy she needs to get through her day. Weber has completed eight marathons already. Now she's training for another.

Weber and Allen were on a panel I led for the Forte Foundation, a consortium of corporations and business schools that aims to get more women to the top -- largely by encouraging young women to go to business school. Fascinating coincidence that neither Weber nor Allen have MBAs. Both talked about the value of business degrees. But you have to wonder, would MBAs have helped them move any faster?