20240925 This was originally presented in a public forum, where I responded to a question: The question was to describe my experience of working in the federal government and to analyze what a second term of Donald Trump would mean to the [...]
The Leader Can Lead No More A topic that interests me is the sudden loss of confidence in a leader who had previously been considered outstanding and, perhaps, even heroic. I remember a conversation with sociologist and collaborator Pat Esborg in the [...]
Should we panic over this sea surface temperature plot? Richard B. (Ricky) Rood University of Michigan - Ann Arbor (Emeritus) June 20, 2023 Recently, a sea surface temperature (SST) plot similar to the one here (Figure 1 and above) has been [...]
I have a set of materials that I view as valuable for management and changing organizations. Some are serious and, perhaps, scholarly. Others are more cultural or emotional. They might, also, be life guides. A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age [...]
This page is in progress. Comments and corrections are welcome. I ended an earlier entry, Resistance to Change, with the statement, "Indeed, over the years, resistance to change can become a characteristic of an organization that is so normalized that it is 'what we [...]
This is a document in development. It is both incomplete and subject to major revision. Though presently written in first person, there are contributions from many in these words. None, more so than Cecelia DeLuca. Communications and Continuity Introduction I have managed [...]
Starting in the mid-1990s I became involved in management and analysis of U.S. government efforts in climate and weather modeling. This became a unique aspect of my career, and here at the end of my career, I am still asked to be [...]
Early in my career, at NASA, I became a manager of organizations that employed scientists and computational specialists. I did not aspire to management. In fact, among my friends, management was looked down upon; it was not "science." My recruitment into management [...]
Resistance to change is a natural response. There is a loss of control for both individuals and organizations, which is met by a wide variety of responses. Once it is decided that disruptive change of an organization is needed, it is important [...]
There is a set of attributes that describe the organizations I have been asked to lead. All of these organizations have been associated with a Federal Agency and have a science-based mission. I will define the organizations, which I managed or served as [...]
