Set aside any notions you might have that the federal bureaucracy is inherently dysfunctional. In fact, Uncle Sam’s best agencies have a thing or two to teach private-sector employers. Here are eight lessons employers can learn from the biennial agency-by-agency ranking of federal employers by the Partnership for Public Service and American University’s Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation.

How well can you capture the attention of someone receiving your memo? Your memo will capture readers if it includes one of the three R’s in its opening line: It should recommend something, reveal information or request that someone act. Test your skill by picking the best opening sentence in this example:

When you're not on top of your e-mail, you feel out of control. It can also torpedo your career, since people associate responsiveness with competence. It is possible to clear out your e-mail inbox—and keep it clear—daily. But you must be willing to change your behavior. Here are four steps ...

When the responsibility rests on your shoulders to communicate in a crisis, follow these five rules: 1. Speak the same language. 2. "Kill" all the lawyers. (Well, don’t kill them, but do cage them.) 3. Define the CEO's role. 4. Don't wait for a crisis. 5. Drill employees.

Blogs are spreading faster than kudzu in the business world, and for a reason: They help build relationships with customers, something every business and boss want to see. Here’s how to write blog posts for your company, without spending too much time, according to Stephanie Lloyd, founder and CEO of Radiant Veracity.

Question: My department recently moved to a new building ... I was given an office that was originally designated for “Judy.” Judy seems offended by this change. I think she blames me for the decision, even though I had nothing to do with it. Now I’m starting to feel guilty. How can I fix this?

As our company’s only HR staff person, I’m in an awkward situation. My immediate supervisor reprimanded me for the way I handled a recent change in our working hours. Employees were confused, so I sent e-mails to various managers seeking the correct information. That exposed some serious disagreements between the managers and executives about the new hours. My boss said I should not have been so public about it, and then wrote me up for this alleged “infraction.” I think I handled it correctly and want the reprimand removed from my file. What should I do? I’m afraid the company president will take my supervisor’s side.—No name, no location (because I need this job)

A manager who asks only closed questions—those requiring specific answers—isn’t going to receive the most creative, resourceful answers. He might even stifle creativity and honest discussion. Generally, open questions that begin with a “why” or a “how” will bring more value to your work relationships.

Though work mates care about you, they pay more attention to messages that show there’s something in it for them, says Susan Mason, a principal of Vital Visions Consultants. So, for example, if you want something from your boss—whether it’s approval on a new printer purchase or a more flexible schedule—figure out what benefit she will realize. Figure out “What’s In It For Me?” from her perspective.

Almost half of executives say that employees would be more productive if their companies banned meetings one day a week, according to a recent survey by OfficeTeam. That may be the case, but administrative assistants say meetings are still very much a part of every day—to a fault. How are admins taming the meeting madness?

Sometimes, it takes a new manager or supervisor to see how poorly an employee is performing. If an employee who has been getting good reviews suddenly appears to slump under new leadership, don’t jump the gun and discipline the employee right away. Here’s a better approach ...

When employees hunch over keyboards all day, all the motivational posters in all the break rooms of the world won’t improve their health. Solution: Deliver practical, actionable advice directly into employees’ e-mail in-boxes.

Technology is blurring the lines between work and leisure and revealing real tensions between Gen Y, Gen X and baby boomer employees. A recent LexisNexis survey reveals divergent ideas about what is and isn’t an appropriate use of technology and software in the white-collar workplace:

Is the punctuation in this sentence correct or incorrect? This is in response to your daughter, Felicia’s enrollment in the XYZ program. An admin recently sent in the question, saying she suspected the single comma was incorrect, but she didn’t know how to write the sentence correctly.

Whether you call your boss’s work style “creative” or “chaotic,” when your higher-up is full of ideas, it seems impossible to follow through on everything. You can help an idea person by putting structure into your conversations with him, says Alaina Love of Purpose Linked Consulting.

Talk about timing. Ellen Kullman, long on the short list of possible chiefs at DuPont, became president on Oct. 1, 2008, and CEO on Jan. 1. As the economy tanked and the chemical company’s sales fell, Kullman almost immediately had to decide what should and shouldn’t change. Organizing the company to respond to these trends, Kullman decided on four principles:

With the diminishing time you have to communicate, it’s a good idea to tighten your writing and say everything that needs to be said in half the words. With thought and discipline, you can do great things in small spaces. Here are six tips from Brady Dennis, who as a reporter at the St. Petersburg Times wrote a series of profiles in just 300 words apiece.

“Write this down in the minutes,” demands a board meeting attendee, implying that his clout alone should be reason enough for you to do what he says, right or wrong. In such a situation, you could use minute-taking standards.

Execs at IT provider Dimension Data had three challenges: (1) promote employee awareness of the company’s “green” initiatives; (2) address low morale as workers and the organization struggle with the economy; and (3) encourage a global workforce to interact more with each other. It solved all three problems with a photo contest.

More than 33 million Americans now work remotely at least one day per month, according to the “Telework Trendlines 2009” survey report. Still, most managers have been trained to work with employees who are only physically present to them. How can you manage what you can’t see? Here are some tips for bosses who manage teleworkers:

Just because you don’t feel confident doesn’t mean you can’t play the part. It pays off: Confident people get the plum assignments, the raises, the recognition, Trent Hamm says on the blog The Simple Dollar. Follow Hamm's tricks for appearing confident:

You may be using Twitter.com already. If not, it’s worth taking a second look. Why? Because savvy businesses are using the tool to do some of what you do already—smooth out the information flow between leadership and everyone else. Here's how Twitter can help you on the job:

Whether you're dining with peers at a convention or meeting with a vendor, lunch etiquette can keep you from marring your image with a faux pas. Here are five etiquette rules for business meals, according to Robin Jay, author of The Art of the Business Lunch:

Progressive discipline is a system in which penalties increase upon repeat occurrences. But don’t pick and choose which employees you run through progressive discipline. It’s critical to apply those procedures to all employees or none, as this new case shows ...

When a colleague or customer gets so upset they stop making sense, you need to remember this: Too much adrenaline is muddling their thinking. Here are the most common forms of ranting, along with what to say to get them back on track quickly: