Hey CIO, How Are Your Sociology Skills?
/A first blush sociology and IT may seem distant concepts. Over the last two years, these subjects and functions have had a head on collision. Some say for the better. Some say for the worse.
Read MoreHey CIO, How Are Your Legal Skills?
/What at one time consisted of determining departmental headcount now looks at how to augment this with contractors, consultants, and outsourcing firms. While the workforce plan provides the overall guidance, contracts are where the rubber meets the road. This is where you precisely define the products and services required, and the terms and conditions which go along with the acquisition. Knowing how to negotiate these contracts and the obligations of the parties is a core skill in the delivery of Information Technology.
Read MoreHey CIO, How Are Your HR/OD Skills?
/Organizations morph. Sometimes the change is slow over time, sometimes rapid as part of a merger. What was effective structurally at one point inevitable deconstructs as the organization it supports changes. As people move in and out of the organization personalities change the roles and by association how the work gets done. Informal structures emerge and at some point the formal organization becomes a hinderance as opposed to a means to facilitate and support successful results.
Read MoreHey CIO, How Are Your Financial Skills?
/It can be argued that nothing is more important to executives than knowing exactly how the money with which they entrust people translates into results. This is a fundamental frame of reference for all those who hope to sit at the proverbial table. It also moves the CIO requirement set to be inclusive of the world of finance.
Read MoreHey CIO, How Are Your Marketing Skills?
/Marketing skills cannot be left to those in the marketing department. There is a heavy dose of marketing in IT. The job of the CIO depends on getting the marketing part right.
Read MoreThe Inflection Point
/As organizations grow the technology needs of an organization change - and sometimes change quickly and profoundly.
Read MoreSoft Statements vs Hard Reality
/If your company is like most, your mission statement and set of corporate approved values portray your company as being very compassionate. The picture painted is that people who work at your organization are more like family members than employees. The family will take care of itself and protect itself from all those not part of the family. While these words sound very "Mafia-esque" the messaging demonstrates that your organization is a great place to work.
Read MoreBlindspots
/...Every so often reality hits. An outside entity steps in to hold a mirror up to ourselves that provides a stiff body check to our egos. Sometime this is in the form of a player who has not been part of our league and provides a benchmark to compare to. Sometime, and this is the ego crushing part, it is in the form of a videotaping performed by a local tavern to entice vulnerable old men to watch their game while sharing a refreshment or two.
Read MoreThe Walls Came Tumbling Down
/IT organizations have seen several changes - walls came tumbling down types of changes - over the last few decades. Here are a few as I remember them.
Read MoreIn Our Systems We Trust
/Why do we place so much faith in our software systems? Is it that we feel that they are without flaw, or that we are comfortable working around the flaws?
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