The Internet is run by the Coen Brothers, not Disney.

A couple of years ago, my wife and I were invited to attend the premiere of the movie Burn after Reading at the Toronto film festival. We were thrilled to go, and my wife even came within a whisker of Brad Pitt when she was walking down a hallway (unlike the throngs of fans who were waiting outside).  It was an exciting event, but there was a small problem.

Burn after Reading was a movie by the Coen brothers.  If you are not familiar with their movies ( including Fargo, No Country for Old Men, and True Grit) you know that their movies have a dark side. Things don't usually end up well for their characters. It is not a "happily ever after" kind of place.

On the Internet, EVERYBODY Knows You're a Dog (Who Drinks Starbucks)

Published in The New Yorker July 5, 1993.
Image from The Cartoon Bank

In 1993, a now famous cartoon by Peter Steiner appeared in the New Yorker magazine. "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog."  This cartoon went viral and was widely circulated at the time (ironically by fax machine and photocopy). It helped establish the mystique of the Internet, and led countless people into believing in the anonymity of the Internet.

According to a presentation I attended by the Massachusetts Department of Education's special task force on cyberbullying, this concept of anonymity has created the power differential (a common element in all bullying) and far more kids engage in cyberbullying than traditional bullying.  It is because the kids think they are invisible.

But this couldn't be farther from reality. On the Internet, not only do they know you are a dog, they know your browsing habits (used to serve you ads), your purchasing profile, and based on your geolocation, could likely tell which Starbucks you are sitting in enjoying your latte.

Not that this is all bad.  I lead a pretty benign life compared to someone in the public eye, and have no big secrets, so having my iPhone app know where I am so that it can point to the closest coffee shop is a good thing.

Having said that, there are some things in my life that are nobody's business. Why, oh why would I ever put them up on a social media page or a blog post?

The convenience of the Internet should never trump common sense.  Keep your privates private.

(Repost) What would you pay for bacon and eggs?

How much would you pay for this plate of bacon and eggs? (or substitute your favourite breakfast if you choose).  I've paid anywhere from $2.99 to $15.00 for a breakfast that looks pretty much the same as the picture above.  What made the $15.00 eggs worth that much?  It certainly couldn't be the eggs themselves, since for the most part, there is not much differentiation in eggs.  So what made the difference?  Why would I willingly pay $15.00 for something I can get for $2.99?

It was everything that came with the food... the ambiance (and the cost of keeping up the premises), the skill of the cooks, the location of the restaurant, the people I was eating breakfast with,  and most importantly, the service I received.  The eggs themselves were not the sole measurement of value, but rather the whole experience of the breakfast.  The total package was worth $15.00 to me.
If all I wanted were eggs, then I could head to the greasy spoon to get my $2.99 fix.

Thunderclouds - Not all Clouds are Light and Fluffy

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons.

One of the few things I remember from my primary education was the study of clouds. Perhaps it was because we got to go outside rather than sitting in a stuffy classroom.

We learned about cirrus and stratus clouds, those light, fluffy types of clouds usually depicted in pastoral scenes, presenting a view that the day was beautiful and all was well with the world. Coincidentally, these are the types of clouds often used as a graphic to support blog posts on cloud computing - sending the message that all is well with the (cloud) world.

But there is a dark side to this story. We also learned about cumulonimbus clouds. Those are the towering, dark, imposing clouds that are usually accompanied by rain, thunder and lightning. Pilots avoid these imposing pillars because they are dangerous.  In the cloud computing space, you could look at service outages (think Amazon), security breaches, loss of data through bad practices, etc. as the cumulonimbus of cloud computing.

Beware! Lest You Turn into a New Luddite.

Image from Wikipedia

First, a bit of a history lesson.

According to Wikipedia, the Luddites were "a social movement of British textile artisans in the nineteenth century who protested – often by destroying mechanized looms – against the changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, which they felt were leaving them without work and changing their way of life."

Artisans were a special class of people. They were masters of their craft, and added great value to their creations. Their crafts were specialized, and took years of training. They were also available only to those of means, the common person could never aspire to owning such fine articles.

Then along came technology, in this case the loom, which could create a reasonable (or even good) quality product that could be utilized by the masses.  The specialized expertise of the artisans was no longer required, and people sacrificed quality over affordability and accessibility.

Do you see where I'm going here?

Read the comment section of the Computerworld article I referenced in a recent post about how some organizations are increasingly bypassing IT in implementing cloud computing solutions, and the vitriolic comments about "users not being customers", and the theme of IT needs to protect users from themselves is prevalent.

Cloud computing is coming.  Just like the technology in the Industrial Revolution.  History has redefined the term Luddite from "artisans protecting the quality and value of their trade" to "a group of people who is scared of the changes technology is bringing to the world, and begins to actively resist progress".

If you are leading an IT organization, you don't want to be in this camp.

Security, compliance, and access are all in your portfolio, but don't stand in the way of the Cloud Computing revolution.

You may think that Cloud Computing is a passing phase, but I would encourage you to learn from a previous generation of craftspeople.

You are no longer in control...

 Not that you ever were.

A recent article in ComputerWorld Canada magazine highlighted the increasing trend of IT departments being bypassed in the implementation of Cloud Computing.

That's right.  You are being bypassed.

As long as IT departments are seen as the gatekeepers or cost overhead, they will become increasingly bypassed as less essential. 

The IT department must transform itself to the role of integral service provider - shifting from the concept of "controlling machines" to "enabling people to work faster/better/innovatively using tools".

Get rid of the control mindset or you will become increasingly irrelevant.

In 5 Years, THEY will be Your Challenge.

They who?

The typical student in high school today.

In 5 years, the student graduating from high school today, will likely be done their college or university and be approaching you for work.

"So, why is that a problem?  I've been hiring people for years." you say.

"Because." I reply, "The typical student today is not the typical student you remember".

Are You a Data Hoarder?

If you ever want to cure yourself of the notion that you live a simple life, move.

We moved this week into a new home. We love the house, the yard, and the space. It's a little bigger than the last house, but not excessive and will provide a great place for the kids, grandchildren and friends to come and visit.

Based on how stiff I feel right now, I am convinced that I own too much stuff.

As I was getting ready to come to work this morning (Has anyone seen my black shoes?), I started thinking about how much electronic "stuff", like data, emails, and files that are collected and filed away.  I would say my collection of physical stuff that I lifted and toted these past few days pales in comparison to my electronic collection.

Storage is cheap now.  Futureshop is advertising a 2Tb drive for under $100. While this is a consumer product, commercial storage is getting less expensive all the time.  Google, Microsoft, Dropbox, AVG and others are giving away storage in the cloud.  From an enterprise perspective, having the availability of secure, scalable storage in the cloud is enticing.

The potential to collect electronic "stuff" is at an all time, affordable high.

As the old adage goes, "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should".

Many organizations have developed (or are starting to develop) retention policies for electronic information. The paper based files usually have well documented policies and practices, but the practices and policies for electronic documents and data are just now coming into play.  If your organization has been on the wrong end of the eDiscovery process in a court case, you know how high the legal bills can grow when all electronic information can be subject to discovery.  Having solid policies and practices (the two go hand in hand) can represent a real savings.

If you are the Chief Information Officer of your organization, this responsibility falls directly in your purview. How much time have you devoted to this area of responsibility?

I'll be blogging more about this topic, and will dig up some great resources to start your journey, but now I'm going to go find some liniment for these stiff muscles.

Time for a Friendectomy?

[NOTE TO READER: Every so often I feel compelled to rant. Today is one of those times. And since I was sitting down to write today's blog post, I felt it might be a very good time to let loose. So while this is lightly connected to my normal blogging style, I will feel much better after I get this off my chest. I hope you do too.]

Can you really have 500 friends? REALLY?

I'm not sure about you, but the last time I checked the number of people I would actually recognize if I met them on the street was nowhere near 500.

Then why do I think that I could possibly have 500 close contacts in my LinkedIn or Facebook account? Especially if I'm in the tech industry.

We come from an industry where people like Sheldon of Big Bang Theory can exist and pass for normal, in a strange kind of way. While bright and brilliant, we didn't get to be so good at programming, or troubleshooting networks, or building systems by being party animals. Let's face it. There were likely kids in school who were WAY more social than we were.

If you were like me, you had a close group of friends, that shared common interests, like standing with your back to the wall at the school dance (I'M JOKING!!!), but more likely was the group who knew about, and ran every bit of available technology at your high school.

So I find it interesting how Social Media has removed the barrier for those of us who kept close to a small group in school, are now suddenly compelled to link up with everyone who wants to be our friend on Facebook or LinkedIn? Are we secretly trying to make up for all those times that [insert rejection event here]?

Today's Social Media pundits would tell you that more is better. We are hoarding friends to the point of ridiculous. And we let this behaviour spill over into our professional lives.

Let's make a key differentiation here... There is a difference in having a great network of professional contacts - people you have done business with, and making connections with anyone and everyone. How in the world do you possibly keep up with the updates?

I say it's time for a Friendectomy. Go through your contact list in LinkedIn and Facebook and delete those who are only mere acquaintances. Keep those with whom you are in regular contact with, and who's updates will mean something to you.

You can't maintain a genuine relationship with 500 people. Don't accept invitations from anyone you don't know. Respectfully decline. There are other ways to connect with you.

If Social Media is about relationships, then make them genuine relationships.

When I see people on LinkedIn with over 500 connections, it usually means they will accept anybody's request for a connection, and thereby lose all the personal and professional value that Social Media can provide. It also sends a message to me that they are not really concerned with me, but rather that I am the means to increase their friend count.

You can still connect with acquaintances, but use more appropriate tools, like Twitter, or a blog.

There.

I feel better.

You may not agree with me, but that's ok.

That's what the comment section is for.

10 Reasons why you should buy a RIM Playbook today.

For those of you who read my earlier post, you know where I stand on the issue. Hamsters give much better value and have a longer expected lifespan than any new technology. (Read the post to find out my real reason).

But that doesn't mean that I'm against the RIM Playbook, or any other technology (either the latest innovation, or the next "Me-Too!!!" tablet). I have enough gadgets to need a Batman utility belt when I go to meetings. We happen to have a lot of technology in my organization, and thanks to some visionary and creative people I get to work with and lead, we are well known in our sector as being leaders in the adoption of technology. So will we see a Playbook at Appleby College? Most likely.

Enough about me... let's talk about why you should buy a RIM playbook.

1. You NEED the latest and greatest technology. (I wish I had your bank account given how fast things change).

2. You are a Blackberry user, and this device will allow you to extend your capabilities (e.g. connecting to the web, videos, etc.) There's a special place in Heaven for people who are forced to browse the Internet on their BB.

3. You (or your team) supports a BES, or a BIS, and you need to keep your corporate email and BBM secure, so knowing how to do it would be a useful thing. If you have no idea what these acronyms are, you don't qualify for this point.

4. You've just dropped your iPad into a puddle, and are now looking for a replacement. Being an adventuresome sort, you are willing to try something new.

5. You Blog about technology, but weren't able to get one of the pre-release models.

6. Disclaimer: I was warned about mixing religion and technology, but here goes... You will buy whatever RIM says is important to buy because... just because. This behaviour is well known amongst other techno-faiths, and the BB following may be smaller, but is just as loyal.

7. You have a corporate BB and really want a tablet, but your IT department won't let anything else near their network.

8. You don't want to start wearing cargo pants to carry an iPad (some call them iPants). You much prefer tucking your tablet into your jacket pocket.

9. You are counter cultural and will buy one despite what all the reviewers have been saying. What do they know anyway?

10. You live in Waterloo.

So have fun today with your new tablet. Let me know how it goes.

How to harvest the best ideas from your team.

One of the challenges of working with a team of bright, creative people full of ideas, is that they are bright, creative, and full of ideas.

I learned long ago working in engineering that if you wanted to find out where the pain points of a process were, you would go straight to the people working on the front lines.  Each and every person knew one or two things that were simple, but would make the overall process much more efficient.  Many times they just weren't asked for their opinion, or in other cases there was no value or reward in sharing because of a lack of trust in the work environment (but that's for another posting).

Once your team has your trust and know you value their ideas, the problem becomes one of volume.  There are a lot of ideas, but not all of them are productive.

Some are just fun (e.g. buy Nerf guns for everyone) but aren't useable in the sense that they don't help your organization achieve something it couldn't do before, or save significant resources that could be applied to other areas (i.e. research and development) or differentiate your organization from your competitors.

Others sound good at first, but would derail critical projects, or (and this is the important part) take more effort to develop and implement than it would ultimately save.  If the value of the idea is not greater than the effort, thank them and move on.

In a former life I had a team of developers working for me, and they had lots of ideas.  For each and every time they came into my office with their idea, we would have the discussion of value over effort.  I finally wrote the following equation on my whiteboard:

V/E > 1

(Value / Effort must be greater than 1X the Effort)

What happened next was fascinating.  Programmers would come into the office, glance at the whiteboard, pause, then turn and leave without saying a word.  Other times they would come in and present their idea, which had great merit.

My team still had a voice, but inserting this filter into the conversation allowed for much better discussions.

How do you sort through the avalanche of ideas from your team?  You ARE soliciting your team for ideas, aren't you?

Kevin Pashuk is a long time technology executive working to Turn Technology Invisible - the way it should be in the 21st Century. 

Twitter: @InvisiTech 

Blog: http://turningtechinvisible.blogspot.com

Microsoft's purchase of Skype - A good thing.

The recent acquisition of Skype by Microsoft was no surprise. While legions of Skype users may bemoan that their low-cost alternative to international calling is being swallowed up by the behemoth, they shouldn't really fret. It may very well be what saves Skype.

As it turns out, Skype isn't really an independent company having been acquired by eBay, then more recently a larger group of investors including as it turns out, one of the organizations that manages funds for the Canada Pension Plan. It also has been a money loser recently.

Microsoft has always had the technology to compete with Skype, most recently with its Live Meeting product (free for peer to peer calling), and now Microsoft Lync, but they did not have the user base. Skype has had the user base, but not the deep pockets to take the service to the next level.

While much maligned in the press and fanboy opinion, over the past 8 years Microsoft has been able to double its sales and profits. If that were my company, I'd be satisfied with this metric (we won't talk about the pop culture/people's choice metric though). Of all the players to purchase Skype, I'd say this might likely be the best choice.

My crystal ball? Look for the full integration of the Skype we know now, and the collaborative toolkit of Lync.

Perhaps we could call it "SLyncee". No wait, that's been taken.

Are Cloud Computing and Tablets Over-Hyped?

You may not be familiar with the diagram above. Welcome to Gartner's 2o1o version of their Hype Cycle. For a number of years, Gartner has tracked 1,800 emerging technologies and plotted them along a curve representing the stage of maturity, as well as an estimate as to the number of years it may take for the technology to become mainstream.

While no one is perfect at predicting the future, I've personally found Gartner's identification of IT trends quite accurate over the years. It makes for fascinating perusal if you are into this kind of thing. If you are an IT leader, you should be into this kind of thing.

Most interesting is the labels that Gartner has put on the components of the curve. When a technology is at the top of the cycle, they call it "Inflated Expectations". At this point the marketers, media and bloggers are at their peak of frenzy. "There is little that this technology cannot do!" "This is the next big wave!"

What this really is, is a suggestion to take the hype about these technologies with a grain of salt, because one consumers or corporations realize the promises are unfulfilled, our human nature kicks in and we toss the technology aside like last week's newspaper. Perhaps it is because of the embarassment we feel over falling victim to the hype, or perhaps we are caught up in the next big thing. It is at this low point that Gartner has identified as the "Trough of Disillusionment".

Technologies can languish here for a while before they are "rediscovered" by some bring minds and are applied innovatively and appropriately and actually generate some significant, measurable productivity gains. Pen based tablet PCs have found their niche and provide great gains. We are avid users of over 950 of these devices at Appleby College.

Let's look at a couple of the technologies on the diagram.

Private Cloud Computing and Cloud Computing are both pretty high on the peak, with an expected time to mainstream of 2 to 5 years.

Media tablets haven't hit the peak of their hype. According to Steve Jobs (and Cisco today) we are in the "Post PC era". What does that even mean? Short aside - does anyone else see the irony in the iPad2 being the device that ushers in this era, when you need a computer to actually activate it?

Remember Second Life? Public virtual worlds are now in the trough, you see very little in the media now about them. Gartner's not saying their bad, they just haven't found their home. I've unpacked this idea a bit in a former post: Avatars – The new “Professional” you.

Using good research is a valuable tool for the IT leader. Gartner's prediction about the rise of consumer driven selection of IT had a marked impact on our mobile computing program when I was at Sheridan College. As a result, we got into Virtual Desktop Integration and Application Virtualization at the right point, and were ready when this trend hit with a vengence.

Now that you've met the Hype Cycle, do you think this will change your approach to planning your technology infrastructure and deployment?

Resources/Blogs on Gartner's Hype Cycle:

http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2010/10/hype-cycle-2010-enterprise.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+readwriteweb+(ReadWriteWeb)

Gartner's 2010 Hype Cycle Special Report Evaluates Maturity of 1,800 Technologies http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=1447613

There are lots of "I"s in "Team"

You've heard it a dozen times as a kid... usually at a low point in your life... like when the opposing team is crushing you and the coach is trying to motivate you, but his frustration shines through any encouragement.

"There's no I in TEAM"

As you advance in your career, and things are not going well, you could bet that someone drags out that "motivational" talk again.  At this point, some smarta** usually pipes up "But there is in WIN".

You advance some more, and you are now leading a team.  Things start to take a turn for the worse, and you hear that well worn phrase forming on your lips...

Give it up.  Banish this phrase from your vocabulary.

Teams need to work together. But teams are not composed of homogenous androgynous robotic people.

Marcus Buckingham, in his book "The One Thing You Need to Know" describes Leadership as the ability to motivate people around the things that are common to all, and Managing as working with individuals, and their unique blend of strengths and capabilities.

Your skill in recognizing and leveraging the core skills of your team will allow you to build a high performing group of individuals who work together to accomplish great things.

This book is full of great advice for IT leaders.  Highly Recommended.



T-Shirt Image from Zazzle.com

Ban mobile phones and wireless networks in schools, say European leaders

Welcome to my world.

This post from The Telegraph arrived in my inbox recently. A Council of Europe committee has made a strong recommendation to ban mobile phones and wireless networks in schools. According to the article, this is despite contradicting research from the World Health Organisation and the UK Department of Health which states there is no risk. Ontario's Ministry of Health has recently put out a statement declaring that there is no health risk from the wireless signals.

My problem is this.

In education (and everywhere else in the world), wireless access to the Internet is not only useful, it adds a tremendous opportunities to deliver an exceptional educational experience. It is the essence of where we in IT are going.

I know that tomorrow, I will have more than one call regarding Appleby College's position on this.

As with all schools, we take the health and welfare of our students very seriously. We would never expose our kids to hazards knowingly (with the possible exception of rugby). The evidence and studies from reputable organizations have clearly stated that wireless networks pose little or no risk.

Mobile phones on the other hand are not recommended for young children up to and including teens. There is some research that would indicate placing the antenna in the proximity of their brains may cause changes in brain activity. I would ask you this... when was the last time you saw a person under 20 actually talking on their phone? I work in a school full of kids between 12 and 18 years of age, and the only time they typically make phone calls is when their parents call them, since their parents typically haven't figured out how to text yet. In 2010, according to Nielsen, the average teenager now sends 3,339 texts per month, or over 100 texts per day. The phone is nowhere near their brain (and I would suggest by the context of some of the texts I've seen, the brain isn't even engaged).

I would be more worried about the 8.5 hours of media exposure the average North American teen gets on a daily basis (and somehow squeezes an extra couple of hours of media exposure in by multi-tasking).

Are more studies needed? Probably.

Will we change our direction around wireless networking and the use of cellular phones in our school. Probably not.

Will we engage in dialog with our students and their parents to understand the concept of self moderating the use of technology? Absolutely.

There are far more proven sharp edges on the Internet for our students to be impacted by including cyberbullying, sexting (if you have a teenager and don't know what that is... I'm so sorry to be the one to make you aware of it... it may be time for a talk), stalking, exposure to inappropriate images, being distracted to the point of their academics suffering, addiction to online gaming, gambling and so on. We deal with this on a daily basis.

Our approach is not to take access to technology away, but to ensure that our students learn to safely navigate the Internet, and be a safe citizen. We teach them that they are not invisible on the Internet, that sites like Facebook and Google are not free (there is a cost), that not everyone is really your friend, that if you send someone a picture of you doing something stupid, it may show up in a future job interview.

We also teach them that technology is a means to achieving things you could barely imagine. They are global citizens. They have to be to survive and thrive in today's world. Access to technology is required to assist them in this journey.

So my advice to the members of the committee who want to ban mobile phones and wireless Internet. Be careful what you are asking for. From my perspective, you are framing the future of our kids based on your own experiences, from the world you grew up in, not the world of today.

As an old Hebrew Proverb says 'Do not confine your children to your own learning for they were born in another time.'

Dear RIM, Change your Playbook advertising...

Sorry for ranting right after a great Victoria Day weekend, but just had to get this off my chest. Every time I see the adverts for the new Playbook I find myself commenting out loud to anyone who will listen. Usually it's the dog, and she knows how I feel about this.

The problem is this... I would NEVER buy my employees a Playbook if all they did were the things you show in your commercial. I don't buy them technology to play games (Flash or otherwise), watch movies or music videos, or surf the shopping pages on the web. If productivity is my goal, and reason to add technology to their arsenal, then you haven't convinced me that Playbook would help.

Just saying. (and I do feel much better now).

Social Media Services - If YOU build it, they may not come.

Years ago, Gary Trudeau's Doonesbury cartoon had Mike's boss stop by his desk saying "Mike. We need a web page!!".

"Why?", Mike asks.

"Because everybody else has one!" was the boss's reply. "OK, sure", says Mike.

In the next panel he is calling his teenage daughter asking "What's a web page?"

For some reason that cartoon has come back to my memory, only this time substitute "Social Media strategy" for "web page".

Aside from being this week's topic, an IT leader who isn't dealing with Social Media (SM) issues should really stop what they are doing and check out how the world has changed around them. In today's IT environment, you need to have a SM strategy. Your organizational survival depends on it.

CIO's and IT leaders have to approach SM from several directions.

The first is the growing presence of people using SM from their desks and company wide mobile devices and is usually dealt with by blocking this rogue traffic. SM is seen as a thief of productive time, and a huge waste of network resources. SM is seen as a nusiance which threatens control. If this is the environment you find yourself, you are missing out on some tremendous opportunities. (I'll save this conversation for a future post).

Secondly, as an IT leader, you need to be engaged in SM. Do you have a LinkedIN, Twitter account, or blog? Why not? I do a lot of research on IT trends and markets. I find that with a few well selected follows on Twitter, I have cut down my daily research time substantially since there is a host of bright people who are sharing their research. I often find out about things hours before the regular news feeds.

SM also lets me build and keep a professional network of colleagues, vendor partners, and friends. If I have a question, or need to find someone with experience in a particular area, I'll pose the question to this group first. I use LinkedIn for this.

Just for reference, here are my SM coordinates:

LinkedIn:
Click here for a link to my profile, or search for my name on Linkedin

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/InvisiTech - Technology related tweets
www.twitter.com/21stCentSchool - Technology in education related tweets
www.twitter.com/synectics - Personal and lifestyle tweets

Blogging:
http://TurningTechInvisible/blogspot.com

I have to admit that although I have a Facebook account, it has little professional benefit, and as such, I may check it on a monthly basis. Do I really need to know who is going out drinking? Besides, the fastest growing demographic on Facebook is 50 something ladies, a demographic into which I do not fall.

The third is similar to our friend Mike Doonesbury. We are often called into the meeting because SM is still viewed as "technology" by many people, as opposed to a communications strategy. We are asked to determine how to leverage SM services such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Skype, IM, Windows Live, etc. to build sales, connect with customers, communicate to employees, or my favorite - to differentiate our company from our competitors.

The fact that they are asking the IT group to look after this is a pretty good indication that management has no idea about SM. If they did, they would have the Marketing and Communications groups at the table because SM is about connecting, and informing, and building and keeping relationships. It's about building your brand and ensuring you keep your brand front and centre in the marketplace. It supports and extends your existing marketing. As CIO, you need to understand this, and be able to articulate how you can help rhe Marketing and Communications group succeed in implementing SM services.

If you simply build a Facebook page, or open a Twitter feed that is never updated, you join the millions of stagnant pages and accounts. Your boss will not be pleased.

So if you (as IT leader) are approached to implement a Social Media presence for your organization, you really need to do more than phone your kids to find out what it means.

It's 11 pm. Do you know where your power button is?

I blame this post on our dog. In her blissfully ignorant world, she doesn't care that yesterday was a long day and that today appears to be heading in the same direction. She isn't involved in preparing next year's budget that will require several presentations to the executive and board. She has no clue how busy and important I am.

She does however know that her food dish was empty at 6:00 this morning, and that if she had thumbs, she could probably have let herself out. But the only tool she has is a well practiced whimper that for some reason, I am the only one in our house who actually hears it.

So I had time to think this morning while waiting for the dog to do her business. "Why am I always so tired in the morning?" I found myself thinking. Technically, I have enough hours in bed, but am not rested. I then remembered some recent books and articles on why I need to build good sleep into my life if I want to achieve optimal performance as an IT leader. So yes, there is a link to this week's topic...on strategy.

A recent tweet pointed to a CNN Health article that states Sleep deprivation as bad as alcohol impairment, study suggests. While the study was done over 10 years ago, the concept is worth considering. While you don't do the liquid lunches like Mad Men, you are potentially just as impaired in your thinking and judgement as if you were.

Supporting this is a most excellent book by Dr. John Medina - Brain Rules - 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School. Dr. Medina is a brain researcher, not a reporter, but somehow missed the class where they teach medical researchers to obfuscate their writing so that NOBODY understands them. His web site does way more than try to sell you books. On it you'll find great resources, including genuinely funny videos supporting the concepts in his book. If you think your brain shuts off at night while you sleep, you are dreaming (sorry, couldn't help myself). There are a number of restorative things your brain needs to do, and can only do that in the sleep cycle.

Support for getting a good night's sleep is coming from another unlikely source - Arianna Huffington, co-founder of the Huffington Post. She is the quintessential self made person, and has way more things going on than I ever would. Her efforts are paying off - AOL just bought out the Huffington Post for several million dollars. But in the midst of this, she advocates great sleep, taking naps, and getting your work and life into the proper perspective.

"OK!, so I get it!" I tell my sleepy brain while I turn on my phone to check messages. Then it clicked. (An idea, not the phone.) This little device, or the iPad, or the television news, or the [insert other device] is practically always on during my waking time, right up to the point where I set the alarm clock function to go to sleep. Sound familiar? I never get away from these things. I tell my team not to respond to emails I send off in the evening, but am guilty as hell of doing it myself. Some of the timestamps on my emails are long after 11pm.

One more article... LifeHacker website recently posted an article Ban Portable Electronics Before Bed for More Restful Sleep Here is some excerpts from the story:

But staring at the screen before bed could leave you lying awake. That's because direct exposure to such abnormal light sources inhibits the body's secretion of melatonin, say several sleep experts. [...]

Light-emitting devices, including cellphones and yep, the iPad, tell the brain to stay alert. Because users hold those devices so close to their face, staring directly into the light, the effect is amplified compared with, say, a TV across the room or a bedside lamp, said Frisca Yan-Go, director of the UCLA Sleep Disorders Center in Santa Monica.

So... today's strategy post is all about getting a good night's sleep so that you are fully able to slay the dragons during the day. Turn off the technology at night! You'll be a better leader, a better employee, and a better person.

Now if I could just train the dog to read this article so she'll leave me alone tomorrow morning.




Note: This post appeared as one of my entries in BloggingIdol contest.

What could possibly go wrong (with Cloud Computing)?

We all know one... The eternal optimist who's absolutely determined that everthing is fine, that you worry too much, that you should just unknot your knickers and get on with life.

He constantly reminds you that things have a way of working out in the end, and that 80% of what we worry about never actually happens.

Actually, the world needs more people like this, just not in the role of CIO.

As IT leaders, we have a complex role in that we are constantly balancing passion, hope and building vision with anticipating anything and everything that might go wrong.

If I look at my job description, this is embedded right in between developing strategic direction and leading my team. The area I'm referring to is Business Continuance and Disaster Recovery. When things go wrong, IT is usually one of the first responders. Who gets to stay up all night so that work and production are not interrupted when things fail?

This is of course no secret, and IT folk take this responsibility very, very serious.

It's rarely the big things that we deal with. I mean, when was the last time you had a building blow up? You may have had a network switch or server fail, or a fire or flood. In my last few months my team has dealt with a major electrical short that took our whole campus offline for a few hours. But all of it was easily dealt with by our continuance plans. Pretty much everything we have had to deal with has been under our control. We had access to our data centre, our switch closets, our facilities, our backups, etc.

But cloud computing introduces some significant changes to our Business Continuance strategy.

We are told that cloud computing provides some significant benefits:

- Our infrastructure can be scalable as we need it. We only need to pay for what we need.

- "Patch Tuesday" is now a thing of the past. The servers are kept up to date by the cloud provider.

- Our data is safe, backed up and available anywhere there is an Internet connection.

- and so on... but this isn't a post about the benefits of cloud computing.

Does cloud computing really make my BC/DR strategy easier? I mean, what could possibly go wrong?

What happens when the cloud goes away? Like the recent events with Amazon and Blogger?

In Amazon's case, several companies hosted on Amazon's servers were completely offline for more than a day. Blogger not only went offline, but lost 30 hours of postings.

Even offline storage from a large company can go away. Cisco has recently sent an email to its Flip camera users that online storage of Flip photos would only be available for 30 days. If users didn't copy the photos to a local drive, they would be deleted.

If you are like many CIO's, this would be enough reason to not put things into the cloud. How do you recover from these types of problems if you have no control over the environment? How can I recover from a server problem if I don`t have access to the Data Centre?

If you were planning on putting your whole computing infrastructure into the cloud you may have a valid concern.

Prudent planning for the cloud will encompass your business continuance strategy. At the recent Midsize Enterprise Summit I attended, Gartner`s analyst stated that cloud computing may take up to 10 years to fully realize the benefits, and the best strategy to approach this is to start with elements of your business that are not absolutely mission critical.

If you do commit mission critical applications to the cloud, then planning for potential issues is critical. When Amazon lost their data centre, Netflix stayed operational since it had spanned its application across more than one data centre. For those companies that only had their application hosted at the affected data centre, they ended up unavailable to their customers.

It's impossible to anticipate everything. Dwight D. Eisenhower said "I have found that in the midst of battle, plans are useless, but the planning was indispensible."

So, if you are moving to the cloud, my recommendation is that you abandon your inner optimist (for a moment), channel your inner Eeyore and anticipate the potential issues that may impact your ability to quickly recover from disaster. I`m not saying it will be easy, but it is very doable.

Once you have that documented, then resurrect your optimist (think Tigger) and start selling your organization on the benefits of the cloud.


This post was one of my entries in Computerworld Canada's 2011 Blog Idol contest.

The Most Important Post on Strategy You'll Ever Read

IT folks are busy people. Their typical workday doesn't fit in the 9-5 slot (equipment NEVER breaks down during the workday - 3am being the preferred time.)

Busy is good, right? There's so much to do!

Maybe.

A wise IT leader should never, ever, confuse motion with progress.

You can be busy, but busy doing the wrong things.

So, how do you know how to work on the right things? Glad you asked.

Avatars. Weird. Just Weird.

Of all the things I am, I am NOT a gamer. In fact, if you want to build your self esteem, invite me over for a night of CoD (Call of Duty, not the fish). While you are massacring the enemy hoards, I will still be trying to figure out which button does what while contributing to the body count by being an easy target for the opposing side.
But I do watch my 16 year old play. I am fascinated by many of the games in his drawer (and online) that allow you to create your Avatar, your online persona. It seems this extends to the virtual world, including Second (and apparently its last) Life.

I tried Second Life, for a grand total of about 30 minutes, since it was being highly promoted for online learning communities at the time. One of the first things you had to do was create your Avatar for the Second Life community. I selected the basic male. I was there to learn how this world operated more than I was there to build an alternate me. Once I started exploring, it would appear that "normal" is more likely "abnormal" in this world.

Much like your first day on a tropical beach in winter, everyone knows you are a newbie by the very obvious lack of sun exposure. I encountered Avatars that were anything but normal who ignored me since I was obviously new. The ones in the picture above are a tame, and I repeat, tame version of what I saw.

I'm not judgemental, but, or should I say BUT!!! It's incredibly hard to have a "conversation" (nevermind a meeting) with someone in the form of a chipmunk, a green alien with a long tail, or NSFW clothing. Is this how people REALLY want to be seen?

As I mentioned, my Second Life was extremely short, and it appears I am not alone by the almost dearth of articles and news lately. But the Avatar thing hasn't gone away.

Since Second Life, there has been an upsearch in Social Media. It's not uncommon for people to have a Facebook account, a LinkedIn account, multiple Twitter accounts, and one or two other online communities. Each of these "worlds" allows you to post an indentifying photo (I KNOW these are not Avatars, but play along with me here). Normally I wouldn't get involved, but I recently enabled the Facebook and LinkedIn connectors for my MS Outlook. What that means is this - you send me an email, and if you have a Facebook account, your profile picture is displayed in a frame below the message preview, whether or not we are Friends on Facebook. You may think that only your Friends get to see this picture. Not true.

Normally, this is very useful. You can put a face to a name. Where it gets iffy is when your holiday picture shows up on my monitor at work. Did I REALLY need to see you without your shirt on? Our meetings will never, ever, be the same. Ewww.

But let me encourage you to let this knowledge be used for good. Check out your profile pictures and make sure they present you in your best light. Drop any picture that involves beer, or your car, or pet (use your blog for that :) ), or has you sooooo small that nobody can tell what you look like. As a professional, you are ALWAYS on call when you have an online presence.

Keep that in mind as technology moves forward, your Avatar will matter. In my opinion, Microsoft's Kinect plays a key role in upcoming collaborative strategy. As we operate with global teams on every corner of the planet, sending Avatar information over the net is much more efficient than sending a video signal. I've heard it mentioned that facial tracking on Kinect is moving along nicely, which means your Avatar will smile when you smile, frown when you frown, and remain stoic if someone inadverdently makes body noises in a meeting (probably not, but one can dream for our professional reputation).

This means we will all have to create an Avatar. So I did.

I recently got a Windows 7 phone. It connects to an XBox Live account (but the WP7 experience is a different post). I went online and started the process. I built an Avatar to represent me in the online world that somehow looks remarkably like Brad Pitt. I get mistaken for him all the time.

Actually, Avatar Me ended up looking like... well, me.

The real issue comes with the hair. I have what my son describes as a "sideways Mohawk". Second Life did not offer this choice, XBox did. My online persona is one that is accurate to who I am.

After all, as a leader, shouldn't you be on "game" all the time? Why would there ever be a different you online than the person your family and co-workers need to live with every day?

Now I'm not saying you shouldn't have fun, but don't make the mistake that many leaders make. Your online persona is not the 'private' you. It is way more public than we are truly able to comprehend.

Disagree? Then use the comment field below. Agree? Do the same.

Be wise, and lead well grasshopper.

NOTE: This was also posted as an entry on http://blogidol.ca/

Getting Rid of the Pointy Haired Boss

First a disclaimer.  If I don't visit the barber fairly often, I do bear a striking resemblence to Dilbert's pointy haired boss.  That is the only way I resemble him.  But back to the posting.

I'll bet you thought that I was talking about your boss, right?  Wrong. I'm speaking to you (and me, too).

As you begin your career, you usually end up working for someone.  Sometimes it's great, other times, let's just say not.  Marcus Buckingham, in his book First, Break All the Rules mentions that people do not usually leave their company when they quit their jobs, they leave their manager.

Your career progresses.  You may come to the crossroads of decision.  Do I apply for that management role, or do I stay in "the trenches".  For many people in IT, the pressure of mortgages, kids, etc. tend to tip the skills in favour of the management role.  It's the only viable career track in many organizations.  Even if you are the best developer, or network admin in the company, you hit the salary ceiling.  If you want to make more money, you either rob a bank (not wise), leave the company, or become a manager.

It is this situation in my opinion that contributes greatly to the PHB (Pointy Haired Boss) syndrome.  There are a large number of skilled technical people suddenly faced with management tasks (i.e. HR, budgets, leadership, mediation, etc.) for which they have had little or no training.  Pity their former colleagues who now have to work for them!

The solution is really simple to say, but difficult to implement.  But just because it's hard, doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. (How many apostrophes can you put in one sentence? but I digress...).  There is no shortage of good material to help you frame your issues and find a solution.  I'll include some in future posts.

If you are a senior leader in your organization responsible for IT, you need to review the development of your managers.  Do they have the tools and skills to be successful?  If not, you may be the one modelling PHB behaviour.

Note: This posting was published as one of my entries in Computerworld Canada's Blogging Idol Contest.

Free, As in Puppy? Or Free, as in Beer?

This is Isabel.  Our dog.  Or should I say my son's dog that somehow has become our responsibility.  But that is another story.

While Isabel was not a "free to a good home" puppy, the price we pay to feed her, vet her, and replace the things damaged by her, the sleep we lose when she decides 3am is a great time to go out, eclipse the price of admission.  Not that we regret it, there are some benefits... at least SOMEONE is happy that I come home.

But that is not what this post is about.  There is a perception out there that organizations should jettison their costly licenses for operating systems, email, office applications, databases, etc. and start using opensource applications instead - because they are free.

I've been in the world of IT for more than 20 years, and I've run across this perception that opensource = free for almost as long.

For those of you who have been in the business for a while, you know that the hardware and software component of any enterprise wide deployment averages around 20% of the total cost, once you factor in cost of switching systems, support costs, training costs, data conversion, system integration, etc.

Saving on the license fees will have less of an impact on the overall project once you add the increased support and training costs to the project.  Just say to yourself... "Opensource is free as in puppy, not free as in beer."

There is some great opensource applications out there.  But don't choose opensource for cost savings, choose it because it allows you to meet all of your objectives.

I Chew Bread for People's Ducks

Do you ever find yourself in the difficult situation of explaining what you do to people who aren't in the industry?  Long ago, I discovered that if I actually got into specifics when asked "So, what do you do for a living?", that more often than not resulted in the same sequence of events.  I'd get the nodding head, then the glassy eyes, then the eyes quickly unglassing (is that a word?) scanning the room for the first available exit, then the "Oh! Look at the time!" getaway.  By that point I could be sure I wouldn't be receiving another invitation to their party.

As a defense mechanism, I started responding to the question with a completely random group of words, such as "I chew bread for people's ducks."  For some reason, it was more understandable to my audience that the real answer.

So you have to ask yourself, why would ANYONE pick a career that is social suicide?  Willingly?

Here's my feeble attempt at an answer:

- As a kid, I could never, ever get enough of puzzles and problem solving. (This was LONG before the Internet but during the time of indoor plumbing and electricity).  I loved the rush you got in figuring out a complex problem.  I knew that whatever I did in life, I would need to have lots of puzzles and problems to solve.

- I found out that I could get the same rush when I was able to help someone else solve a problem, or do things more efficiently, or accomplish more than they could before I helped.  I could also get the same rush vicariously, helping others, help others.  (Hey! I'm a blogger not an English major).

- The next stage had the same level of EUREKAbility that our ancient ancestors might have felt when they discovered a lever or the wheel... using a tool, one could do much more than without the tool.  In my case, this "tool" came in the form of a Commodore PET...  I could control a machine with a few commands!  As a kid raised watching the race to the moon, having an actual computer in the room, under my command was an epiphanal moment.  Then I discovered that the supply of "new" computers never stopped.  Every day brought new, more powerful devices and software.

- And lastly, I discovered that I am constantly in search of the "What's next?"  My wife would say I'm addicted to change.  I know I would not do well in a static, unchanging environment. I cheered when Bobby Kennedy said "There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?"

So the short answer to the question as to why I chose IT as a career? Given the way I am wired, I have no choice.  Even if it means I don't get invited to your party.

Note: This posting was entered into Computerworld's Blogging Idol Contest )

Do I Buy a RIM Playbook? Or a Hamster?

RIM launched its new tablet, the Playbook yesterday. (If you weren't aware of this, you really should get out more..) Do I want one? What kind of IT person would I be if I didn't? Will I get one? No. And here's why.

This is not a review of the Playbook features, flaws or benefits. It's not an analysis of whether or not it's an iPad killer. My reason for not getting a playbook is simple. I don't have enough room in my pockets, on my desk, or in my satchel (it's NOT a man purse!). If I add the Playbook, something gets relegated to the "collect dust on the shelf" phase before it becomes one more contribution to the mountain of e-Waste we humans produce every day.

It's not that I don't like technology. My current personal arsenal includes an LG WP7 phone, an iPhone, an iPad (original flavour), a Fujitsu T580 small format hybrid tablet PC (my travelling machine), a Fujitsu T4410 full size hybrid tablet (the standard model used at Appleby), an Entourage Edge eReader/Android netbook (for reading my Kindle and Kobo books outdoors), an HP desktop (at home), AppleTV, and so on... I know you are thinking one of two things... "Is that ALL?" and proceed to list your arsenal, or "This person needs therapy!" Hi, my name is Kevin, and I have techno-lust.

There actually is a very good reason (in my deluded state of mind) that I need each and every one of these devices. Each of these devices does something better than all the other devices. I haven't found the Swiss Army knife of personal technology. So I end up carrying a boatload of technology around. But I digress... this is a topic for another post.

The point I really want to get across is that in a year (or less), all of the items I have listed will become obsolete, if they aren't already. The average lifecycle for a cell phone is approximately 18 months, my iPad didn't even go a year before the iPad2 replaced it. Let's admit it. We really, really like the smell of new technology when we unwrap it. We LOVE casually putting the latest model of phone/tablet/etc. out on the table hoping someone will notice it. We are consumers. We LOVE consuming things.

This post is not a rage against the machine, but a personal reflection on a personal choice. Would I buy a Playbook just because it's new? Or would I buy one because it actually meets a need I (or my organization has)? The chances of the Playbook becoming a dust collector in 12 months is statistically high, at which time that beautiful sculpted piece of plastic, metal and silicone will have a net value of approximately $0.

As an IT leader, should I focus on the ever changing plethora of end point devices, or focus on the environment that will allow any of these devices to work well? Are they evaluated on latest or greatest, or how they will allow my team, my company, and myself to do things we need to do better, faster, or in a way that differentiates us from our competitors?

After thinking that through... the Playbook didn't make the cut. Sorry RIM.

As for the hamster? The lifespan of a hamster is about 2-1/2 years and you can find one for less than $20. At the end of its life, the hamster would still be doing what it does best, not superceded by Hamster 2.0. It would appear that hamsters are a better investment than a new tablet in terms of longevity.


Note: This post appeared as one of my entries in BloggingIdol contest.

Cisco's Flip Flop

Sorry,  I couldn’t resist the heading for this post.  As you will find out during the course of reading my blog, I dearly love words, their meanings, and how they intermingle and create alternate meanings.  I’m a textbook polysemaniac.  But enough of that.

If you follow the blogosphere, you will have noticed that Cisco recently announced it was shuttering its Flip camera division.  Depending on the industry you are in, this may not have meant much to you, but to many in education, it is significant.  This simple to operate video camera was becoming a foundational piece of technology in a number of schools, providing a cost effective, easy way for students to create and share media.

Cisco has restructured to get back to its core business line, but rather than sell off a division that was holding its own, it decided to close it.   With the ever increasing video recording capacity of smart phones, it is tough to justify buying a single purpose device… but the niche education market found the Flip camera entirely appropriate, since they cannot build curriculum around the expectations that students will bring their own smart phones.

The demise of Flip was unexpected by many.  Who would of thought that a product with an established market, from a major company would suddenly go away?    Why wouldn’t I build strategy around a product such as this?

In today’s IT world, the real issue here for IT leaders is this – we should not be building our strategy around endpoint devices.  I would be so bold as to suggest that this would extend to the devices our employees use at work.  We can no longer be prescriptive around the tools our constituents use.

I do know all the arguments about standardization, and management, and let’s face it, control.  It’s just that the game is changing.

In 2007 Gartner Group predicted that by 2012, over half of technology decisions (with regards to the technology they use) would be made by employees themselves rather than IT. If you believed them, you would have started planning how you would change your delivery model through virtualization (both application and desktop) and looking at hosted solutions on the Internet (now called Cloud).  The technologies were immature at the time, but have made great strides.

We are still responsible to maintain the availability, integrity and security of the information that flows on our network.  Rather than wrap up all the management in the endpoint, we have to be open to seeing the network itself as our killer app, and our medium, rather than traditional IT management.

This won’t happen overnight.  If I was the CIO in a bank, in government, or a host of other industries, the transition away from managed endpoints is a complex process swamped with potential issues.  But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have to lead the change.

While the Cisco Flip phone is a small blip in the technology landscape (if you call $590M a blip), it shows how a technology product from a major vendor considered safe, might just go away.   Just to jog your memory… I used to buy IBM computers that ran on a Nortel Network.

Please note: This posting was also submitted as my entry on Blogging Idol ( http://blogidol.ca )

If you don’t much care about where you want to get to…

"Cheshire-Puss," she began, rather timidly, as she did not at all know whether it would like the name: however, it only grinned a little wider.

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.

"I don't much care where---" said Alice.

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

"---So long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation.

"Oh you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."

It's hard to read any technical publication, visit any conference, or attend a meeting of IT leaders without the term "Cloud Computing" being mentioned.  But what is it? Why does it matter to me?

G.K. Chesterton said (approximately 80 years ago) "“It isn't that they can't see the solution. It's that they can't see the problem.” His words still ring true when I look at the "solutions" being presented to me in the area of cloud computing.

There is great danger of failure as IT leaders if we build our strategy around current trends and buzzwords. If we do not clearly understand the organizational issues we are trying to solve, we will select the wrong tools. As the old maxim goes... "When the only tool you have is a hammer, it's amazing how everything starts to look like a nail."

It is my opinion that we need to approach cloud computing vendors with a list of our current challenges? How will this allow me to connect to global offices? How will this help me manage a finite budget and resources and allow me to focus on the things that differentiate my organization? How will this help me ensure we are compliant with regulations? What happens in my offices with sporadic connectivity to the Internet? (If you think I'm kidding, try and set up a regional office in communities in Northern Ontario like Temagami).

If you can't define your story, you will be like the unfortunate Alice in the excerpt above... eventually getting "somewhere" with cloud computing, while all your competitors are leaving you in their dust.

Male Bovine Fecal Matter

I wish I could buy one of these BS detectors, but I'm afraid it would be worn out in a week based on all the information of questionable accuracy that comes across my desk, my email, my voicemail, and even in face to face meetings with vendors.  I'm not saying that they are lying, but...   if the claims were true, I would have eliminated all my network problems, we would be operating in a complete paperless environment, that the computers would last for years, and I would save so much money I wouldn't need an IT budget at all.

As an IT leader, I need to recognize BS in all its forms and as an old saying goes - "Separate the sh*t from the Shinola".  Decisions get made on solving my problems, not on a specific piece of hardware. (See my previous posting on the CIO's Declaration for Potential Partners).  But this post isn't about the vendors use of BS, but ours...

How often have you used the same "features" and "cost savings" in your presentations to your executive and board to secure funding for a new project, or hire more people?  Do you wonder why your proposals are turned down so often? If you are wincing right now, perhaps you've forgotten that the people you are "pitching" to, have a very well developed Male Bovine Fecal Matter Detector themselves.  They wouldn't be where they are if they didn't.

Learn to present real benefits in the language of your executive team.  Tie these benefits to the stated goals of your organization. If you can't state what these are, then you have some work ahead of you. I'll talk in future postings about how IT leaders can get a seat at the table.

In Preparing for Battle, Plans are Useless...

... but planning is indispensable.

(Dwight D. Eisenhower)

An IT leaders, we are very familiar with crisis management.  Equipment never fails at a convenient time.  Our systems are critical to our organization's operation, and as such we are usually part of first response in a crisis where business continuance is impacted.

The Pareto principle (also known as the 80-20 rule) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.^[1]
  
Let me take some liberty and apply this rule to IT management.  It is my observation that IT organizations are spending approximately 80% of their time in a reactive mode, and 20% of their time in a responsive mode.  It's easy to look busy in IT... something will break soon! Planning is usually relegated to a few meetings a year, when the IT Operating Plan is sent out (usually during budget season).

To be effective, today's IT leader needs to reverse the ratio. 80% of your operation should be responsive - helping the organization achieve its strategic goals, increase its efficiency, or be even more differentiated from its competitors.  Things will break, so leaving 20% of your operation to be reactive is not a bad idea.

Does this sound unbelievable?  It won't be a quick transition, and you won't do it alone. Gather the best and brightest resources around you (some of them likely work for you already) and block out time to engage in planning your transition, planning your response to key trends (e.g. consumer devices), planning what it would look like if everything in IT was working as it should.

We can't predict the future, or determine exactly how things will transpire (i.e. the Battle), be we can engage in scenario planning.  A great tool for IT leaders is Daniel Rasmus' book "Listening to the Future".  


Let me end this post with another quote:  "If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail."

Outstanding in your field... or out standing in your field?

John Maxwell has said "If a leader thinks he/she is leading, and has nobody following, he/she is merely talking a walk".

The most important component of your IT leadership is the team you lead.  Too often the discussions of IT leadership revolve around hardware, software, upcoming trends, business cases, and more often than not, the latest gadgets coming down the pipeline.  While all of these are important, it becomes impossible to deliver on anything without a solid team.  As a matter of fact, your team is more likely able to keep the network running, and key operations going without you.

How much time do you invest in your team? Do they have the resources they need to do their job well?  How much have you budgeted for skills upgrading? How much latitude do you provide them in decision making?  Jim Collins in Good to Great outlines the importance of getting the right people on the bus, (and the wrong people off the bus) in order to be able to have your organization deliver excellence. If you as the CIO do not take an active role in determining the skills mix and the culture your IT team should have before you hire new people, then you deserve the organizational dysfunction you likely have. 

There is much to unpack in this area, and  I will do so in future postings, but for now let's stick with this one thought.  If you do not spend as much time in developing your leadership skills as you do in planning your technology infrastructure, then you are missing a key element in your ability to lead a 21st century IT organization.

Otherwise, you will end up as the fellow in the photograph... out standing in your field... all by yourself.