A Simple Pattern to Drive Quality for Projects and Processes
It's not enough to capture Lessons Learned at the end of your projects; build in a process step to review Learnings from the past, to start new projects off right.
The One-Sided Journal Entry
"That could be fixed in the system", I said to the weary auditor, "with a one-sided journal entry". Her brow furrowed slightly. "A what?" "A one-sided journal entry. You know, add a debit amount to one account without crediting another." Her frown deepened. "I don't understand". "Well", I said, "this system normally doesn't allow a one-sided journal entry - or at least I don't know how to do it. But it should be possible, I've seen it in other systems."…
You Can’t Ignore This Any Longer
Cloud and open source have been around for some time - long enough for the term "cloud" to [finally] fade away as a differentiator (it's just assumed!). Still, some continue to dismiss these technologies for their corporate solutions - but it's getting tougher to just ignore this stuff ... Scale? Cloud provider Amazon continues to dominate the market, with five times the market share of all of their competitors combined. The breadth, depth, and scale of some of their customers…
How May I Help You? Four Ways IT Can Deliver Value
Classic lament of IT - I just want get involved, be part of the conversation - I want a seat at the table. Classic lament of everyone else - How can IT deliver value to the business? It sounds like two people reaching for each other - but in the dark. They want to connect, but they don't know how. The problem, of course, is that many - from IT and other areas of the business - default to the…
Post-Acquisition Strategies in Tech Companies
Just a brief note on an interesting trend I am seeing with some of my technology partners ... Virtela, an international telecom / data services provider out of Denver, CO was recently acquired by NTT, a massive ($130B) international presence. At our business review meeting last week, we were assured that NTT intends to leave Virtela alone, to operate very much as they have in the past. "NTT bought our people, processes, and services as much as a customer base"…
Successful Projects Start with Good Discussions
Even in the overhyped world of technology, these non-technical issues (resources, cost, time, priorities) are often the root cause of project difficulty and failure. Talking things out up front can save a lot of headaches and disappointment later.
How to be Taken Seriously as a Business Partner
Part of my job consists of working with General Managers & Managing Directors, talking about process and technology projects, and how we might leverage internal and external resources. I am no longer surprised that external consulting groups get more of the interesting and exciting projects - internal IT is often challenged by a lack of "latest and greatest" tech skills (in support of a modern digital strategy), available cycles (to take on the extra work), or communication & marketing skills…
Strict Rules of Golf – for IT
Years ago, an avid golfer told me about his long-time buddies who, after a few years of playing together, found themselves getting into arguments during play. Through high-school and college, they had been fairly competitive and loved a friendly wager, but they got better as they got older. The money started getting serious - and the squabbles took away from the fun. So they adopted a new Guiding Principle, and began to play strictly according to the USGA Rules of…
Opportunity within End-Of-Year Performance Reviews
I'm working this holiday week to get the majority of the written work completed for my 2013 Performance Reviews; I realize it's something that folks do not enjoy doing, but I see it as an incredibly important effort. I like to think my organization and I are doing a fairly good job of communicating on a regular basis, but the structure and the formality of the annual Review process ensures that we are "on the same page" regarding the critical…
Beware the Lure of Process Automation
When I see folks working hard at a repetitive task, using technology tools like spreadsheets, databases, and other "productivity" tools in a less-than-optimal way, I like to call them out as not being lazy enough. That always gets their attention - it's a bit counter-intuitive, as they masterfully fly over the keyboard to tweak the data, move the files, look up the information, or clear the inbox in the shortest time possible. I think that we should be "lazier" by…