ERP Reference Calls, and my Top 3 Points to Ponder

3 March, 2014
ERP
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I still get pulled into conversations about ERP; there are plenty of businesses out there, of varying sizes, that can benefit from the structured process and transactional discipline. Reference calls on behalf of the vendor are great - I'm happy to take them, primarily because most vendors are OK with letting my team be frank. We'll talk about the software package you are buying, in whatever detail that can fit into the allotted time, warts and all. But more often…

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.

Post-Acquisition Strategies in Tech Companies

27 January, 2014
M&A, Vendor Management
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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"…

Strict Rules of Golf – for IT

6 January, 2014
Documentation, Web 2.0
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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…

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…

IBM Marketing Message Muddle

Just an observation from the past week; I had a meeting with an IBM Sales Team, reviewing a range of products as they work to understand where IBM might help my business. I appreciate the fact that IBM has a wide selection of offerings, and we were doing an OK job of reviewing various families / groups of products ... until we got to something labeled Smarter Cities. This one piqued my interest - something potentially related to the products…

A Surprising Problem with SaaS/Cloud: Long-Term Cost Trends

18 August, 2013
Vendor Management
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When considering SaaS and Cloud solutions, you need to anticipate and acknowledge this important difference from on-premise systems; your ability to manage cost may be severely reduced.

Innovating with Ideas – Real World Remixing

Three good stories from the past week - great for me, since I am hearing feedback and "remixing" for things published here on this blog. But good, because they are nice examples of people taking ideas and tweaking them to fit their particular situation: Phil saw my presentation earlier this year on IT Strategy, and latched on to the bridge between the tactical "run the business" (RTB) work (for IT, operational support tasks), and the strategic "enhance the business" projects…

Four tools to bridge from Raw Productivity to Sustainable Results

I've noticed a definite trend in the "best practices" wing of the Productivity building; it goes by many names and takes on a few different forms, but the idea is rooted in a few simple concepts: Focus on the Critical Few: Multitasking does not work - plan for doing three things per day, and allocate your time accordingly Done is Better than Perfect: Learn to recognize "good enough", perfection is the enemy of progress. Ignore Details Early On: Get a skeleton out…

Another 90 Day Sprint

... and now the work really begins ... For the second time since starting this site, I've made a change and taken on a new position. This time was a bit more structured, using the learning process from The First 90 Days, by Michael Watkins. I had read the book before, so the ideas weren't new - but as with any familiar technology or idea, it never hurts to go back for a review. Of note - in the past,…