A Framework for Starting the Internet of Things Conversation
Accelerate your IoT exploration with this simple framework for explaining the building blocks of IoT solutions; target the areas that present the biggest unknowns.
When Will the Internet of Things Get On Your Radar Screen?
When introducing a new topic like the Internet of Things, you may be disappointed - at first. Your organization is still waiting; when will we think a little longer term? How to be ready for opportunities that may present themselves.
Getting Real with the Internet of Things
Most manufacturing companies face challenges when contemplating Digital Products and the IoT, because they are not making Highly Valuable Things or Mass-Market Things, but Specialty Things – niche products with very targeted appeal. And “Information as a Product/Service” will be a radical departure.
The SMB Business Case for Cloud
Few cloud computing vendors are able to produce a plausible cost model with any level of detail. All of your SMB customers are asking the same question, so why don't you have a simple, clear, canned answer? In the absence of a vendor model, this article will help you quickly work up the big chunks of the opportunity in short order.
Change Your Definition of Success for Breakthrough Results
Focus on a better definition of Success - one that delivers results. Quantifiable change, improved operations, smarter people, profitable top line growth - there is a big difference between deliverables and meaningful results.
Tracking in the Enterprise – Correlation versus Causation
We've got the activity captured, and now we have "effectiveness" ratings for the people in the group - how will we put them together and see a relationship? Mechanically, this is a simple XY scatter graph - a standard chart type in both Excel and Google Docs. Let's take a look at a sample data set that illustrates the idea: This is the picture I expected to see: the more you use the system (the X axis), the more results…
Justifying Preventative Maintenance – Where’s the Value?
How to build a simple, easy-to-understand business benefits model for preventative maintenance investments; you have to model the risk of failure. Fear not - this simple calculation will do the trick.
The New Way to Work is More Work Than You Knew
Can you guess the sly, small rule that makes this game so hard to play?
“Remember, Scrooge, Time is Short …
... and suddenly you're not there any more." - The Ghost of Christmas Present, enjoying a memento mori moment A repeating theme in my feed reader has been the drive to "work different"; clunky grammar aside, we need to change the way we communicate and collaborate, increase our focus on innovation, and spend less time in pointless meetings. On that latter point, I read this article on my latest flight; Mankins talks about the galling amount of time spent in…
More Thoughts on Why Techs Don’t Like Documentation
A few years ago, I was interviewing candidates for a systems analyst job, and trotted out one of my standard questions: Tell me something you have done that you are proud of. This particular developer called out her source code annotations (comments), and was rather specific about her own comment quality standards. But when I asked her if she likes to write documentation, she was quite hesitant - and that surprised me a bit, made me think. What's the difference…