Connections

CIO Mind’s Map : Similar to a site map, this section regroups key posts on The CIO Assistant’s Blog in a structured way so that you can explore a certain subject more in depth.

Points of View (POVs) : This section contains my personal view on a number of subjects, mostly related to IT Leadership. These POVs are based on more than 30 years operating in the field from a variety of functions (business development, service delivery, planning and control, etc.) and roles in the value chain (supplier, customer, competitor, influencer, etc.).

Article:
I hate how managers under-value and under-emphasize monetary recognition as a way to incent workers and improve morale. It's so ironic because managers and executives get bonuses for meeting their performance goals, no matter what the economy, so why wouldn't the rest of us be motivated by cash?

Article:
Most of the programs fail to manage change within organizations as managers are not the best face to face communicators

It’s prudent for any organisation to know that employees understand and embrace the reason behind the changes in technology

If you think technical skill is all you need for a career in IT, think again. Expectations for IT employees are changing... They're looking for workers who have the business acumen and communications skills to deal with the other departments and communicate effectively to make sure the business goals are met

I've been cognizant of Surowiecki's work, and his four principles for assuring the ability to bring out the "wisdom of crowds" in addressing complex, highly charged topics, while avoiding the "dumbness" and group think so commonly seen. (The Bay of Pigs analogy is a useful one).

"if I had to select a single overarching theme for this blog , it'd probably be people and processes. You know, as in the two things that are so often neglected in technology projects."

Deep and useful thoughts on culture and ITSM and people

Also readable!

Excellent paper. Bas says Project problems are people problems

I think ALL IT problems are people problems

Today, we tend to apply process thinking as a default ”solution lens” to all problems, failures and challenges we encounter, even those which cannot be solved by process. When we hear about a failure, we point at a it and shout ”process failure!” without even thinking twice. Or we shout ”technology failure!” because we knew technology was somewhat involved.

But what if it's actually culture failure? How often do you hear anyone shout that out ("Guys, it's culture failure!") ?